In 1996, brash L.A. detective John Spartan and maniac killer Simon Phoenix are both sentenced to decades in a cryogenic prison as punishment for a rescue mission gone wrong. When Phoenix escapes 36 years later to wreak havoc on the future, Spartan is awakened to capture his nemesis the old-fashioned way.
Ultimately the script's often sharp social satire is drowned out by the noise and confusion. It is also undercut by casting virtually all the psychopathically murderous criminals as minority-group members.
– Richard Schickel,
TIME Magazine,
25 Jul 2010
rotten:
Nearly all the SF premises are accorded the status of Andrew Dice Clay one-liners -- which means that they, along with the characters, keep changing from one scene to the next.
– Jonathan Rosenbaum,
Chicago Reader,
30 Apr 2008
rotten:
A noisy, soulless, self-conscious pastiche that mixes elements of sci-fi, action-adventure and romance, then pours on a layer of comedy replete with Hollywood in-jokes.
– Emanuel Levy,
Variety,
30 Apr 2008
fresh:
Demolition Man is a significant artifact of our time or, at least, of this week.
– Vincent Canby,
New York Times,
20 May 2003
rotten:
Demolition Man is sleek and empty as well as brutal and pointless. It feels computer engineered, untouched by human hands. A real pod movie.