Demolition Man (1993)

"The exchange of bodily fluids? Do you know what that leads to?"

From unpromising beginnings- Sylvester Stallone's first line is a very crude bit of blatant exposition- a film I was expecting to be just a fun '90s action movie turns out, as well as being exactly that, a genuinely (and intentionally) funnt comedy at the same time as well as a timely warning against an over-sanitised society. No sex or alcohol? That's no utopia.

The cast is superb. Yes, this may no longer be the Stallone of First Blood who actually acts but more the Stallone of Judge Dredd whom you just point as a script and let you do his shouty stuff, but that's exactly what's needed for the part of John Spartan. Wesley Snipes gives a much more accomplished performance- yes, his role as Simon Phoenix calls for much scenery chewing, but this is considered, nuanced and multi-layered scenery chewing and the perfect performance. The lovely Sandra Bullock, meanwhile, gives a perfect comedic performance. She's a talented actress, although sadly one who (present film excepted) hasn't always chosen the best films in which to appear. And Nigel Hawthorne, although bizarrely miscast, is superb as always.

On the surface this is a film about a cop and a psycho from 1996 emerging into the distant future of 2032, where they continue their rialry amongst much skulduggery. Yes it is just as much a comedy of manners, finding copious humour in putting its macho hero in a saccharine future where police are unable to handle violence and swearing is prohibited. I'm certainly not a libertarian of the right-wing sort, you'll never catch me railing against that nebulous concept of "political correctness", but, in its attitude to civil liberties, sex, beer and ratburgers, this is perhaps a rebuke from the '90s towards our society of facial recognition and that silly, arbitrary fourteen units a week. It's also a bloody good and well-shot film, both as a comedy and as an action film.