A few years ago, I could have easily asked, "Does anyone under the age of 25 know who Sylvester Stallone is?" and that would have been a legitimate question. (Yes, I know that he was in Spy Kids 3, but that's beside the point.) Stallone went from being one of Hollywood's big dogs to appearing in flops to appearing in almost nothing at all. This all changed, of course, in 2006 when Rocky Balboa put him back on the map, swiftly followed by Rambo. When The Expendables became a surprise hit last year, it was clear that Stallone had successfully staged a comeback. But, we can't forget about the big dumb movies he once made in his heyday, such as 1993's Demolition Man.

Demolition Man opens in the (near) present, as Los Angeles police officer John Spartan (Sylvester Stallone) apprehends arch-villain Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes), destroying a building in the process. As it turns out, the building was filled with hostages, so Spartan is convicted of involuntary manslaughter. For their crimes, both Spartan and Phoenix are sent to the CryoPrison, where felons are frozen for their incarceration. The story then jumps ahead to the year 2032. San Angeles, as it's now known due to a giant earthquake, is a peaceful, tranquil place where everyone is healthy and there's no violence. When Phoenix is thawed out for his parole hearing, he somehow knows the password to escape and murders several as he flees the prison. The police, headed by Chief Earle (Bob Gunton), have never encountered anyone like Phoenix and have no idea what to do. It's decided that Spartan should be thawed out as well, and he's placed with Office Lenina Huxley (Sandra Bullock), who has studied the 20th Century. Spartan has a very hard time adjusting to the future, but his old instincts return when it's time to hunt Phoenix. However, he soon learns that Phoenix's escape was only part of a larger plan.

They still make action movies today, but they don't make them like they did in the late 80s and early 90s. Spearheaded by producers like Joel Silver (who was behind Demolition Man) and the team of Don Simpson & Jerry Bruckheimer, these movies were loud, stupid, and over-the-top. Most of them began with one foot squarely in reality and then got more ludicrous and bombastic as they went along. The movies didn't care about being PC and often casually mixed-in horror-level gore as if it was nothing at all. One usually left these movies with a feeling of exhilaration and yet, a mild sense of mental dullness.

Demolition Man is a perfect example of this sub-genre. From the opening scene, where John Spartan bungie jumps from a helicopter which is being shot by anti-aircraft fire, we know that we are in for a wild ride. The action is very consistent in the film and there is rarely a dull moment. The movie features car chases, gun fights, and martial-arts action, and much of the action takes place in interesting, futuristic locations. This action is matched by a “sly” (pun intended) sense of humor. Most of the jokes relate to how John Spartan reacts to the sterile and subdued future. For a movie like this, the humor is quite clever, especially jokes tied to musical tastes and restaurants of the future. And, of course, we get plenty of cheesy action movie one-liners.

Stallone, who was 47 when the film was made, may have been on the backend of his prime, but that didn’t stop him running, jumping, and shooting his way through the movie. Wesley Snipes showed off his acting skills in some drama before he was sent to prison, but I think that his portrayal of Simon Phoenix is one of his best. Actors truly impress me when they get lost in a role, and Snipes becomes Phoenix, and we know this by the way that we love to hate him. Sandra Bullock, appearing here in one of her first starring roles, brings much-needed spunk to a film which could have gotten very nihilistic.

So, Demolition Man is a fun ride, but it may also contains some of the biggest plotholes every seen in a movie. John Spartan is a police officer who is sent to CryoPrison, and yet, once he’s thawed, he acts as if he’s never heard of it or the man who created it. Simon Phoenix discovers a cache of firearms at a museum, which makes sense, but why were there thousands of rounds of ammo there? That doesn’t make any sense at all. Why doesn’t Spartan show anyone the security camera footage which convinces him that all isn’t what it seems? The movie seems to be making things up as it goes along at times, but if you are willing to ignore these things, you will find a great action movie which offers laughs and big explosions.

Demolition Man never explains the three seashells thing on Blu-ray Disc courtesy of Warner Home Video. The film has been letterboxed at 2.35:1 and the Disc contains an AVC 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 20 Mbps. The image is sharp and clear, showing no overt grain and no defects from the source material. This film has always shown a nice crispness and depth of field and it looks very good on this Blu-ray. The colors look very good and the image is never overly dark or bright. The blacks are rich and true. The level of detail is good, as we can easily make out textures on objects. The Disc carries a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which runs at 48 kHz and an average of 4.5 Mbps. The track provides clear dialogue and sound effects. The stereo effects are nicely detailed, most notably during the action scenes and the crowd scenes. The subwoofer effects are also well-done, as the explosions and gunshots provide a nice amount of oomph. However, there was a notable absence of overt surround sound effects. This track should have wowed us with rear channel effects, but it didn’t.

The only extras on the Demolition Man Blu-ray Disc are an AUDIO COMMENTARY with Director Marco Brambilla and Producer Joel Silver and the THEATRICAL TRAILER for the film.