On September 23, 2009, Starpulse.com posted a piece called “Spotlight On Films In Which Technology Has Gone Awry: Our Grim Future Awaits”. They look at seven films [“The Surrogates”, “Demolition Man”, “Judge Dredd”, “I, Robot”, “Minority Report”, “The Matrix”, and “Blade Runner”].
Here’s what they said about “Demolition Man”:
Welcome to a future where a sissy in flowing robes rules a land free of crime, swearing, sex, and worst of all: red meat. The benevolent leader Dr. Cocteau (Nigel Hawthorne) presides over California like a pillar of morality, but uses his influence and power to unfreeze a violent 20th century criminal Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes) from cryo-stasis.
Phoenix’s newfound freedom comes with a price. He is given the assignment to kill Cocteau’s rival Edgar Friendly (Denis Leary), a man who leads an underground movement to preserve the freedoms Cocteau bans in his technologically advanced society.
A wimpy police force unsure of how to handle the violent criminal unfreezes the former lawman and nemesis of Simon Phoenix: John Spartan (Sylvester Stallone), codename “The Demolition Man.” It’s up to Spartan to save the 21st century from Phoenix and from itself, by bringing back some 20th century bad-assery. With Spartan’s brawn and Friendly’s brains hopefully the future can find a happy medium between the two centuries.
Here’s their take on “Judge Dredd”:
The second movie on the list starring Sylvester Stallone, this story takes place in the year 2139. In this future, the Earth has become a virtually uninhabitable rock where the populous is crowded into cities across the planet called “Mega Cities.” Crime in these overcrowded cities became so powerful, that the justice system collapsed completely.
Rising from the ashes, was a new set of law enforcement officers that became three justice systems in one: police, jury, and executioner. These officers of the law known as Judges, were given the authority to dispense their own brand of violent justice if the punishment fit the crime.
The strictest judge in Mega City 1 history, Judge Dredd (Sylvester Stallone) is framed for murder by the former Judge Rico (Armande Assante). Rico seeks to create a chaotic world, with an army of clones under his control. It’s up to Dredd to recover his reputation, save Mega City 1 from Rico’s tyranny, and reform the harsh justice system.
