History YMMV / DemolitionMan

** Creator/JackBlack plays one of [[Creator/DenisLeary Edgar Friendly's]] loyal followers. Almost a decade later, Black would voice Zeke in ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'' who, despite being in the same pack as Diego, who is voiced by Leary, is anything BUT loyal to him.

* CompleteMonster: [[BigBad Simon Phoenix]], a psychotic criminal from the gang-ruled era of Los Angeles in the late 20th century, indulged in theft, kidnapping, rape, arson, and murder to his heart's content. He holds 30 people hostage and demands a ransom when in fact he had already killed them all, and frames [[CowboyCop John Spartan]] for their deaths. They are both sentenced to [[HumanPopsicle cryo-stasis]] and only woken up in 2032 when the new city of San Angeles has become a crime-free nanny state. Simon breaks out of confinement by gouging out a guard's eye to bypass the retinal scanner and indulges in his freedom to [[AxCrazy be a maniac]] and [[DystopiaJustifiesTheMeans spread chaos again]], brutally murdering almost everyone who gets in his way. It turns out he was unfrozen by the [[WellIntentionedExtremist benevolent dictator]] Dr. Raymond Cocteau to assassinate Edgar Friendly, the underground RebelLeader who has been trying to undo the oppressive system. Simon sets out on this task with murderous glee, killing many innocent bystanders in the process. He eventually teams up with his old gang after they're unfrozen and murders Cocteau [[ToCreateAPlaygroundForEvil to start a new lawless dystopia]]. He starts by unfreezing every violent criminal locked up in the cryo-prison, before gunning down all the technicians because he no longer has any use for them.

** The film was released in the [[TheNineties early '90s]], but has become a rich source of essays discussing how accurately it predicted the social conflicts of the TheNewTens and TheNewTwenties. The film's main storyline concerns conflict between MoralGuardians who have [[PoliticalOvercorrectness imposed tyrannical control on speech and behavior]] and their opponents, who claim to champion greater freedom while being quite unashamed of the ugliness that accompanies it. It's also worth noting that Friendly, Phoenix, and even Spartan introduce a great deal of violence and destruction to a society that was more-or-less functioning before Phoenix showed up. The film leaves it up to the individual viewer whether this is for the best or not, given how unflattering a light the movie otherwise portrays the society of 2032 in.

** The name "Scott Peterson" comes up during Huxley's access of the parole hearings. Presumably, this is not [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Peterson the man who]] kidnapped and murdered his pregnant wife in 2003.

* ValuesResonance: The film was released in the [[TheNineties early '90s]], but has become a rich source of essays discussing how accurately it predicted the social conflicts of the TheNewTens and TheNewTwenties. The film's main storyline concerns conflict between MoralGuardians who have [[PoliticalOvercorrectness imposed tyrannical control on speech and behavior]] and their opponents, who claim to champion greater freedom while being quite unashamed of the ugliness that accompanies it. It's also worth noting that Friendly, Phoenix, and even Spartan introduce a great deal of violence and destruction to a society that was more-or-less functioning before Phoenix showed up. The film leaves it up to the individual viewer whether this is for the best or not, given how unflattering a light the movie otherwise portrays the society of 2032 in.

** Becomes less cool when the fascistic nature of the city becomes clear; the most sympathetic of observers to San Angeles' soft tyranny is bound to object when it's explained that even sexual intercourse is heavily restricted by law, to the point of being nearly banned. The lack of violence and consequence has also had a negative impact on people's sense of empathy.

* OneSceneWonder: The "Fuck you, Lady!" girl from the old news report. Both for [[FromTheMouthOfBabes the line coming from a small child]] and that the line can be seen as a TakeThat to people criticizing others from handling situations they deem as bad despite never being in similar situations.

* OneSceneWonder: The "Fuck you, Lady!" girl from the old news report. Both for the line coming from a small child and that the line can be seen as a TakeThat to people criticizing others from handling situations they deem as bad despite never being in similar situations.

* DoNotDoThisCoolThing: As [[https://www.cracked.com/article_26410_5-insanely-ridiculous-movies-you-need-to-watch-right-now.html noted]] by ''Website/{{Cracked}}'', while San Angeles is supposed to be a CrapsaccharineWorld, to a modern viewer it can look quite livable and prosperous, at least if you don't mind milquetoast. The reason the police are so helpless against Simon Phoenix is because they ''won'': they [[GoneHorriblyRight succeeded so well]] that it's been years since crime was ever a problem, leading to complacency. It's especially apparent when you compare it side-by-side with the dystopian hellscape of near-future Los Angeles seen in the opening.

** Creator/JackBlack plays one of [[Creator/DenisLeary Edgar Friendly's]] loyal followers. Almost ten years later, Jack would also voice on the tigers in ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'' who, despite being in the same pack as Diego, also played by Creator/DenisLeary, is anything BUT loyal to him.

* SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames: The SNES\Genesis game was praised as an action-packed run and gun.
* NoYay: Spartan's attraction to Huxley. Not only is she younger than his daughter, but due to growing up in a sheltered zeitgeist she acts like a child most of the time.

* TheProblemWithLicensedGames: The [[Usefulnotes/ThreeDOInteractiveMultiplayer 3DO]] version was fairly ambitious and even had exclusive footage of Stallone. Unfortunadely, the varied gameplay at times was lacking, such as shoot 'em up levels where the objective was non-intuitive, and lots of lame one-on-one versus fights with Simon.

* RootingForTheEmpire: Because the citizens of San Angeles are so incredibly prissy, arrogant, and self righteous at times, coupled with the overall CrapsaccharineWorld Coctau created, it's not hard to start cheering for Phoenix to just burn the while thing down.

* StrangledByTheRedString: By the end of the movie Spartan has had at most 2 days to come to terms with his wife's death, yet he rebounds onto Huxley when they have little in common outside their professions.

** Jesse Ventura is greatly underused in his role as one of Phoenix's henchmen, [[DownplayedTrope although this is partially because he did film an additional scene where he fights with Spartan, but it was deleted]].

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The whole film's premise of a future society where everything bad you say and do is banned is a pretty clear product of the [[TheNineties Early '90s]] backlash to the concept of "Political Correctness". (Although looked upon through the lens of late 2010s eyes, the "backlash" part falls into YMMV as a number of statements made in the film.)

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical: Some have described ''Demolition Man'' as being one of the most libertarian movies ever made. One of the film's villains is a scientist who has basically created the ultimate nanny-state, where everything deemed bad for you has been outlawed. And Edgar Friendly and his followers, who are initially portrayed as terrorists, turn out to be sympathetic freedom fighters who want to make their own decisions without the overbearing government's influence. The worst thing they do is steal some food and spray graffiti.

* BrokenAesop: Deconstructed. The film's negative portrayal of San Angeles is juxtaposed deliberately against the ''Film/EscapeFromNewYork'' nightmare it was before Spartan and Phoenix were frozen. It's made clear that the Police not only won their war on crime and anarchy, they won ''resoundingly'' - and now, there are no checks or balances to frustrate their descent into a PoliceState. As such, neither the San Angeles government or Edgar Friendly are portrayed as being completely right or wrong.
* CompleteMonster: [[BigBad Simon Phoenix]], a psychotic criminal from the gang-ruled era of Los Angeles in the late 20th century, indulged in theft, kidnapping, rape, arson, and murder to his heart's content. He holds 30 people hostage and demands a ransom when in fact he had already killed them all, and frames [[CowboyCop John Spartan]] for their deaths. They are both sentenced to [[HumanPopsicle cryo-stasis]] and only woken up in 2032 when the new city of San Angeles has become a crime-free nanny state. Simon breaks out of confinement by gouging out a guard's eye to bypass the retinal scanner and indulges in his freedom to [[ChaoticEvil be a maniac]] and [[DystopiaJustifiesTheMeans spread chaos again]], brutally murdering almost everyone who gets in his way. It turns out he was unfrozen by the [[WellIntentionedExtremist benevolent dictator]] Dr. Raymond Cocteau to assassinate Edgar Friendly, the underground RebelLeader who has been trying to undo the oppressive system. Simon sets out on this task with murderous glee, killing many innocent bystanders in the process. He eventually teams up with his old gang after they're unfrozen and murders Cocteau [[ToCreateAPlaygroundForEvil to start a new lawless dystopia]]. He starts by unfreezing every violent criminal locked up in the cryo-prison, before gunning down all the technicians because he no longer has any use for them.

* CompleteMonster: In a film where both sides of the Libertarian-versus-Authoritarian debate are given their hour to speak, Simon Phoenix stands out; much of his screentime involves him indulging in theft, kidnapping, rape, arson, and murder to his heart's content. He proves himself to be an utter sociopath who revels in hurting other people and causing chaos. His EstablishingCharacterMoment has him framing Spartan for the deaths of 30 hostages, and as soon as he's unfrozen from Cryostasis, he gouges a guard's eye out ''with his thumb''. He isn't truly a part of the film's commentary on OrderVersusChaos; the idea of coexisting with anyone else on any basis beyond servitude is nearly alien to him. It's clear that even the benign parts of San Angeles' society offend him deeply. The very start of the film establishes his character perfectly when he gloats to Spartan that the hostages were always going to die, no matter what, simply because Phoenix thought it would be funnier if they did.

* TastesLikeDiabetes: San Angeles in the year 2032 is squeaky-clean to the point of absurdity, with commercial jingles from TheFifties as the most popular genre of music and everyone relentlessly cheerful at all times. You're almost cheering Phoenix on, at least at first, if for no other reason than you want to see some chaos inflicted on this smiley, chipper city.

* CompleteMonster: [[BigBad Simon Phoenix]], a psychotic criminal from the gang-ruled era of Los Angeles in the late 20th century, indulged in theft, kidnapping, rape, arson, and murder to his heart's content. He holds 30 people hostage and demands a ransom when in fact he had already killed them all, and frames [[CowboyCop John Spartan]] for their deaths. They are both sentenced to [[HumanPopsicle cryo-stasis]] and only woken up in 2032 when the new city of San Angeles has become a crime-free nanny state. Simon breaks out of confinement by [[EyeScream gouging out a guard's eye]] to bypass the retinal scanner and indulges in his freedom to be a maniac and [[DystopiaJustifiesTheMeans spread chaos again]], brutally murdering almost everyone who gets in his way. It turns out he was unfrozen by the [[WellIntentionedExtremist benevolent dictator]] Dr. Raymond Cocteau to assassinate Edgar Friendly, the underground RebelLeader who has been trying to undo the oppressive system. Simon sets out on this task with murderous glee, killing many innocent bystanders in the process. He eventually teams up with his old gang after they're unfrozen and murders Cocteau [[ToCreateAPlaygroundForEvil to start a new lawless dystopia]]. He starts by unfreezing every violent criminal locked up in the cryo-prison, before gunning down all the technicians because [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness he no longer has any use for them]].

* CompleteMonster: In a film where both sides of the Libertarian-versus-Authoritarian debate are given their hour to speak, Simon Phoenix stands out. He proves himself to be an utter sociopath who revels in hurting other people and causing chaos. He isn't truly a part of the film's commentary on OrderVersusChaos; the idea of coexisting with anyone else on any basis beyond servitude is nearly alien to him. It's clear that even the benign parts of San Angeles' society offend him deeply. The very start of the film establishes his character perfectly when he gloats to Spartan that the hostages were always going to die, no matter what, simply because Phoenix thought it would be funnier if they did.

* DoNotDoThisCoolThing: As [[https://www.cracked.com/article_26410_5-insanely-ridiculous-movies-you-need-to-watch-right-now.html noted]] by ''Website/{{Cracked}}'', while San Angeles is supposed to be a CrapsaccharineWorld, to a modern viewer it can look quite livable and prosperous, at least if you don't mind milquetoast. The reason the police are so helpless against Simon Phoenix is because they ''won'': they [[GoneHorriblyRight succeeded so well]] that it's been years since crime was ever a problem, leading to complacency. It's especially apparent when you compare it side-by-side with the dystopian hellscape of near-future Los Angeles seen in the opening. Becomes less cool when the fascistic nature of the city becomes clear; the most sympathetic of observers to San Angeles' soft tyranny is bound to object when it's explained that even sexual intercourse is heavily restricted by law, to the point of being nearly banned.

** The film has strong themes of censorship, corporate committee-approved "politeness" laws, and general erasure of culture and personal freedom. To say these themes are increasingly relevant today would be an enormous understatement.

* CompleteMonster: [[BigBad Simon Phoenix]], a psychotic criminal from the gang-ruled era of Los Angeles in the late 20th century, indulged in theft, kidnapping, rape, arson, and murder to his heart's content. He holds 30 people hostage and demands a ransom when in fact he had already killed them all, and frames [[CowboyCop John Spartan]] for their deaths. They are both sentenced to [[HumanPopsicle cryo-stasis]] and only woken up in 2032 when the new city of San Angeles has become a crime-free nanny state. Simon breaks out of confinement by [[EyeScream gouging out a guard's eye]] to bypass the retinal scanner and indulges in his freedom to [[ChaoticEvil be a maniac]] and [[DystopiaJustifiesTheMeans spread chaos again]], brutally murdering almost everyone who gets in his way. It turns out he was unfrozen by the [[WellIntentionedExtremist benevolent dictator]] Dr. Raymond Cocteau to assassinate Edgar Friendly, the underground RebelLeader who has been trying to undo the oppressive system. Simon sets out on this task with murderous glee, killing many innocent bystanders in the process. He eventually teams up with his old gang after they're unfrozen and murders Cocteau [[ToCreateAPlaygroundForEvil to start a new lawless dystopia]]. He starts by unfreezing every violent criminal locked up in the cryo-prison, before gunning down all the technicians because [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness he no longer has any use for them]].

** Could work the other way around too. Seeing how Los Angeles was a burning, wartorn hellscape at the start of the movie, the clean, propserous and utterly peaceful San Angeles that most inhabitants are perfectly happy living in could be considered a massive improvement. And Spartan's initial distaste for the city can appear as SkewedPriorities, as PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad seems like a somewhat less serious flaw than AxeCrazy criminals running around murdering civilians left, right and center. Of course, Corteau personally loses all sympathy by unleashing one of those criminals on his own city.

* ValuesResonance: The film was released in the [[TheNineties early '90s]], but has become a rich source of essays discussing how accurately it predicted the social conflicts of the TheNewTens and TheNewTwenties. The film's main storyline concerns conflict between MoralGuardians who have [[PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad imposed tyrannical control on speech and behavior]] and their opponents, who claim to champion greater freedom while being quite unashamed of the ugliness that accompanies it. It's also worth noting that Friendly, Phoenix, and even Spartan introduce a great deal of violence and destruction to a society that was more-or-less functioning before Phoenix showed up. The film leaves it up to the individual viewer whether this is for the best or not, given how unflattering a light the movie otherwise portrays the society of 2032 in.

* CultClassic: At the time of its release the film wasn't a box office hit and got mixed reviews. But these days it comes across as an AffectionateParody of action films from TheEighties and [[TheNineties '90s]]. There's a good amount of LampshadeHanging, a mix of {{Deconstruction}} and {{Reconstruction}} about John Spartan's CowboyCop image, and a lot of the satire has become sharper with societal evolution, whether it be the satire about PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad and unhealthy things being illegal, or about iconoclasts actively chafing at rules just for existing and deliberately living in grungy filth and being proud of it.

* FoeYay: Phoenix to Spartan in 1996. When they both got arrested he implied he planned on [[PrisonRape raping him in prison.]]
--> '''Simon Phoenix:''' We're gonna spend a lot of quality time together. See you [[TermsOfEndangerment sweetie, honey, SUGAR!]]

* DoNotDoThisCoolThing: As [[https://www.cracked.com/article_26410_5-insanely-ridiculous-movies-you-need-to-watch-right-now.html noted]] by ''Website/{{Cracked}}'', while San Angeles is supposed to be a CrapsaccharineWorld, to a modern viewer it can look quite livable and prosperous, at least if you don't mind milquetoast. The reason the police are so helpless against Simon Phoenix is because they ''won'': they [[GoneHorriblyRight succeeded so well]] that it's been years since crime was ever a problem, leading to complacency. It's especially apparent when you compare it side-by-side with the dystopian hellscape of near-future Los Angeles seen in the opening. Becomes less cool when the fascistic nature of the city becomes clear.

* WhatAnIdiot:
** The museum's [=20th=] century weapons exhibit has functional and ''loaded'' weapons on display with relatively light security. Even discounting Simon Phoenix as an OutsideContextProblem for the setting, Edgar Friendly could have done a lot of damage if he'd ever decided to do a smash-and-grab on them.
** Cocteau feels comfortable freeing Phoenix because Phoenix's conditioning prevents Phoenix from killing Cocteau... but Cocteau never considered that Phoenix could order someone ''else'' to kill him.
** Spartan renders Huxley unconscious before the final battle even though she proved just a few minutes before to be quite a capable fighter (even saving Spartan's life) and probably would have come in handy during the final fight (WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic actually did a run-down of all the possible things Huxley could've done to give Spartan an assist during the fight). Justified somewhat in that ItsPersonal between him and Phoenix. Afterward he explains he did it for her own good, and he may have been right; Phoenix was tweaked to be much stronger and deadlier than his mooks, and would have had no problem with killing her. Also she got rattled after killing one of Phoenix's mooks; it's possible that Spartan predicted his fight with Phoenix could only end in blood, and he didn't want to traumatize her further.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment:
** Looking through the Cryo-Prison inmate list, Phoenix exclaims "Jeffrey Dahmer? I ''love'' that guy!" In 1994, Dahmer was bludgeoned to death in prison; the line was subsequently cut from a number of broadcasts.
** The name "Scott Peterson" comes up during Huxley's access of the parole hearings. Presumably, this is not [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Peterson the man who]] kidnapped and murdered his pregnant wife in 2003.
** Spartan crashes the 1970 442 through the floor of an Oldsmobile dealership in 2032. Oldsmobile was discontinued by GM in 2004.

* HarsherInHindsight: The film has strong themes of censorship, corporate committee-approved "politeness" laws, and general erasure of culture and personal freedom. To say these themes are increasingly relevant today would be an enormous understatement.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: Both extremes on the OrderVsChaos scale are bad. Let's find a compromise.

* ValuesResonance: The film was released in the [[TheNineties early '90s]], but has become a rich source of essays discussing how it feels like it predicted many of the social media conflicts of the TheNewTens and TheNewTwenties, specifically conflicts between perceived MoralGuardians who want tighter controls on ugly speech and behavior and their opponents who claim to champion greater freedom while glossing over the ugliness that inevitably accompanies it.