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1!!For the movie:
2
3* CareerResurrection: Along with ''Film/{{Cliffhanger}}'', this film revived Creator/SylvesterStallone's career after a series of duds in the early 1990s.
4* TheCastShowoff:
5** This was one of the first movies to show off Creator/WesleySnipes' martial arts skills. Much like Creator/BruceLee, he would have to slow down his moves so they would actually show up on camera.
6** Creator/DenisLeary in the 1990's was famous for his motormouth rants in his comedy routine. His character falls into these.
7* CompletelyDifferentTitle:
8** Slovenia: ''Desolation''
9** Croatia: ''Tough Guy''
10** Estonia: ''Shredder''
11** Bulgaria: ''Destroyers''
12** Hungary and Russia: ''The Destroyer''
13** Lithuania: ''All Destructive''
14* CreatorBacklash:
15** In a retrospective on his filmography, Creator/DenisLeary called the film a "giant piece of shit".
16** Creator/NigelHawthorne described his time on set as "miserable", as Creator/SylvesterStallone and Creator/WesleySnipes would keep everyone waiting.
17* {{Defictionalization}}: The Taco Bell logo seen in this movie was later used as a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oubi9HU8t5o tie-in]] by the restaurant and eventually became the basis for their current logo. It turns out the heads of Taco Bell at the time were big fans of the movie and did so as a shout-out.
18** While it wasn't President, we did still get [[Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger Governor Schwarzenegger]]...
19* DeletedScene: This [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNhs99lO9dE&t=4s video]] details what was cut from the film.
20* DevelopmentGag: Huxley learned martial arts from watching Creator/JackieChan movies. Chan was offered the role of Simon Phoenix, but turned it down.
21* DuelingStarsMovie: Stallone vs. Snipes. Most of the posters had this phrase and nothing more.
22* EarlyDraftTieIn: The comic book keeps the sub plot about Spartan's daughter living with the sewer people.
23* FriendshipOnTheSet: Creator/SandraBullock later said that Creator/SylvesterStallone was like a big brother to her on set.
24* HostilityOnTheSet: Creator/NigelHawthorne didn't get on with either Creator/SylvesterStallone or Creator/WesleySnipes, describing the former as "rude and arrogant" and claiming that they'd often keep everyone on set waiting.
25* InspirationForTheWork: Peter Lenkov had been inspired by ''Film/LethalWeapon1987'' and wanted to do something about cops, and had also read about celebrities wanting to be cryogenically frozen.
26* LoopingLines: The "Pizza Hut" edit of the film required a bit of ADR juggling, nonetheless the fact that multiple main characters are clearly saying "Taco Bell" in close-up shots gives away the dubbing.
27* NoStuntDouble: According to Creator/DenisLeary, Creator/WesleySnipes insisted on doing his own action scenes. It got to the point where the crew would wait for Snipes to leave for the day and then film scenes with his stunt double.
28* OneForTheMoneyOneForTheArt: Creator/NigelHawthorne appeared in this film because he had little feature film experience and felt he needed to prove he had screen presence because he wanted to play King George III in the then-upcoming film adaptation of ''[[Film/TheMadnessOfKingGeorge The Madness of George III]]'' (a role he'd played on stage). As it turned out, he hadn't needed to go through the miserable experience of making ''Demolition Man'' because he'd always been the only choice to play George III.
29* TheOtherMarty: Creator/LoriPetty was originally cast as Huxley, but was fired after two days of filming due to what Joel Silver described as "creative differences". Petty attributed it to personality differences, as she and Creator/SylvesterStallone did not get along, and said "Sly and I were like oil and water."
30* ReferencedBy: The car that Ma'am drives in ''Film/BicentennialMan'' is the same car used in this film.
31* SavedFromDevelopmentHell: The original draft of the movie was sold in 1988. It had a serious, darker tone and had Spartan ending up with his much older wife. The writer wanted Creator/MickeyRourke to star.
32* ScienceMarchesOn: Among the things listed as "not good for you, hence illegal" are spicy foods. Since the movie came out, though, spicy foods have been shown to help burn calories and reduce blood pressure, not to mention stimulate the immune system into strengthening itself. Also, dark chocolate has been shown to have antioxidants which can reduce free radicals in the body, lowering risk of cancer.
33* SparedByTheCut: Amongst the deleted material, Zachary Lamb was originally shot by Phoenix as the latter stole a car and would die in Spartan's arms.
34* StarMakingRole: This movie was what first got Creator/SandraBullock some mainstream attention.
35* StillbornFranchise: In 1993, ''US Magazine'' reported a sequel was planned for 1995. In 2006, Creator/SylvesterStallone was asked about a sequel and he said, "I'd like to make a sequel to ''Demolition Man'', but I believe that ship has sailed and maybe there are more challenges waiting on the horizon." In 2020, Stallone said a sequel is in development.
36* UncreditedRole: Fred Dekker did uncredited re-writes on the script. When he was brought on, the script began in the future and Spartan was introduced when he was brought out of suspended animation. Dekker suggested that this movie open with a prologue set in 1996 to showcase Spartan and Phoenix in their natural environment, saying that "If you don't show Kansas, Oz isn't all that special."
37* TechnologyMarchesOn: Actually, the movie did predict some things fairly accurately.
38** The computers the cops use are similar to tablets that came into use in the early 21st century, they just have a little handle on them that isn't seen in modern designs.
39*** More accurate tablets are seen in the cryo prison.
40** The proliferation of videoconferencing is also fairly prophetic. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, platforms such as [=FaceTime=], Facebook Video, and Discord were becoming popular. However, nobody seems to be carrying these conversations on with smartphones or tablets. And the setup of bulky monitors that display glaring closeups set around the table in Cocteau's office is laughable.
41** The console video chat interface in Huxley's police cruiser is very similar to a feature that is widely becoming standard in the 2020's.
42** Self-Driving cars first appeared in the teens, and some rideshare and delivery businesses have deployed them for testing in 2020.
43** Voice-activated smart homes were realized with platforms like Google Home or Amazon Alexa.
44** Wall-mounted flatscreen televisions are used in the movie, however, they appear to be disguised CRT monitors. But the ability to run a smart home and videoconference from them is accurate.
45** It's not mentioned how the police cruisers work, but they are said to run on some kind of battery. Erwin remarks about "...pure capacitance gel..." when Phoenix rigs one to explode. The teens saw the proliferation of hybrid and electric cars.
46** The ubiquitous use and presence of surveillance cameras is maybe understated. As of 2021, there is hardly a street or business in the United States that doesn't have at least one dedicated, monitored, networked camera pointed at it. Most of these cameras are run by government agencies, but things like home security systems and video doorbells (such as Ring) are prevalent.
47** Conversely, Lenina makes reference to John Spartan being better live than on "laser disc". And video is apparently still predominantly watched on physical media, judging from the discs of the museum security footage she gives John.
48* TranslationMatchmaking:
49** Kuwait: ''Franchise/{{Rambo}} the Destroyer''
50* VindicatedByCable: Wasn't particularly popular in its day, but now it's a CultClassic that's beloved by fans of [[TheNineties 90s]] action movies. It helps also that, much like ''Film/LastActionHero'', more viewers today understand that it's not really an unironically straight action film, and better recognize the satirical aspect that caught contemporary critics and audiences off-guard.
51* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
52** In some early drafts, Lenina Huxley would have been revealed to be John Spartan's daughter. Obviously Lenina being John's daughter would have eliminated the romance angle for the two characters.
53** Another draft of the script was for Spartan to have a daughter (named Katie Spartan) be a resident of the Wasteland and one of Edgar Friendly's Scraps. During the shootout in the Wasteland, the woman Spartan was protecting was Katie, and she would later appear at the end, alongside Friendly.
54** Spartan was written with Creator/JeanClaudeVanDamme in mind, while Simon Phoenix was written for Creator/StevenSeagal.
55** When Creator/SylvesterStallone got on board, he tried to convince Creator/JackieChan to take the part of Phoenix, which would have made Huxley's SawItInAMovieOnce moment a whole lot funnier. He turned down the role, as [[PlayingAgainstType he didn't want to confuse audiences by suddenly appearing as a villain]].
56** Edgar Friendly was originally known as "Thomas Payne" in the original script, which would have made a hell of a shout-out [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Paine considering the character]]. Unfortunately, Payne was also the surname of a villain from [[Film/{{Speed}} another action movie starring Sandra Bullock]].
57** It was originally planned to have Spartan and Phoenix meet face-to-face without a fight, but then it was decided that it would be much better if they tried to kill each other.
58** Burger King was the winner of the franchise wars in early drafts of the script. However, they declined to be featured in an R-rated movie. [=McDonald’s=] was the runner up choice, but they also declined.
59----
60!!For the pinball table:
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62* WagTheDirector: According to artist Doug Watson, his backglass artwork proposals were repeatedly rejected by Creator/WesleySnipes, who wanted to ensure his career wasn't jeopardized by having him look like a crazed character. Linda Deal did the final backglass art.

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