Great Movie Re-Watch

Demolition Man (1993)

The Great Movie Re-Watch

Demolition Man (1993) 

Director: 

Marco Brambilla 

Writers: 

Daniel Waters 

Robert Reneau 

Peter M. Lenkov 

Starring: 

Sylvester Stallone 

Wesley Snipes 

Sandra Bullock 

Nigel Hawthorne 

Blurb: 

A police officer is brought out of suspended animation in prison to pursue an old ultra-violent nemesis who is loose in a non-violent future society. 

Thoughts: 

Demolition Man is one of my favorite movies. I wouldn’t say top ten, but it’s one that I love to go back and watch frequently. It’s so entertaining. You’ve got action, it’s set in the future, and it’s funny. So often, the balance of comedy and action isn’t done well, like in Tango and Cash, but Demolition Man nails it.  

Wesley Snipes is perfectly cast. He nails the manic energy of Simon Phoenix. It was surprising to find out he turned down the role multiple times until the director and a producer visited him on the set of another movie. Stallone also initially turned done the role before he accepted. He wanted Jackie Chan to play Phoenix, but Chan knew better. He’s not a villain.  

We’ve got eleven years yet to reach this “utopian” paradise with no murder where Taco Bell won the franchise wars. I can agree that no murder would be incredible, but I’m not sure if I’m willing to live with everything else. The loss of exchanging bodily fluids would be a big no for me.  

I love how consistent the movie is. Whenever they’re in a building or near tech, they get fined credits anytime one of the characters curses. There is also unique music that plays when Phoenix is on screen. It’s all just so fun.  

Sandra Bullock was another excellent casting choice. She does seem a bit young for Stallone. I’m also side-eyeing him and how quick he is to jump into a relationship with her. His first question when he wakes up is about his wife. The memory that sticks with him the most is her hammering on the block of ice he was jailed in. Yet, a couple of days later, he’s fine to get down with Bullock. My least favorite trope in action movies.  

Last year Stallone said a sequel was in the works. I have no idea what could be done, and I’m hesitant to see what they would do. I find it difficult to believe that they could capture what makes Demolition Man so fun. If it happens, I guess we’ll see. 

Passenger 57 (1992)

The Great Movie Re-Watch

Passenger 57 (1992)

Director:

Kevin Hooks

Writers:

David Loughery

Dan Gordon

Starring:

Wesley Snipes

Bruce Payne

Tom Sizemore

Alex Datcher

Elizabeth Hurley

Blurb:

An airline security expert must take action when he finds himself trapped on a passenger jet when terrorists seize control of it.

Thoughts:

Cutter: “Always bet on black.”

Chief Biggs: In my position, what would you do? If you were me, what would you do?
Cutter: Kill myself.”

Apart from having some great quotes, Passenger 57 is an entertaining action movie. There isn’t as much action as, say, Commando, but there’s still a lot of kicks. The villain is a psycho, and we’ve got two women in it. Sadly, one does end up with the hero, but I can’t have it all.

The film aided in the launch of Wesley Snipes’s career, so for that, we’ll always be indebted to it. He’s a welcome addition to the action movie genre, and it’s kind of a bummer that he came along as the genre started its downward decline. We’ve still got a few years before that happens, though.

Aladdin (1992)

Great Movie Re-Watch

Aladdin (1992)

Directors:

Ron Clements

John Musker

Writers:

Ron Clements

John Musker

Ted Elliot

Terry Rossio

Starring:

Scott Weinger

Robin Williams

Linda Larkin

Jonathan Freeman

Gilbert Gottfried

Brad Kane

Lea Salonga

Blurb:

A kindhearted street urchin and a power-hungry Grand Vizier vie for a magic lamp that has the power to make their deepest wishes come true.

Thoughts:

I was lazy and watched Aladdin on Disney+ instead of pulling out my Bluray copy. It may look better on the disc, but I thought it looked pretty good. Since I watched it that way, I saw that Disney now has a warning at the beginning of the movie about how culturally insensitive the depictions are. I thought that was nice.

It’s hard watching something with Robin Williams in it. His voice is so recognizable, and this movie was one of the few VHSs that I had growing up, so I watched it a lot. I think Williams was the first actor I grew up with that has passed away. It hurts a little to hear him.

The story is much more sexualized than I remember. Jasmine’s clothes were always revealing for a kid’s movie, but I missed other things. What is it with Disney in big-busted triplets?

Honestly, I didn’t think the movie was as amazing as I remember it, but it’s still good. My kids seemed to like it, and the music is still amazing.

Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey (1991)

The Great Movie Re-Watch

Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey (1991)

Director:

Peter Hewitt

Writers:

Chris Matheson

Ed Solomon

Starring:

Keanu Reeves

Alex Winter

William Sadler

Joss Ackland

Blurb:

A tyrant from the future creates evil android doubles of Bill and Ted and sends them back to eliminate the originals.

Thoughts:

I almost didn’t watch Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey. Like Excellent Adventure I’ve watched it pretty recently and it’s not my favorite in the series. I put it off while I debated, but ultimately decided since I’d already written a post for the first one it wasn’t fair not to do one for the second.

So here we go. Bogus Journey is the darkest of the trilogy, even with the end of the world happening in the third movie. Bill and Ted actually die and there’s a scene in hell where they deal with their worst nightmares. The nightmares aren’t scary, but they are a little trippy.

The movie as a whole is a bit out there and adds a supernatural element to the series that wasn’t there. We had time travel, but it was assumed to be science based. Now we’ve got Death playing bass and losing Battleship. There’s even a conversation with God and an alien species. They went all out.

It still ends fairly positive, but it doesn’t have that same upbeat feeling throughout. In the original the stakes weren’t as high and death certainly wasn’t involved. Death was the best addition to the movie, though. His scenes were always funny and I’m glad he returned in the last movie.

The Perfect Weapon (1991)

The Great Movie Re-Watch

The Perfect Weapon (1991)

Director:

Mark DiSalle

Writer:

David C. Wilson

Starring:

Jeff Speakman

John Dye

Mako

James Hong

Dante Basco

Professor Toru Tanaka

Blurb:

An expert in “kenpo” karate avenges his Koreatown friend, slain by a mobster in Los Angeles.

Thoughts:

Obligatory, The Perfect Weapon is one of my husband’s movies. I swear I do like action movies. It’s just that he likes a lot of older ones, and that’s where we’re at.

I’ve seen The Perfect Weapon once before, but I’ve forgotten it all. Thankfully, it’s completely predictable, so I knew exactly what was going to happen. I enjoyed it, mainly because Jeff Speakman was a pleasure to look at, except his hair, which did nothing for me. His chest hair was perfect, though. Seriously men, give me some chest hair.

I also liked that there wasn’t really a romantic subplot. I’ve mentioned before that’s one of my least favorite parts of action movies. However, I would have liked it if there was more than one female character. The fact that she didn’t even say anything in the entire movie made things worse. The only other women mentioned were two mothers, and they were both dead. Come on, that was ridiculous.

The dad in this movie was a complete dick, and I kept cheering when Speakman walked away from him. Who kicks their teenage son out of the house??? What an asshole. I wasn’t a fan of the brother either, but mainly because I only saw his character in Touched By an Angel every time I looked at him.

Speakman was a tiger and was supposed to find the dragon inside of him. Basically, he had no control or wisdom and needed to learn those things. When he didn’t kill the bad guy, in the end, that was supposed to signal he’d found the dragon. The bar was set very low for him, apparently.

The Perfect Weapon was a decent movie, and I can see why my husband enjoys it. The music was perfect 90s, and the intro made me laugh, so all in all, I liked it.