Sylvester Stallone Praises ‘Demolition Man’ as a Prescient, ‘Great Movie’ That Still Holds Up

The Hollywood legend reveals the film featured some of his most dangerous stunts and hails co-star Wesley Snipes as being ‘at the top of his game.’

Hollywood icon Sylvester Stallone has declared the 1993 sci-fi action film Demolition Man one of his most enduring works, praising its prescient vision and calling it a “great movie” that remains highly relevant today.

In a recent reflection on his legendary career, the 79-year-old actor expressed particular admiration for the film’s dystopian satire. “I think it was a great movie. It’s one of the few films that really holds up,” Stallone stated, noting its portrayal of a “gentrified” society feels “almost close to happening.”

Stallone, who played Detective John Spartan, also shared high praise for his co-star Wesley Snipes, who portrayed the villainous Simon Phoenix. He described Snipes as “a wild man, very energetic, good fighter” who was “at the top of his game.” Stallone recalled that during their intense fight scenes, Snipes could “really lay into me,” as he was the one wearing protective gear.

The actor also revealed that Demolition Man contained two of the most perilous stunts of his career. One involved a massive mechanical claw with powerful hydraulics, and the other a cryogenic freezing scene where he was sealed in a plexiglass chamber filling with oil. “If the oil poured in for more than 30 seconds, I wouldn’t have been able to get out,” Stallone recalled of the harrowing moment the crew struggled to open the chamber.

While Stallone hinted in 2020 that a sequel was in development at Warner Bros., no further updates have been confirmed. Director Marco Brambilla later suggested the film’s unique, eccentric tone might be difficult to greenlight in today’s movie landscape, making the original a lasting cult classic.