While The Demolitionist could be seen as a cheap, quickie, throwaway rip-off, let’s not look at it that way. It is an entertaining time capsule of the mid-90s, even though it takes place in an unnamed post-apocalyptic future where guns are outlawed and only criminals have them. This sounds like some kind of right-wing dystopian fantasy on the one hand, but I’m willing to ignore that for the sake of my sanity. Susan Tyrell, who I most love in movies such as Forbidden Zone and Cry-Baby, is wonderfully campy and over-the-top as Mayor Elanor Grimbaum. Grieco chews the scenery in the best way possible through the entire film and makes me wish his post 21 Jump Street career would have been a bit more successful.
Also, lest we not forget, The Demolitionist is technically a woman superhero movie and one that I would much rather rewatch than Captain Marvel or Wonder Woman 1984. Happily, it isn’t family-friendly, which, honestly, makes it so much better. Mainly because it allows for violence and gore, though it never goes too unbelievable with the aciton. Plus, it’s campy as hell without ever devolving into a parody of itself.
“…an entertaining time capsule of the mid-90s…”
And the cast of genre stars is much more exciting to me than seeing a bunch of Oscar winners flying around in capes. Nicole Eggert is really badass as this character. Seeing this film reminded me of her classic roles in Baywatch and Charles in Charge, and a time when Scott Baio wasn’t the most embarrassing person on planet Earth. Sorry, I couldn’t help myself there.
The Demolitionist is so much fun and isn’t even really a “so bad it’s good” sort of a movie. It’s good. It’s campy, for sure, but that doesn’t mean it’s not good. There are cool action sequences and costumes. The dialogue is perfect for the type of film it is. Kurtzman went on to direct Wishmaster and is still a prolific make-up artist for all kinds of movies, including From Dusk Til Dawn, Doctor Sleep, and many more before and after. I wonder why he didn’t end up directing more films than the five he did. This one certainly stands out and is totally worth watching if you love the ’90s as much as I do.
"…certainly stands out and is totally worth watching if you love the '90s as much as I do."
