Running Scared (2005)
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40% of critics liked it
(129 reviews) -
76% of users liked it
(132,358 ratings)
A minor crook finds himself in major peril when a "hot" weapon goes missing in this violent crime thriller. Joey Gazelle (Paul Walker) is a low-level "mechanic" in the Mafia who hopes to rise through the ranks by doing whatever is needed. One night, a drug deal goes very wrong… More A minor crook finds himself in major peril when a "hot" weapon goes missing in this violent crime thriller. Joey Gazelle (Paul Walker) is a low-level "mechanic" in the Mafia who hopes to rise through the ranks by doing whatever is needed. One night, a drug deal goes very wrong when police show up and try to close down the operation; shots break out and a battle ensues, with a pair of of cops meeting a particularly violent fate at bad end of a gun barrel. Joey is given the gun that killed the policemen and is told to make it disappear so it can't be used as evidence; however, before he can do that, the weapon is stolen by Oleg (Cameron Bright), a friend of Joey's young son, who takes the pistol and uses it to shoot his abusive stepfather. Now that the gun is implicated in high profile crimes, it's vitally important that Joey find it as soon as possible, but his search for the firearm is complicated by the fact that Oleg's stepdad is affiliated with a rival gang of Russian mobsters, and that Rydell (Chazz Palminteri), a seriously corrupt police detective, is hot on Joey's trail. Joey's search for the gun takes him through the grim criminal netherworld of the city, where he must face off against nearly every sort of crook, con artist, and deviate that has ever walked the earth. Running Scared is from writer-director Wayne Kramer, who made a name for himself with the well-reviewed independent feature The Cooler. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Wayne Kramer
- Written By
- Wayne Kramer
- Genres
- Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense
- In Theaters
- Feb 24, 2006 Wide
- On DVD
- Jun 6, 2006
- Studio
- New Line Cinema
Critic Reviews
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Trevor Johnston, Time Out
With audiences jaded by the usual sex and splatter, do the filmmakers have no qualms about juicing up proceedings with edgy but troubling material which clearly needs more conscientious handling? Apparently not.
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Hap Erstein, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Presumably patterned after Robert Rodriguez's Sin City, but substantially more graphic, there is surely an audience for this empty brutality, but you would not want to know anyone to whom this picture appeals.
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Andrew Sarris, New York Observer
The end result of all these cross-mob confrontations is an orgy of nihilistic violence that is curiously exhilarating, I am almost ashamed to say.
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Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
It's ugly and it's vile and it's disgusting and it's creepy and it just got tiresome.
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Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail
Ethnic stereotyping, moral qualms and plot improbabilities aside, you just wish a movie like Running Scared wasn't so anxious to be exciting all the time: It gets so monotonous.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Paul Walker
as Joey Gazelle
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Cameron Bright
as Oleg Yugorsky
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Vera Farmiga
as Teresa Gazelle
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Karel Roden
as Anzor "Duke" Yugorsky
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Johnny Messner
as Tommy "Tombs" Perello
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Ivana Milicevic
as Mila Yugorsky
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Chazz Palminteri
as Detective Rydell
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Alex Neuberger
as Nicky Gazelle
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Michael Cudlitz
as Sal "Gummy Bear" Franzone
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Bruce Altman
as Dez
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Elizabeth Mitchell
as Adele
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Arthur J. Nascarella
as Perello
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John Noble
as Ivan Yugorsky
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Idalis de Leon
as Divina
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David Warshofsky
as Pimp Lester







