"I'm not into politics. I'm into survival. "...( read more)ustice, and America's preoccupation with violence and game shows. Based rather loosely on the novella by Stephen King (under the pseudonym of Richard Bachman), this movie is chock full of '80s goodness: bad hair, worse clothes, and enough neon to make Las Vegas green with envy. Furthermore, The Running Man is one of the most definitive Arnie movies of the decade - it contains all the necessary violence, bad puns, hammy acting, and of course his signature catch phrase "I'll be back". It has it all! One may think that the movie would have aged horribly due to the inclusion of these aforementioned elements, but there's a certain quality that keeps it all afloat. Like similar action staples (such as and Total Recall), the movie has been imbued with an odd charm that you just can't put your finger on.
Mere months following the release of Predator in mid-1987, Arnold Schwarzenegger was back in action for The Running Man; a fast-paced, futuristic action movie which takes a satiric poke at TV, greed, social inj
The film is set in a totalitarian society in the year 2017. The world economy has collapsed, and the United States has become a military-controlled police state which controls television, movies, art, books, communication and censorship. The most popular television program is a lurid game show called The Running Man, which features convicted criminals who are given their freedom if they manage to outrun and survive a group of heavily-armoured 'Stalkers' who are out to kill them. These violent confrontations are filmed in the destroyed city streets and fed live to a delighted studio audience. Schwarzenegger plays Ben Richards; a government pilot wrongfully framed for the mass murder of innocent women and children. The host of The Running Man, Damon Killian (Dawson), blackmails Ben into making an appearance on the show, and the chase is on. "Hey Killian. I'll be back" is all Ben says before being launched into the arena. "Only in a rerun" is the host's response. Yeah, right...
For this adaptation of Stephen King's The Running Man, screenwriter Steven E. de Souza (Die Hard, Commando) uses the novel as both an inspiration and a jumping-off point; respecting the source material while simultaneously forging a very different piece of work. Naturally, de Souza adds familiar shtick and splatter, allowing The Running Man to merely showcase the Austrian Oak as he bashes his way through a large variety of super-villain characters (who come complete with cheesy gimmicks like chainsaws, flamethrowers, and hockey skates, along with names like Buzzsaw, Fireball, Dynamo and Subzero). And as he did in Commando, the writer supports Schwarzenegger with a gutsy female acquaintance and tonnes of macho one-liners. The movie's fun lies purely in the violence, since it entirely fails as a social commentary (the "television is manipulative" territory was covered more effectively in Network and later in The Truman Show). The message doesn't resonate so well amongst all the shootings, explosions and gore.
The Running Man is less deadly to your brain cells than your standard Arnold fare, but it's hardly a big thinker of a movie. In fact, there are plot holes a kilometre wide. For instance, the cameras which provide footage for the titular game show manage to film the battles from implausible cinematic angles (watch how the show uses close-ups immediately followed by wide shots which reveal no cameras or cameramen filming the mayhem). Furthermore, video cameras of the future appear to magically record everything...even in places where there aren't any cameras at all (there's cinematic footage of Ben in the helicopter when he's framed?). God forbid, one could also try to figure out what (if any) rules the Running Man show follows. But I digress... If we weren't able to suspend our disbelief, the gems of Arnie's career would be restricted to his work with James Cameron (even then, one shouldn't dissect the Terminator time-travel stuff too closely).
The Running Man also offers a soundtrack of typical '80s pop garbage, and some of the best one-liners that Arnie has ever spouted on celluloid (or at the very least, some of the corniest). Indeed, after besting a stalker, Ah-nuld always has something sly to say to their corpse. Nobody has ever accused Arnie of being a good actor, but the star can bring charisma to any scene and deliver any one-liner with the required gusto. The real scene-stealer here, however, is Richard Dawson as the game's smarmy host. Dawson is utterly perfect for the part, which is most likely because he was an actual TV host (having hosted Family Feud for many years).
On top of all this, The Running Man also presents a derivative dystopic vision of Los Angeles which resembles Ridley Scott's Blade Runner from afar, and the Mad Max series when examined closer. One shouldn't expect groundbreaking visuals from a Schwarzenegger action vehicle, after all. Another thing: the whole film is hopelessly predictable since all the narrative threads culminate in the most foreseeable way possible. And it'd be for the best if the laughable dialogue wasn't discussed in any great detail...
The mind-numbing glut of modern game/reality shows have already entered the realm of the grotesque, with contestants being ambushed by hunters with paintball guns (in the short-lived 2001 show Manhunt) and people getting verbally castrated by judges on those ghastly Idol programs. Witnessing people as they are stalked and killed seems like the next logical step, and The Running Man offers a template. The crew behind this flick can give themselves a pat on the back for the precognitive way in which they mocked a pop-culture convention about 15 years before it started. The Running Man is, after all, not much more than Survivor with weapons. Surprisingly, this movie has actually proved somewhat influential over the years - the premise has been modified for use in such action films as The Condemned and Gamer.
Aside from its botched social commentary, the large serving of formula, some appalling dialogue and a rushed ending, The Running Man is a blast of pure fun that always keeps you entertained. All the greatest science fiction movies are those that stand the test of time, and while this movie may not be Arnie's best, it works even better nowadays than it did upon original release. The Running Man is thoroughly exciting, colourful, and at times very funny.
The Running Man
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The Running Man
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bob Ladewig, Dave Colan, Jesse Ventura, Jim Brown
A wrongly-convicted man must try to survive a public execution gauntlet staged as a TV game show.
Id: 10902391
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Recent Reviews
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November 26, 2009"I'm not into politics. I'm into survival. "
...( read more)
Mere months following the release of Predator in mid-1987, Arnold Schwarzenegger was back in action for The Running Man; a fast-paced, futuristic action movie which takes a satiric poke at TV, greed, social inj -
September 25, 2009Cool film, would love to see a remake of this but I?m not sure it should be done!
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July 27, 2009In the near future, Arnold stars as Ben Richards, a wrongly convicted man coerced into playing 'The Running Man', a deadly TV game show where people have to keep moving to try and escape brutal deaths at the hands of the 'Stalkers'. Of course, people are expected to die eventuall...( read more)
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May 25, 2009The opening credits are amazing! It starts with a great "swosh" sound effect and then angular formed men run in 3D. Then comes the movie title, where the font is very pixel like. 'The Running Man'!
Arnold Schwarzenegger's character, Ben Richards, is immediately shown as a good g...( read more) -
May 7, 2009Now this is dated, the look and feel is pretty old nowadays but in a way television is slowly getting towards this now. Its still an Arnie classic, the costume he wears, the head explosion escape scene, the baddie stalkers etc.. its very cliche but still fun despite looking very ...( read more)
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December 13, 2009This futuristic thriller is loaded with great action and great characters. The story is fascinating and original and Arnie is as witty as ever. Check it out.
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November 29, 2009You take Arnold out of this movie, you've got nothing. With his charm and physique, you get yourself a watchable film. His delivery of one-liners with that accent is unapproachable, nobody could make "Here's Sub Zero, Now Plain Zero" funny other than Arnold. Glaser is a shitty di...( read more)
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November 22, 2009"The year is 2019. The finest men in America don't run for President. They run for their lives. "
