The Running Man
Here Is What You Need To Know:
The Running Man is a heartwarming film about a guy recovering from a car accident whose life is turned upside down by the fact that he can no longer competitively run. Well no, that isn't what The Running Man is about. The Running Man, is just one of the 5,000 novels, short stories and notes scribed on napkins spewed out by Steven King which have been translated into a movie.
Next year they will be digging into his high-school term papers about such topics as: The Three Branches of Government, Separate and Equal?, To Kill A Mockingbird, and Silent But Deadly, What You Need to Know About Methane.
The Running Man is (really now) about a military officer, Ben Richards, whose exotic name explains his thick accent, who refuses to kill a group of civilians. “All they want is some fuud, forr God's sakes.”
You see we are in the 2017 and everything has gone to hell and we have a totalitarian government that represses and spies on the people. I mentioned that the year is 2017, didn't I? To some extent The Running Man is a dystopian cautionary tale about what life could be like if we allow extremists to seize control of the government. Ahm...The government of The Running Man universe is kind enough to hold public executions in competitions/game shows and Ben Richards, played by Governor Arnold, has the pleasure of being the “Running Man.” Of course, even though the game is completely fixed Arnold and his superior Austrian dna allow him to wipe the floor with his genetically weaker rivals.
What Was Cool:
-Lots of great post-kill puns can be found in The Running Man.
-The Running Man does a fine job of predating the reality television show craze and is hilarious in this regards. In 1987 when the film was released it seemed a bit far fetched that a murderous game show could make it to the air, let alone with state sponsorship, but now?
-Richard Dawson as game show host Damon Killian is marvelous.
-The film is graced with the presence of a young Maria Conchita Alonso
-If you like your kills big, flashy and stupid you will love The Running Man
-The film's heart does have some vicious social commentary about the direction of our society, and while heavy handed this commentary has still likely been lost on many.
-Its all a game show, isn't that creepy?
What Was Stupid:
-Well, the story is full of holes, but its an Arnold action movie and the laws of reality and logic are irrelevant.
-Not renaming the Ben Richards character and having the character clearly be from another country was sort of a bad move, for Arnold's accent often pulls one out of the action.
The Film's Real Genius or Geniuses:
This may be director Paul Michael Glaser's most remembered directing efforts.
Overlooked Performance/Accomplishment:
Richard Dawson
Story C (The concept is great and could have been explored much further and in different ways, but many of the details of the script are just weak and a bit silly. This is too bad for at its soul The Running Man is a slice of stinging social commentary.)
Use of Science C
Acting C
Portrayal of Women C+ (By 1987 standards it could have been worse.)
Visuals-VFX and SFX B+
Visuals-Set Design/Props B+
Wardrobe/Costumes B+
Style/Sex Appeal C
Enjoyability Grade B (The Running Man, chased down a B, sorry. Taken as a simple fun ride that is not designed to challenge or stimulate anything other than one's blood lust, The Running Man-chased down a good time.)
Home Theater/HD Factor B
Gut Check (Level of Studio Executive Guts) C
Overall Innovation C
Overall Grade B- (Judge The Running Man for what it is, an science-fiction action film meant for mass consumption. From this perspective the film just works and yet The Running Man does have something to say about repression and unchecked government.)
A Little Fact About Cherie:
I have never used performance enhancing drugs while writing reviews.
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