The Running Man

Rating:
Summary: Perhaps more topical now
Review: While in 1987 this may have been simply another action star for Governor-to-be Schwarzenegger, viewed today this film offers more layers of meaning.

"The Running Man" is a reality show in which criminals are forced to run from bounty hunter-types who are given WWF wrestling style introductions and use a myriad of weapons to kill their prey. The audience cheers and boos mercilessly as the real-life people meet tragic ends. Seen today in the era of "Survivor" and "Fear Factor," among other reality shows, this movie offers much in the way of questioning the direction of such television. Is this the direction reality TV is going? Also good for a look at mass media and people's belief in what is told to them.

The movie is what it is. Fist-pumping commando, guns and heavy artillery. Schwarzenegger is wrongly framed for a crime he didn't commit and made a criminal in this Orwellian society in which the mass media is everything. He's forced into The Running Man world. There's some throw-away jokey lines after disposing of the heavy villains, but the real treat is watching real-life game show host Richard Dawson playing the slimy, evil host of The Running Man - the real villain in this movie full of larger-than-life killers.

Rating:
Summary: Wild and thrilling adventure!
Review:
In the near future of 2019, Television and the media has taken over the lives of many people as they watch the new century's most popular TV show which is a deadly game show entitled " The Running Man", in which sadistic gameshow host Killian ( Richard Dawson) is forced to have convicts in a large urban maze to reach the goal but sends fiendish troops called " The Stalkers" who murder the contestants off the air. However, Ben Richards ( Arnold Schwartzenger) is a former police officer accused of a major crime he didn't commit is on the loose so he can prove that he has been framed, however he is now a contestant on the cruel game show as he must battle the stalkers, prove his innocence, reach the goal and try to expose the truth of the show and how TV is controlling everyone.

Fascinating and entertaining futuristic action-packed Science Fiction adventure that has gained a cult following since it's 1987 release and is based on a Steven King novel. Schwartzenger delievers hard as Richards along with Yaphett Kotto ( Alien) co-starring, there is some satire on the media, this is definitely one of my all time favorite movies.

The 2-Disc DVD is a major improvement over the original release with better sound & Picture that is just great, it's extras are very good such as two featurettes on " Reality Show beginnings" and " about privacy issues in today's 9/11 society", two commentaries, trailer and info about the stalkers.

I highly recommend this movie to lovers of cult movies, Sci-fi, action and fun movies!

Also recommended: " The Fifth Element", " Battle Royale", " Dark City", " Total Recall", "Death Race 2000", "Rollerball ( Original)", " The Lawnmower Man", "1984", " Blade Runner", " The Matrix Trilogy", " Commando", " Predator 1 & 2", " The Terminator Trilogy", " Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky", " Surviving the Game", " Con Air", "The Warriors", "Assault on Precinct 13 ( both versions)", " Starship Troopers", " Big Trouble in Little China", " Escape from New York", "Escape from L.A.".

Rating:
Summary: If you're not ready to act, give me a break and shut up!
Review: "A game nobody survives. But Schwarzenegger has yet to play."

Well, the tagline for this movie isn't true, as they show you two winners, still wearing their running man suits, on a tropical island. What is a nice work release program?!?!

Paul Michael Glaser (The Air Up There, Kazaam, Miami Vice, and Starsky and Hutch) directs this fabulous adaptation of Stephen King's story. I loved the environments he created in this movie. You always felt like Arnold was in some sort of stadium, despite each scene taking place in a different environment and in a different setting. I also loved the back and forth between Arnold and Maria Alonso, that relationship was portrayed well in the movie.

The Running Man is a true Arnold classic that gets forgotten because of his other great films being released at the time including Conan, Predator, and Terminator. Running Man is better then the first Terminator in my opinion, actually I don't think it is even close in comparison. Both stories are extremely unrealistic, however, the story of the Running Man I find far more entertaining.

It is funny how this idea of reality TV has come full circle from the 80's where it seemed so unrealistic, to now where everything is a reality TV show. It almost makes you wonder how far are we from a real Running Man show, and if anyone ever proposed the idea to a national television station? I am sure they have. In watching this movie, I told my fiancée the ratings for a show like this, if it was on today, would be through the roof, forever, everyone would have to watch, even people who didn't support it.

Nevertheless, back to the movie. The Running Man is a fantastic movie with a great story, plot, and concept. It definitely belongs in your DVD collection, more so probably then some movies that are already there, as the Running Man, as stated earlier, is an 80's classic quickly forgotten. The Running Man is a movie you can feel save buying before seeing, it is that good.

Grade: A


Rating:
Summary: Why the Politically Biased "Extra"?
Review: The Special Edition of "The Running Man" is FANTASTIC! Although not true to the Richard Bachman (Stephen King) book it really is a good flick! The picture and sound mastering are great, and the movie itself is escapism at its best! Perfect direction by Paul Michael Glaser keeps the picture truckin', Arnold is good as the smart-alec hero, Richard Dawson is perfect as the sleazeball gameshow host and Maria Conchita Alonso gives a great performance as the love interest! So why the two-star rating? One of the extras, as noted by other reviewers is about "reality TV" and its impact on the American culture. Using scenes from "The Running Man" coupled with scenes from today's "reality shows" could have been interesting, but the material as presented ended up BORING (nice for catching a few Z's after all the movie action). The other extra mentioned by a lot of other reviewers is entitled "Lockdown On Main Street." I don't consider myself political, but this was just way too much. It is a one-sided, offensive piece of "documentary" that I guess is supposed to awaken the sleeping masses over The Patriot Act and the destruction of individual rights. I am offended not so much by the content of this "extra," but rather by the fact this "extra" was slipped into a DVD that I bought for simple, honest, innocent enjoyment. What is that you say? If I don't like it, just don't watch it? The point is that I did not intend to spend money to have this skewed view of American politics forced down my throat during an afternoon of movie enjoyment. If Artisan feels they must include political comment in their DVDs, they must realize not everyone shares this point of view. I recommend that Artisan recall this Special Edition DVD not for the sake of removing and censoring this garbage, but for the sake of balance by adding another point of view. Personally, after viewing "Lockdown On Main Street," I felt used and ripped off. Torqued jaws? You bet! Artisan, just how much of the money plunked down by your customers for this DVD go to the company that produced this biased commentary? Fortunately, "Lockdown On Main Street" is on one of the two discs in this set. I am considering sending my copy of the offending disc back to Artisan and let THEM dispose of this junk. Talk about the Big Brother-types trying to influence your life. . . Do your blood pressure a favor and buy one of the other editions of "The Running Man."

Rating:
Summary: Running Arnold
Review: This DVD is one of my favourite Ahhnold movies :o) so possibly the review is biased!!!

I am somewhat disappointed that this DVD has not come out in Australia, I have waited along time (in the mean time I have got the rest of the Arnold DVD's) for it to come out in Region 4 but still nothing, I saw it on Amazon (region 1: I believe this is American). Picture qulity is great, sounds is great and it has I high amount of Arnolds one liners! "Where is Buzzsaw"? "He had to split"!! haha - great!!!

Rating:
Summary: Not that eighties
Review: It was between this or the second (but technically the first) Indiana Jones movie or this. I was surprised at myself, wanting to watch Indiana Jones, but it was too long. So this went on instead. I was forewarned about it being too eighties, but I think after you get warned about these things, they're don't jump out as much at you. Only the terrible hair & outfits, but they're only really the noticable things.

Stephne King movies have a habit of not being very good. Carrie & The Green Mile are exceptions, along with this. This film is loosely based on a novel written by Stephen King that he penned under the pseudonym of Richard Bachman. He wrote the story in 72 hours, and it was published with virtually no changes.

Like 1984, this book/movie was way ahead of its time, and is much more relevant now, than it was then. The ending from the book to movie as changed, and I'm quite curious to find out what happened originally.

There are some great lines in this, mainly spoken by Arnie himself and some of the best are:

Ben Richards: Killian! I'll be back!
Damon Killian: Only in a rerun.

Damon Killian: You b*****d! Drop dead!
Ben Richards: I don't do requests.

Ben Richards: Uplink underground, uplink underground. If you say that one more time, I'll uplink your uplink your ass, and you'll be underground!

Ben Richards: [after strangling Sub-Zero with barbed wire)] What a pain in the neck.

Amber: [after Richards cut Buzzsaw in half with a chain saw] What happened to Buzzsaw?
Ben Richards: He had to split.

For a supposed special editon, there's not much in the way of extras, but they include: commentary by producer Tim Zinnemann, director Paul Michael Glaser and executive producer Rob Cohen; "Lockdown on Main Street": a documentary about the current state of privacy and criminal issues in a post-9/11 society; "Game Theory": an inside look at reality-TV programming and its cultural impact on society; "Meet the Stalkers": obtain inside information about the deadliest foes in The Running Man.

If you like Arnie, you'll probably adore this movie. Unless you're one of those people who complains about everything slightly eighties in it.

Rating:
Summary: Calling All Conservatives
Review: First of all, the movie has a great concept, but is VERY, VERY dated. The action sequences are cool, and Richard Dawson is sufficiently nasty.
Now about the extras everybody seems to be peeing their pants about. The documentary is obviously from a liberal perspective, but does it mean it's not true? We've engulfed ourselves in this "left/right" mode of thinking, regardless of facts. If any real conservatives (okay, there are a few, like Bob Barr, James Bovard, Ron Paul, etc. just not on this disc) existed, they would have reinforced the main points about the Patriot Act's destruction of our liberties. Most of these reviewers probably think Arnie's a conservative!

Rating:
Summary: "I'll Be Back." "Only in a Rerun."
Review: 'The Running Man' is a high-octane action version of Stephen King's short story. It revolves around Ben Richards (Arnold), who's framed for a crime he didn't commit, and is forced to participate in a popular game show where people fight for their lives gladiator-like in a hellish environment.

If you like action movies, you'll like this one. Of course it's cheesy, but if you watch Swarzenegger movies, you'll know what to expect. He has plenty of bad one-liners that we all have come to love, and he kills off a ton of people in only the way Arnold could; violently and ridiculously.

What is amusing now is how relevant this movie is today with all the reality-tv shows that are out. It seems as if there have been so many of them that this premise wouldn't seem so far fetched were it not against the law. The DVD looks great and the widescreen is exactly what you want, but the features are disappointing. There's nothing really about this movie except for a commentary, and there's a boring docu-feautrette about reality tv.

Rating:
Summary: The best movie EVER!
Review: The book was great...Steven King was ahead of it's time. And the MOVIE was ahead of it's time. Too bad it was made pre-DVD time, because the "extras" are total crap. But it's worth it just to see Arnold say "once sub zero...now...plain zero!".

Rating:
Summary: Not that bad
Review: In a postapocalyptic world, the government frames Ben Richards (Arnold Schwarzenegger) for a bloody massacre. He's given the option of staying in jail for life or participating in a "gladiator"-type game show that usually leads to death. He opts for the show, teaming with other contestants to survive the game and overthrow the corrupt system. This sci-fi thriller costars Richard Dawson in a twisted send-up of his game-show-host persona.