Runaway Train

Rating:
Summary: 'Runaway' Doesn't Know When to Put it's Brakes On
Review: Fifteen years is a long time, especially for action movies. The reason they can't stand the test of time is because they're all about who can make the biggest explosion or who can pull off the most ellaborate stunt. But that's not the biggest problem Runaway Train has to contend with, it's the poor plot and lack of character development. Despite the typical tour-de-force performace turned in by Jon Voight the movie is, for the most part, very poorly acted. Leading the way of supporting characters are Eric Roberts and Rebecca DeMornay. They're both semi-stars in their own rite but here are reduced to a ridiculous romance that's so far fetched it'll have you howling with laughter. Voight is a con, just released from solitary, when he decides to bust prision and go on the lam(e). Roberts tags along for little other reason than to give him somebody to talk to and at least attempt to flesh-out this cardboard character. Roberts is a rapist (we're supposed to care for this guy?) who hops the train with Voight and along with DeMornay attempt to stop the train before it's derailed. Add to the mix a sadistic warden (aren't they alway) and the cliches start piling up so fast they be up to your neck before you know it. There is some interesting photography which I'm sure inspired much better filmmakers making much better films but aside from that and the constant presance of Voight, who commands the screen, theres little else to watch. It's adequent entertainment for a snowy day but don't expect much else.

Rating:
Summary: Powerful movie!!!
Review: From all the movies Andrei Konchalovsky made (including in Russia before and after his American journey) this one is definitely the best. I wonder how much it's due to the script by Akira Kurosawa but in the end a powerful saga about freedom and fate was created. The story is about two convicts running away from the prison but is much more than that. It is full of symbolics. The movie is made in 1985 but it's as watchable today as probably 18 years ago. Jon Voight is phenomenal and Eric Roberts is also very very good. The rest of the cast is not on the same level (especially John P. Ryan, who plays Jon Voight protagonist) but it's probably not that's important. The cinematography is amasing. The scenes of running train in Alaska wilderness are breathtaking. The movie has a lot of catchy phrases. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: the ending, ... oh the ending!
Review: I can't say enough good about this film. It's a great action flick and it even leaves you with something to ponder on. I did not properly understand the ending the first time I saw it, but was very impressed. The ending is one of the most profound endings I've ever seen in any movie; I would say that it's better than the ending to Oliver Stone's "Platoon". Just short of telling you what happens at the end; it borderline's on the absurd but the symbolism makes up for it. The gist of the film is summed up nicely by the quote from Shakesphere at the ending. Here is what I got out of the film: Humans are creatures far worse than any kind of animal one can imagine. Virtually everyone in the film from the prisoners to the warden and even the engineers who were responsible for the runaway train are no better than one another.

Rating:
Summary: My favorite movie
Review: I first saw Runaway Train on the big screen when I was very young. (I almost wasn't able to see it because it was rated "R") I immediately connnected with it and years later bought the video. By then I was old enough to understand the movie, and it blew me away. Voight gives one of the most intense performances you'll ever see. Powerful acting, haunting music, and darkly beautiful imagery make this movie a five-star classic.

Rating:
Summary: Childhood memories.....
Review: I remember watching this movie when I was 10/11 years old. It was mesmorizing then, and it still is now. While I do not yet own the DVD, today I was able to catch this wonderful film on cable...and it was so good! John Voigt and cast put in such a great performance. The drama is very riveting and the final scenes of the movie make one actually shiver. It's a haunting and chilling tale....and an albeit sad one. There are so many good themes riding along throughout: the meaning of freedom, friendship, the beauty of winter. I highly recommend this movie. You won't be disappointed!

Rating:
Summary: Childhood memories.....
Review: I remember watching this movie when I was 10/11 years old. It was mesmorizing then, and it still is now. While I do not yet own the DVD, today I was able to catch this wonderful film on cable...and it was so good! John Voigt and cast put in such a great performance. The drama is very riveting and the final scenes of the movie make one actually shiver. It's a haunting and chilling tale....and an albeit sad one. There are so many good themes riding along throughout: the meaning of freedom, friendship, the beauty of winter. I highly recommend this movie. You won't be disappointed!

Rating:
Summary: The Eternal Struggle of Man vs his Captor
Review: I rented this expecting a mindless 2 hours of action flick, and wondering how such a flick could get so many nominations for major awards. Wow was I blown away ! Everything about it was amazing - the acting by Roberts and Voight was superb, and the plot was powerful, to say the least. Add in great scenery and cinematography, and combine that with outrageous stunt work. What does it add up to? One FANTASTIC movie !

Rating:
Summary: The story, soundtrack, setting, and ending are unmatchable
Review: I was moved to tears by Jon Voit's performance, supported by Eric Roberts. The experience was- desolation removed by the will to survive. Why can't life be that intensely lived every day?

Rating:
Summary: Smashing Through All Obstacles...
Review: I'm a railfan -- i try to go to virtually every "train" movie that i hear about. I've seen some mediocre films ("Breakheart Pass"), some Awful Films ("The Cassandra Crossing") and some Pretty Good films ("Silver Streak") that way.

And i saw "Runaway Train" -- an Incredible Film.

With Jon Voight nominated for Both Oscar and Golden Globe (which he won) as Best Actor, and Eric Roberts nominated for both Oscar and Golden Globe as Best Supporting Actor, and featuring Rebecca deMornay in a decidedly UN-glamourous role, this is obviously not your standard action film.

And when one adds that the original screenplay was by Akira Kurosawa, one realises that this is NOT the usual Golan-Globus production at all, at all.

In brief, the story is simple -- two cons, one old and experienced and dangerous and one young, cocky and ignorant, break out of a max security prison in Alaska, hop a train headed for the Lower 48, and find themselves (along with a female railroad worker) on a hair-raising ride to nowhere on a runaway train with no brakes and no engineer.

But the performances and the nuances make this film Something Special Indeed.

Voight's portrayal of Manny, the man so dangerous that for three years his cell door was *welded* shut, is scary, compelling and sympathetic by turns. "Anything that doesn't kill me makes me stronger" is his motto.

Eric Roberts's performance as the cocky young loser, destined to spend major parts of his life inside, who can't even recognise good advice when Manny practically rubs his nose in it, is at almost the same level, and honestly deserving of the "Best Supporting" nominations he earned for it.

John P. Ryan, as Assistant Warden Rankin, Manny's antagonist and would-be nemesis, is adequate, but not up to the level of performance of Voight and Roberts.

In the end, after all of the incredible stunt work and amazing train work, after all of the violence and emotion, it comes down to two big men (Manny and Rankin) finally confronting each other, in one final test to prove which is the stronger.

Along the way, Voight, playing the existential monster to the hilt, gives us a view of a man who knows all too vividly that he long ago chose the wrong road, but also knows that there is no turning back for him.

When the girl screams at him that he is an animal, he replies "No -- Worse! Human!"

He tries to set the kid straight -- tells him that if he's smart he'll find a job flipping burgers or scrubbing toilets, and do it well and earn his pay -- "...and, if you could do that, you could be President of the United States." But the kid knows better -- he wonders why this big tough guy is talking such nonsense; and he doesn't hear the longing in Manny's voice.

And the final confrontation and the end -- after one last, horrifying and exhilirating stunt sequence -- is exactly what the film needs for its perfect conclusion; as exhilirating and appropriate in its way as the end of "Thelma & Louise" or of "Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid".

Be warned -- this is a brutally, horrifyingly violent film (i spent a lot of time wincing and cringing, reacting in a way that most film violence doesn't bother me), and the language used, while probably somewhat less graphic than actual cons would use, is not for Little Old Ladies.

Add in the Almost Perfect portrayal of railroading (there is one major departure from the way a real railroad would Do Things, but it's necessary for the film to work, and it *could* happen, i suppose), some incredible cinematography, and generally perfect design and execution of sets and costume, and you have got one incredible film experience; a thrill ride you will NOT soon forget.

((Knowing that Kurosawa wrote the original screenplay and had intended to make this film himself, i kept trying to guess whether Manny or Rankin would have been played by Toshira Mifune...))

Rating:
Summary: Smashing Through All Obstacles...
Review: I'm a railfan -- i try to go to virtually every "train" movie that i hear about. I've seen some mediocre films ("Breakheart Pass"), some Awful Films ("The Cassandra Crossing") and some Pretty Good films ("Silver Streak") that way.

And i saw "Runaway Train" -- an Incredible Film.

With Jon Voight nominated for Both Oscar and Golden Globe (which he won) as Best Actor, and Eric Roberts nominated for both Oscar and Golden Globe as Best Supporting Actor, and featuring Rebecca deMornay in a decidedly UN-glamourous role, this is obviously not your standard action film.

And when one adds that the original screenplay was by Akira Kurosawa, one realises that this is NOT the usual Golan-Globus production at all, at all.

In brief, the story is simple -- two cons, one old and experienced and dangerous and one young, cocky and ignorant, break out of a max security prison in Alaska, hop a train headed for the Lower 48, and find themselves (along with a female railroad worker) on a hair-raising ride to nowhere on a runaway train with no brakes and no engineer.

But the performances and the nuances make this film Something Special Indeed.

Voight's portrayal of Manny, the man so dangerous that for three years his cell door was *welded* shut, is scary, compelling and sympathetic by turns. "Anything that doesn't kill me makes me stronger" is his motto.

Eric Roberts's performance as the cocky young loser, destined to spend major parts of his life inside, who can't even recognise good advice when Manny practically rubs his nose in it, is at almost the same level, and honestly deserving of the "Best Supporting" nominations he earned for it.

John P. Ryan, as Assistant Warden Rankin, Manny's antagonist and would-be nemesis, is adequate, but not up to the level of performance of Voight and Roberts.

In the end, after all of the incredible stunt work and amazing train work, after all of the violence and emotion, it comes down to two big men (Manny and Rankin) finally confronting each other, in one final test to prove which is the stronger.

Along the way, Voight, playing the existential monster to the hilt, gives us a view of a man who knows all too vividly that he long ago chose the wrong road, but also knows that there is no turning back for him.

When the girl screams at him that he is an animal, he replies "No -- Worse! Human!"

He tries to set the kid straight -- tells him that if he's smart he'll find a job flipping burgers or scrubbing toilets, and do it well and earn his pay -- "...and, if you could do that, you could be President of the United States." But the kid knows better -- he wonders why this big tough guy is talking such nonsense; and he doesn't hear the longing in Manny's voice.

And the final confrontation and the end -- after one last, horrifying and exhilirating stunt sequence -- is exactly what the film needs for its perfect conclusion; as exhilirating and appropriate in its way as the end of "Thelma & Louise" or of "Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid".

Be warned -- this is a brutally, horrifyingly violent film (i spent a lot of time wincing and cringing, reacting in a way that most film violence doesn't bother me), and the language used, while probably somewhat less graphic than actual cons would use, is not for Little Old Ladies.

Add in the Almost Perfect portrayal of railroading (there is one major departure from the way a real railroad would Do Things, but it's necessary for the film to work, and it *could* happen, i suppose), some incredible cinematography, and generally perfect design and execution of sets and costume, and you have got one incredible film experience; a thrill ride you will NOT soon forget.

((Knowing that Kurosawa wrote the original screenplay and had intended to make this film himself, i kept trying to guess whether Manny or Rankin would have been played by Toshira Mifune...))