THE RUNNING MAN
A film review by Andrew Hicks
Copyright 1996 Andrew Hicks / Fatboy Productions
(1987) **1/2 (out of four)
Somewhere along the line, Arnold Schwarzenegger actually developed a passable acting technique, but THE RUNNING MAN comes before that time. His wooden performance is just one of the reasons this movie will never be more than a mediocre movie experience for people who don't have the sense of humor to appreciate just how dismal the 80's action formula was working by this point in Arnold's career. This movie, like the far superior TERMINATOR and TOTAL RECALL, provides a science-fiction backdrop for the mindless violence, in a more extreme, futuristic version of "American Gladiators."
In the year 2019, we read at the beginning, America has become a police state where the only thing citizens care about is television. And the most popular game show is "The Running Man," where convict contestants are promised great prizes if they can escape the "stalkers," bohemoths like Subzero (the hockey killer), Buzzsaw (the chainsaw biker), Dynamo (the operatic electrocutioner) and Fireball (blaxploitation star Jim Brown with a flame thrower).
Schwarzenegger is the only contestant to ever offer the stalkers a serious challenge, and he is of course an innocent man fighting for his freedom. The savage media has edited a newsreel video of Schwarzenegger in such a way that it frames him. It's up to Arnold to fight for his life against the stalkers so he can draw attention to the deceptions of the media (because, obviously, savage violence is the only way to bring about truth). We all know the Reverend Wildmon would be twice as successful in his crusade against TV violence if he'd put on a lyrca jumpsuit and kick some Gladiator butt.
Adapted from a Richard Bachman (a.k.a. Stephen King) book, THE RUNNING MAN at least has a sense of humor about itself, making game show host Richard Dawson into a celebrity. As for the serious parts, well, they don't seem so serious anymore. Pretty much the entire movie is laughable at this point, and it's safe to say the best place to preach about people's lives being influenced by what they see on TV is not a violent Arnold Schwarzenegger movie.
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