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"The Running Man" is based on a story by Richard Bachman, a.k.a. Stephen King writing under pseudonym.

It takes place in the near future, where everything is run by the media and the government. Kind of like right now. In the future, there isn't much selection on television. All there is is "The Running Man"--hosted by Damon Killian (Richard Dawson, host of "Family Fortune" in real life)--a show that features convicts, or "runners" being chased by madmen, or "stalkers." It's a bit like a futuristic gladiator sport. No one ever, ever wins the show. But Schwarzenegger has yet to play. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays Ben Richards, also known as The Butcher of Bakersfield, for firing upon a crowd of humans in a food strike. Only one problem. He's been framed--he never shot anyone. After Arnie escapes from jail, Damon Killian wants his hands on him for the show--so they hunt him down and bring him in. Damon offers Ben a deal--if he goes on the show, he'll let his friends from jail go free. But if he doesn't...he puts his friends on. So Richards agrees to play the game, only to find that Damon has put his friends-from-jail in the show anyway. Right before being launched in the arena, Ben Richards says to Damon, "Hey, Damon. I'll be back." There is a pause. "Only in a rerun," Damon says. Yeah, right.

This movie is about as action-packed and adrenaline-punched an action movie you're going to see in a while. We see an excuse for Schwarzenegger being thrown into an arena with killers, where he must use his brains, strategy, and most of all muscles, to kill the stalkers. But the thing is, the excuse for throwing Schwarzenegger in the arena is a good one. They didn't completely ignore the plot; they don't even throw him in the arena until at least a half hour into the film. They set up the plot first, which is nice.

Arnold proves his acting talent is not just in his muscles once again. Too many people make fun of Schwarzenegger's acting skills, but to tell you the truth, I prefer him over Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone any day. Bruce and Sly are mumblers, in my opinion. Anyway, I like Arnold in this movie, because unlike in "The Terminator" where he is an indestructible cyborg, he is a vincible human with emotions in this film. We see a different side to Schwarzenegger, and it's pretty nice.

Richard Dawson is surprisingly good as Damon. I love his charisma on screen. Of course he's good at playing a gameshow host--he himself was one--but he also has a very good acting talent. Check out the scene where he offers Arnold a deal for going on the show. Look how smug he is in that scene, and how well he delivers his lines. He envelops his character very well. An underrated actor if ever I saw one. He comes off slightly creepy and slightly likable.

This movie is good fun no matter how you slice and dice it. I've often noticed it has a bit of a weird vibe to it, but then I realized that's just the sci-fi/futuristic vibe of the film. I've felt it before when watching sci-fi films. There's something about them. When I watch a film, or a certain genre, I get different vibes. Sci-fi gives me a weird vibe that is undescribable. This film gives that vibe to me. It sounds weird, but I think a lot of people get "vibes" and don't realize it.

I recently viewed this movie twice in less than a day; once at night and once in the morning. It just goes to show how easy it is to watch. It is strictly a fun, action film with lots of imagination and charisma. Easy to watch with a high re-watch factor.

What would you rather do with 90 minutes of your life on a Friday night then watch Arnold Schwarzenegger get to knock some skulls together in a gladiator arena? Exactly.

4/5 stars -

Running man is an absolute classic Schwarzenegger film. If you're looking for a smart political sci-fi drama don't worry about catching this one. If you're looking for a dumb political sci-fi action flic oh boy you're in for a treat. In true Schwarzenegger fashion this film is full of cheesy one liners and almost nonstop action. The story is compelling while still keeping things on the lighter side. It still seems like we're only one more bad election from this being our reality. The same people who scrutinize action movies like this are the same people who watch children's movies and criticize them for being "too childish". It's campy, it's corny and i absolutely love it.

I remember renting this movie from a neighborhood video store back in 1987 or 1988. It was one of those movies that didn't interest me enough to see it when it was out in theatres. When I first saw it I thought it was fun and entertaining but too far fetched and too much gory violence. Its scary to watch it 32 years later and see how much has closer to home it hits now. An Alexa type system turns on TV and other appliances. The world economy has collapsed (Greece and other EU nations have faced similar economic crises in recent years) there are food shortages (Venezuela, the native country of Maria Conchita Alonso have empty grocery store shelves and unrest because of mass starvation). The U.S. government and the entertainment industry work in concert to keep the populace distracted by a savage reality TV show called The Running Man. Enemies of the state have no trial by jury they are merely turned over to the ruthless, scuzzy host of the show, played by Richard Dawson. Arnold Schwarzenegger is a member of the military who is railroaded by the State into participating on the show. (Keep in mind Reality TV wasnt even a concept until almost 15 years after this movie was made.) The Running Man is the #1 show on television with people caring more about the deadly cat and mouse game with the hunted actually being brutally killed on live TV with an enthusiastic studio audience cheering it on. (A chilling reminder of the desensitization of the culture in our current age of social media.) No interest in the constitution, freedom or human rights...free board games and household gadgets given away by Dawson to the audience is a much bigger draw. The movie even predicts millennial ignorance of classic TV (Gilligan's Island, is that the one with the boat? Who's Mr. Spock?)

The movie itself isn't brilliant film making or acting but 32 years on, it's not as much fun as it used to be because its too close to reality for comfort! I strongly recommend it, especially for younger viewers.

(***Potential Spoiler***) The Movie is called Running Man, Its from the 80's, It stars Arnold Schwartzeneger and the Tag Line goes something like "A game nobody survives. But Schwarzenegger has yet to play". Honestly you should know what sort of movie to expect. So if Dumb action movies are not your thing then stay clear and reserve your comments to yourself, if not sit back have a few beers, maybe some Snacks, get a few Friends round and enjoy 90 Minutes of senseless Fun.

The Film is set in the not too distant future(2017). America is a military controlled state and the citizens are severely oppressed. Arnie plays Ben Richards, a former police officer who is wrongly convicted of the massacre of innocent civilians. Sent to prison, Arnie escapes only to be captured again. His only choice now is to take part in a sinister Game show where Convicted Criminals Face deadly opponents. Along with two other convicts William Laughlin (Yaphet Kotto) and Harold Weiss (Marvin J.McIntyre) and a woman Richards met along the way, Amber Mendez (Maria Conchita Alonso), Arnold must try his best to survive this game show hell.

Along the way Richards battles Maniacs with Chainsaws, FlameThrowers and Electro bolts. Expect the usual Action and Violence seen in films such as Commando and Predator and of course a few Golden "Arnie" Lines thrown in there all in the pursuit of delivering justice to Richards' Biggest enemy, the game show host Damon Killian (Richard Dawson).

If you want to watch a cinematic Masterpiece, see Casablanca or The Godfather. If you want to see a film regarded as Art, look at Fellini films. If you want to see a fun action ARNIE film watch the Running Man. Perhaps a bit dated (A not too dissimilar more recent film is perhaps Battle Royale) but arguably this film never gets old as it can be watched over and over again. Is it predictable? Yes. Is it Stupid? Yes. Is it Cheesy? Yes. But is it Fun? VERY MUCH SO, YES.

7.5/10

Of all Arnold's mid-'80s movies who would have thought that most relevant today would be The Running Man. A chilling and surprisingly realistic tale of reality TV gone mad. It may have been far-fetched back then but not so now. Not when you think about it. Currently, Reality TV shows are either scraping the bottom of the barrel or desperate to raise the bar. If the next one isn't more controversial as the last, it's a dud. How long will it be before we really do see shows like The Running Man? How long before we have 'court-appointed theatrical attorneys' or the entertainment division of the Justice Department? There is so much satire and intelligence in this movie that may have been missed back in 1987 that is desperate to be seen again considering the current state of TV shows.

The biggest message of all is 'You are being lied to'. It's no secret that the Government and the media work in cahoots. And the masses believe what the media tells them to believe. It's a very scary state of affairs and unless more accurate representations of the truth emerge we may easily accept a brutal show like the Running Man in the near future. It's no secret that Reality TV is not very realistic. It's edited and reshaped before being aired and it's only what the networks want you to see. Usually it's far from the real truth.

Although rather different than Stephen King's book (the ending is completely changed) the script does conform to the typical Arnie formula. Yes, he does have numerous and very corny one-liners and he does say 'I'll be back' (which he never REALLY said that often anyway, when you think about it) in the most ironic situation yet but he's still a zillion times better in the role then Christopher Reeve or Dolph Lundgren would have been (these two were considered BEFORE Arnie believe it or not).

The director is none other than Dave Starsky himself (Paul Michael Glaser). It may not be artistic but it is still strong enough to generate excitement and his use of neon and flourescent colors gives each individual set a pretty cool look. Andrew Davis (not a director I particularly like) was attached before Glaser, though no matter who directs, the film is still marred by a very heavy 80's feel.

First of all, Harold Faltermeyer's score (remember him?) is incredibly dated and robs the action scenes of any timeless integrity. And the fashion sense of the movie is far too excessive to be convincingly set in the future. Apart from the dated feel, the only other thing that bugs me is the poorly staged shoot-out that passes as the climax.

This new DVD is a zillion times better than the original release. Gone is the horrid letterbox picture. In its place is a brand new hi-definition 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer. The colors sparkle and literally pop from the screen. The new Dolby 5.1 EX and DTS ES soundtrack are also amazing. There constant use of the surround channels to great effect and the bass is strong and powerful. Definitely one of the best re-masters I've seen so far. Two intriguing documentaries, a trailer and a 'Meet the Stalkers' gimmick are included in this 2-disc set that comes in a rather neat slip case.