Review of The Running Man (1987) by Jonathan S — 11 Apr 2010

Forget Commando, forget Conan, hell even forget the original Terminator: when it comes to 80's Arnold flicks, this is the cream of the crop. Loosely (VERY loosely) based on a book by Stephen Kin...I mean Richard Bachman, the film is a campy B-movie with a budget, taking place in a dystopian future where everyone is all consumed with "The Running Man", a game show hosted by Killian (real-life game show host Richard Dawson), the most popular TV personality in the U.S. Unlike other shows, where you would say spin a wheel or answer a question, it places its contestants (all of them prisoners) in a game area split into four zones. In order to win, they have to survive all four and thwart crazily-themed "Stalkers" who are there to make sure you lose. If you win, you are set free, but if you lose...you are dead.

Ben Richards (Ah-Nuld) has been wrongfully accused of murdering innocent civilians during a food riot in Bakersfield, CA earning the nickname "The Butcher of Bakersfield". In jail, he teams up with braniac Weiss (Marvin J. McIntyre) and brute Laughlin (Yaphet Kotto) to break out. Weiss and Laughlin have broken out to help the Resistance, a group of people (led by Mick Fleetwood playing himself) hell bent on taking The Network (and the evil Killian) down. Ben wants none of that, and instead wants to escape the state. He goes to the apartment of his brother, but instead of him, he finds the lovely Amber (Maria Conchita Alonso), a jingle writer for the network, living there and takes her hostage to get out of town. He fails, however, and is taken captive. He becomes a contestant on The Running Man along with Weiss and Laughlin, and from there, they try to escape while also trying to take down the powerful Network and escaping the Stalkers.

If you've read the book, you can tell by the synopsis that the movie has little to nothing to do with it, outside of character names. The original book was a dark tale, bloody and gory, and taking place across the country (beginning in Maine of course since King did...I mean didn't write it). Now while it's lack of going with the source material would usually annoy someone, instead I applaud it. The Running Man stands alone as its own movie, and while it may slap the book in the face, it creates an entertaining experience for the moviegoer and in these ADD times that's all that matters.

The Running Man does not take itself seriously, and I love it for that very reason. While the plot is about resistance and fighting for freedom, it's filled with many one-liners and satire that it isn't a hard to swallow watch. Whenever things get tense, Ah-Nuld will say something like "Sub Zero...now PLAIN Zero!" and bring the film back to its campiness.

The world itself is also rife with hilarity, from a ridiculous exercise show hosted by retired stalker Captain Freedom (Jesse "The Body" Ventura) to the other game shows that pollute the airwaves (Climbing for Dollars, where a person tries to escape a pack of ravenous dogs by climbing up a rope and collecting money along the way...think of it as the gym class from hell). The look and feel of the film is like a very lighthearted Blade Runner, which is the look that I believe the filmmakers were going for.

Ah-Nuld does his usual schtick, spitting out his one liners and being barely coherent through out the film. As ridiculous as it is for him to have such an American name like Ben Richards, you can care less. He has charisma, the "it" factor many actors crave and he commands the screen every time. The rest of the cast is also excellent, especially Richard Dawson. A real-life host of Family Feud, it wasn't a real departure for him to play a game show host. When he had to actually act though, he did way better than anyone would have expected. He plays a villain really well.

You can't review The Running Man without talking about the Stalkers. There are four total, and they each have their own gimmick. Sub Zero (Prof. Toru Tanaka, a former wrestler) is a hockey player who has a razor sharp hockey stick and hits exploding pucks at people. Buzzsaw (Gus Rethwisch) drives around on a motorcycle and cuts people to pieces with his chainsaws while yelling and snarling and doing copious amounts of steroids. Fireball (Jim Brown) flies around with a jetpack and shoots at people with a flamethrower. The last, and best in my opinion, stalker is a man named Dynamo (Erlan van Lidth). Sporting a costume that looks like malfunctioning Christmas lights, he chooses to electrocute his prey while singing Opera the whole time. It's an absolute hoot to see a man sing such beautiful music while shooting a fake looking bolt of electricity through a person.

The Running Man is a slice of 80's cinema that should never be forgotten. It's a cool premise with memorable characters, and some of the funniest one liners in the history of film. If you are to remember any one Ah-Nuld movie from the 80's, remember this one.