The year is 2019. Television is now ruling people’s lives. The most popular “audience participation” game show is “The Running Man”– where convicts can win pardons instead of ”parting gifts” by defeating murderous henchmen known as “stalkers.” The stalkers haven’t had much of a challenge lately…until Ben Richards (Schwarzenegger) comes along. Wrongly convicted of slaughtering 1500 innocent people, Richards is the next contestant to fight for his life…and his freedom. When ”Running Man” host Damon Killian (Dawson) says, “Come on down!”, be prepared to pay with your life! But Ben Richards isn’t going down without a fight. Off Richards goes into the burned-out sections of Los Angeles to face four of Killian’s ace stalkers: Subzero, wielding his razor-sharp hockey sticks; Buzzsaw, the mechanical motorcycle- riding slasher; Dynamo, practicing his deadly electric shock treatment; and Fireball with his mighty flame-throwing arsenal. Now, the entire country is glued to the tube in a heart-pounding “sudden death” battle!In this action thriller based on an early story by Stephen King, Los Angeles in the year 2017 has become a police state in the wake of the global economy’s total collapse. All forms of entertainment are government controlled, and the most popular show on television is an elaborate game show in which convicted criminals are given a chance to escape by running through a gauntlet of brutal killers known as “Stalkers.” Anyone who survives is given their freedom and a condominium in Hawaii, so when a wrongly accused citizen (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is chosen as a contestant, all hell breaks loose. Cheesy sets and a slimy role for game-show host Richard Dawson make this violent mess of mayhem a candidate for guilty pleasure; it is the kind of movie that truly devoted Arnold fans will want to watch more than once. And check those credits–choreography by Paula Abdul! –Jeff Shannon
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March 24, 2006
#1
I might have been able to give this movie 2 stars given that there are a few good action scenes in this movie that made it mildly entertaining at times, in reality I would like to give it zero. I cannot understand how this movie has been able to get some of the glowing reviews it has. Perhaps this is just because I read the book before seeing the movie, and had heard it was actually a good adaptation of the book. I notice even the editorial review for this movie mentions it is one of the better adaptations to film. That is a laughable concept. A blank screen for 2 hours would be just as faithful. This movie too a book that had some social relevance, and parallels to our own society, and warped it into a simplistic, moronic action flick. All real empathy for the main character is gone with the story being changed so greatly. The only elements that remain the same appear to be a gameshow where people are hunted, the name of the host of the show, and the protagonist, Ben Richards. Don’t even bother watching it, I want the time I lost watching this back, don’t waste your time as well. Go read the book, people need to do that more often anyway, and see what this movie could be.
I’ve been called a movie snob in the past, but in a case like this, being snobbish seems like a very acceptable way of being.
March 24, 2006
#2
One of arnie’s best movies ever.. A must have for 80′s babies!
Ben Richards: Killian, here’s your Subzero, now plain zero. !!
March 25, 2006
#3
Does anyone else see similarities between The Running Man and Gladiator? Hollywood is definitely out of ideas!
March 25, 2006
#4
Stephen King story converted to an Arnold Schwarzenegger action film? I think that says enough.
If you were expecting more, you are going to be disappointed. If you can let go, suspend disbelief and just enjoy the total “cheesy-ness”, then you should have no reason to not enjoy the film.
But let’s get to the important stuff. 2 discs? Given the pathetically little amount of extras, this didn’t deserve 2 discs, not when the clowns in Hollywood were originally putting out two versions of a film on one, two-sided disc. Oh, how I wish for a return to the early days of the DVD.
The “Game Theory” documentary was fluff. End of story.
Why not more info about the making of the movie? Why not some mini-documentary on Arnold? Why not develop more sections along the lines of the “Meet the Stalkers” extra?
Instead, we are subjected to liberal political dribble in the form of the “Lockdown on Main Street” documentary? When are the “enlightened” Illuminati of Hollywood, California going to realize that they are not representative of the rest of America?
Why is it that there is only 2 other reviews that mention this worthless tidbit of an extra?
Wait for a different version of the film. One where you aren’t going to be subjected to the less than subtle attempt at calling you a moron for not standing up in revolt against the Patriot Act.
March 25, 2006
#5
Somebody walks over to me and says, “What do you like better: the movie or the book?”
I look at the person for a moment and think. Finally I reply, “The movie.” It’s true. I normally see the movie before even realizing that there was a book about it. Therefor I don’t read the book because I saw the movie.
Well, I seemed to have made a switch with this one. I read “The Running Man”, one of my favorite Stephen King novels, than about a week later, I saw the movie. I watched the whole thing, (surprisingly), before standing up and walking out of the room disgusted. The movie is completely different than the book. It’s like taking a classic movie like “Jaws” and taking out the shark and the boat. What do you have left? Something that doesn’t add up into a movie…same thing with “The Running Man”.
I loved the book; I finished it in two days because of that fact. But the movie has very few of the same characters. Granted I know that books must be shortened to be a movie, but almost everything was taken out. And the characters that did remain were nothing like the ones in the book! I’ll give you one more example: For those of you who have seen “The Patriot”, think about having Mel Gibson become the bad guy and Tavington the good guy. It just doesn’t work! That’s basically what happens in “The Running Man”.
I know that I may sound like I’m completely making this movie sound terrible…for those of you who are reading thinking, “Oh my God, this movie must be awful!”, I am glad. This movie is just that. Some might say it’s wonderful or breathtaking…I can argue different. (It would earn 3 stars if I hadn’t read the book, though.) So if you want to see this movie but have read the novel…stop! Don’t take another step towards the video store or the televison. If you haven’t read the book, I suggest that you read it…it’s much more worth it than seeing the movie, I guarantee you that.
But if you really want to see it, go ahead and do so. I’m not trying to force anybody to take my opinion before seeing it themselves, but don’t start getting mad at me if you do watch it and don’t like it. Thanks for reading…
WARNING: THE FILM YOU ARE CONSIDERING BUYING IS CONSIDERED HIGHLY ANNOYING AND INACCURATE. PLEASE STEP AWAY AND TAKE GREAT CAUTION BEFORE EVER CONSIDERING FURTHER VIEWING OF THIS FILM. IF YOU HAVE SEEN IT AND ENJOYED IT, I DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO SAY: BUT YOU’RE PROBABLY ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO ENJOYED ‘THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT 2: THE BOOK OF SHADOWS’.