Movie Review: The Running Man (1987)

Genre: Science Fiction Thriller  

Director: Paul Michael Glaser  

Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Conchita Alonso, Yaphet Kotto, Richard Dawson  

Running Time: 101 minutes  

Synopsis: In 2017, America is a dystopian society run by an authoritarian government. When police officer Ben Richards (Arnold Schwarzenegger) refuses to harm unarmed civilians, he is framed for the subsequent slaughter and imprisoned. Recaptured after escaping, Richards is forced to participate on The Running Man, the most popular show on state-sanctioned television where convicts are hunted down and killed by brutal "stalkers". The show's host Damon Killian (Richard Dawson) is a self-assured celebrity, but Ben is assisted by fellow-contestants including Amber (Maria Conchita Alonso), who believes in his innocence.

What Works Well: Based on Stephen King's novel (written under the pseudonym Richard Bachman), this is a cheesy and self-aware science-fiction thriller intent on alleviating brutality with a steady stream of acidic humour. The bad guy "stalkers" are at cartoon levels of sophistication, Arnold Schwarzenegger delivers plenty of one-line zingers straight at the camera, and the spandex suits are iconically ridiculous. On the more serious side, the plot foreshadows computerized-control of everything, television's descent into the abyss of trash entertainment, and the opportunistic use of digital fakery.

What Does Not Work As Well: The budget limitations are apparent in the plastic-dominated and dimly-let sets. The entirety of the dystopian government's power appears to reside in and around a television studio, and the final battle featuring underground forces bursting into the open is a juvenile search for rudimentary action. In this vision of 2017, the music, outfits, hairdos, and plenty of technology (wired phones and cassette tapes) have not progressed much beyond the 1980s.

Key Quote:

Damon Killian: You bastard. Drop dead!

Ben Richards: I don't do requests.

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