The Running Man (Special Edition)
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Actor: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jesse Ventura, Jim Brown, Maria Conchita Alonso, Yaphet KottoBrand: LIONS GATE HOME ENT.
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1 EX; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1 EX
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Original recording remastered, Special Edition, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 101 minutes
Published: 2004-03-01
DVD Release Date: 2004-03-16
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Republic Pictures
DVD Reviews of The Running Man (Special Edition)
DVD Review: As granny says: "That boy's one mean mutherfu@#%r."
Summary: 4 Stars
For now I'll just briefly mention that Richard Bachman's novella was tons better than this flick (Bachman being, of course, a pseudonym for Stephen King). Having said that, the loosely-based film adaptation of THE RUNNING MAN is still a fast and furious futuristic thriller and, I think, worth checking out. Its premise turns out to be a timely one as well, what with the plague of reality shows currently on television. Arnold Schwarzenegger does what he does best, which is play the invincible, stone-faced warrior with a knack for black humored one-liners.
THE RUNNING MAN takes a page from THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME and plonks its story sometime in a near and dystopian future. In this world, freedom is an illusion spoon-fed to the public by a corrupt, totalitarian regime. The masses are made docile not only by egregious government propaganda and fabricated news but also by the proliferation of reality game shows on television. And no programming is more violent or higher rated than the Running Man (although "Climbing for Dollars" is probably close). In this show, convicted criminals and enemies of the state are given a head start before being pursued and executed by the game's most sadistic (and popular) "stalkers." Very few felons have survived the Running Man game, and those who have are often referred to as now basking somewhere under the Maui sun, free and with their transgressions forgiven. Do you buy that?
Something you don't see too often is Arnie sporting a beard. He flaunts one here, playing Benjamin A. Richards, a notorious former cop known as the Butcher of Bakersfield for cold-bloodedly slaughtering sixty unarmed civilians. On the lam, Richards is captured and forced to compete in the Running Man, and the audience gleefully oohs and aahs and boos and hisses as his murderous "credentials" are touted by the game show's host Damon Killian. It's a bit obvious, this bit of social commentary which condemns our addiction for media entertainment, but the impact is undeniable. At first the studio crowd cheers on as various members from the audience are brought up to chat with Killian and win a prize or two and, oh by the way, also determine which stalker would be sent out to chase Richards.
The tide turns when Richards persists in surviving, keeps on killing the killers and doing it with a heavily-accented post-kill quip or two. However, for my money, the film's best, funniest, and most quotable line goes to one determined granny who, when Killian asks her to guess which stalker would make the next kill, instead picks Richards. "That boy's one mean mutherf*@#$%," she says. Heh.
The film unveils a who's who of vaguely familiar faces. THE RUNNING MAN came out in 1987, when Richard Dawson was still relevant. The kissy kissy host of Family Feud, Dawson is at his creepiest and smarmiest as Damon Killian, weasely host of the Running Man. And, really, every time I see this flick I still get that bump of contentment when he finally gets what's coming to him. Maria Conchita Alonzo turns up as fiery Amber Mendez, a composer of network jingles. She's cute and looks good in her yellow game show tights, but her griping carrying on eventually does get vexing. Several of the stalkers are recognizable. Legendary running back Jim Brown (Fireball) and ex-wrestler Professor Toru Tanaka (Prof. Subzero) play two of the stalkers and eventual victims of Richards and his zingers. Jesse "the Body" Ventura is the retired Captain Freedom, who was once the greatest stalker to play the game, and just check out the wig he's styling in. A bit disappointing is that these stalkers come off like assorted odds and ends pulled from the MAD MAX set and that each bruiser comes with a pretty hokey motif (Buzzsaw wields a chain saw, Subzero shoots out deadly hockey pucks, etc.).
Heck, Mick Fleetwood even shows up, playing the head of the underground resistance.
Not too surprisingly, the future tech looks a bit behind the times and not as sleek as what we see onscreen nowadays. The special effects have lost lots of luster. And Schwarzenegger gets saddled with the most ridiculous, most unhip sets of wardrobe, but at least he rolls with it. During the wearing of a particularly loud Hawaiian outfit, when Richards' reluctant companion, Amber Mendez, threatens to vomit on him, Richards responds with: "Go ahead. Won't show on this shirt."
Arnold Schwarzenegger is really into his element here, but guy knows his limits and has always been savvy about his film career. He seems at home in most of his movies. There's rarely any depth to his characters, and that applies in THE RUNNING MAN. But the elements of fun, humor, and whomping action which we've come to expect from Arnie, they're all here, even if this movie now feels dated. The plot uncoils at a whiplike pace; the fighty fights are classic Arnie, mostly brute strength and an occasional hail of bullets or two. About to be chuted down to the game arena, Schwarzenegger glares at Dawson and works in his trademark "I'll be back." To which Dawson replies: "Only in reruns." But in the world of reruns THE RUNNING MAN is a cult classic and an ahead-of-its-time satire. Maybe it's not as important a movie as Network (Two-Disc Special Edition) or even The Truman Show (Special Collector's Edition), but, you know what, those pictures didn't have a foul-mouthed grandma to make my day. THE RUNNING MAN, worth 3.5 out of 5 stars, in my book.
Description of The Running Man (Special Edition)
Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 09/20/2007 Rating: RBestsellers in DVD
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