Perry Kate Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

WiseRatFlames An unexpected masterpiece

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

david_hokey_16 When I first read that Arnold Schwarzenegger believed that part of the films failure was due to the director (he replaced the previous one after production had already begun) I found it kind of ironic. Arnold says he directed the film more like a tv show. This is somewhat true but it's part of what makes the movie work. It's centered around the airing of a live tv show after all. What brings the movie down is Schwarzenegger himself. I've never thought he was a good actor but he is suited for purely action-oriented roles in which he just does a lot of fighting and barely any talking. Unfortunately this film works on a different premise. It's an action film, yes, but also a thriller with subtext. At least it's supposed to be... we can partially blame the script as it's responsible for giving Arnold his cheesy one-liners. But Schwarzenegger takes on the same role here as he does in other films... some big muscle head who can't be stopped and whose unstoppable nature makes him act as if he's not in any actual danger. What we needed was not just your average joe... the character is a decorated officer after all... but somewhere in-between your average guy and a warrior. Someone who actually has to put in effort to fight and survive. The thrill of the 'game' is lost because we don't have this and also because we have what's supposed to be Arnold making comedy.Running Man has its good points... it's fun and stylish and has a good story underneath. But it also suffers from bad acting, poor dialogue, unrealistic 'danger', and a poorly rushed end action sequence.

Sam Panico The Running Man was a troubled production, with original director Andrew Davis (Under Siege, The Fugitive) being replaced a week into filming by former Starsky and Hutch actor, Paul Michael Glaser (he's gone back to acting, but not before giving us the magic that is Kazaam). In his book, Total Recall, Arnold wrote that this was a horrible decision, as the director "shot the movie like it was a television show, losing all the deeper themes. In fairness, Glaser just didn't have time to research or think through what the movie had to say about where entertainment and government were heading and what it meant to get to the point where we actually kill people on screen. In TV they hire you and the next week you shoot and that's all he was able to do."Written by Steven E. de Souza (who had a hell of a run, writing Commando, 48 Hrs. and the first two Die Hard films, while also adapting Mark Schultz's Xenozoic Tales for TV as Cadillacs and Dinosaurs) from the Richard Bachman book (Bachman was and is, of course, Stephen King, who was using a pseudonym to see if his success was due to talent or luck. A Washinton, D.C. book clerk named Steve Brown discovered the truth before an answer could be found. In fact, Bachman's next book was to be Misery, which ended up becoming a King novel. The Dark Half, which became a George Romero movie, is based on this experience.). In the original book, hero Ben Richards is anything like the physical description of Arnold, who is near super-heroic.The film starts that in 2017 — a time that we're all sadly too familiar with — the U.S. has become a police state post worldwide economic collapse — perhaps not as close to home, but uncomfortably nearby. Actually, it's way too close to reality, as the opening text tells us that the "great freedoms of the United States are no longer, as the once great nation has sealed off its borders and become a militarized police state, censoring all film, art, literature, and communications."Within two years, the only thing that keeps the populace under control is The Running Man, a game show where convicted felons battle for their lives against the Stalkers, who are presented as pro wrestling/American Gladiators style stars. Damon Killian (Richard Dawson of TV's Family Feud and Hogan's Heroes, as well as one of the first people in the U.S. to own a VCR) hosts the proceedings and remains one of the enduring reasons to enjoy this film. One gets the idea that Dawson was keen to parody his years of hosting game shows and he cuts through this film, making his role so much better than it deserves to be, whether it's his ads for Cadre Cola or the way he shits on everyone in his path, even lowly custodians. IMDb states that plenty of folks who worked with Dawson on Family Feud claim that he was exactly like this character, but that seems like the sour grapes of hearsay. Anyways, worried that ratings may slip, Killian pushes for Ben Richards, the "Butcher of Bakersfield," (actually, it was all a setup and he was wrongly convicted of killing citizens during a food riot) to be the next runner.Read more at https://bandsaboutmovies.com/2017/08/15/the-running-man-1987/

asenstoyan4ev Introduction:Who the king is? Arnold is the king of the show!It is the year 1987. Ronald Reagan rules the USA, Andy Warhol quietly dies after giving a brand new notion of "modern art". Oliver Stone's war masterpiece "Platoon" wins the Oscar award for best motion picture of the year.Meanwhile, Arnold Schwarzenegger continues his glorious forward march in Hollywood, by participating in the blockbuster "The Running Man", initially conceived by the rich imagination of Richard Bachman, a.k.a. the master of horror Stephen King.In fact, the sci-fi action film, directed by the famous TV director and actor Paul Michael Glaser ("Starsky and Hutch") is far from being a horror flick. Moreover, a movie starring the ludicrous Arnie can hardly be given a different definition from comedy or parody. Or at least it looks that way.The plot:Following the eponymous novel by Stephen King, the plot tells the story of the wrongly convicted for a massacre Ben Richards who is forced to participate in a highly popular reality show on TV, called "The Running man".In this show, convicted criminals are given the opportunity to fight for their freedom. In order to achieve that, they must face different "stalkers"-men who hunt them all over the city with various deadly weapons. One must admit that the director has put successful efforts in his desire to recreate the futuristic, catastrophic and totalitarian society, developed by Stephen King.The Cast:The beautiful Maria Conchita Alonso in the role of Amber Mendez, the two celebrated ex-wrestlers Jesse Ventura as Captain Freedom and Professor Toru Tanaka as Subzero as well as Jim Brown, probably the most glorious NFL player ever in the role of Fireball, are among the most famous names in the cast.This is a Funny Action Movie because:Without any doubt, all eyes are on Arnold who once again steals the show and it is because of him that the film is so successful and laughable. There are plenty of unintentional comic moments featuring "the Austrian Oak" and we are all sure that the director didn't cut them on purpose. After all, the key to a successful Arnold movie is just to let the guy be himself in front of the camera.arnold running manThe comedy starts at the very beginning of the movie where Arnold is driving a chopper and when the crew attacks him, he starts with his moaning, which sounds like coming from a wounded panda. The famous "Aaaargh" is back again, and combined with his unbelievable Austrian accent and funny face moves, will definitely make you laugh.No need to mention the huge, almost unnatural muscular physic, that makes him look like a sweet debil. His muscularity and inhuman strength are demonstrated in the scene where he is easily carrying an enormous metal branch.Funnily, the scene reminds the one from "Commando", where Arnold is carrying a huge stump, all sweaty and with his biceps about to explode. He is just like a bodybuilder and at some moment, he is wearing a t-shirt with a stamp "World Gym". At this precise moment, I paused the movie and went to hit the iron by doing bench press push-ups.When our character is already in the reality show, he wears a ridiculous and tight yellow circus outfit, which makes him look even more retarded.Enough credits for Mr. Olympia.The so-called "stalkers" or the hunters who chase him also look very pathetic. Their costumes and unreal weapons make them look like little children who act in a school play and expect a candy from their parents in the end. Here, it is important to mention the "trying to be sinister" Dynamo who is dressed with dozens of luminous bulbs, just like a Christmas tree.In general, Arnie easily kills all stalkers and a smart line follows every killing to underline his supremacy.And how the heck it is possible to be in 1987 and to consider that in 2017 the cassettes will still be the main way of listening to music?Conclusion:The movie is full of dumb humor and sometimes, absurd lines, like the celebrated "I will be back". Arnold's acting is hilarious and wooden and the director pays homage to the feet fetish, showing Maria Conchita Alonso's beautiful legs in a pantyhose. So, enjoy! There is something for everybody.With a budget of 27 000 000 $ "The Running Man" is for sure worth watching, especially if you are a die-hard Arnold fan and a Stephen King admirer.Oh, and beware that you will probably feel the burning desire to go to the gym to pump your muscles.

gavin6942 A wrongly convicted man (Arnold Schwarzenegger) must try to survive a public execution gauntlet staged as a game show.Original director Andrew Davis was fired one week into filming and replaced by Glaser. Schwarzenegger has stated this was a "terrible decision" as Glaser "shot the movie like it was a television show, losing all the deeper themes". I don't know if this is true or not, as it would be really hard to comment on a version of a film that doesn't exist.I think the themes are still there: the American love of violence, the growing prominence of television and ratings, the distrust of government. Sure, it is covered with a candy shell. Amid the violence, we have some silly characters (Dynamo) and plenty of one-liners. This may have the most Schwarzenegger one-liners in a single film, and they are appropriately awful.