The Running Man: BD Review
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Page 1 of 3 Lionsgate / 1987 / 101 Minutes / Rated R / Street Date: February 9, 2010
The opening crawl of The Running Man sets up the premise of the film: "By 2017 the world economy has collapsed. Food, natural resources and oil are in short supply. A police state, divided into paramilitary zones, rules with an iron hand. Television is controlled by the state and a sadistic game show called The Running Man has become the most popular program in history. All art, music and communications are censored. No dissent is tolerated and yet a small resistance movement has managed to survive underground. When high-tech gladiators are not enough to suppress the people's yearning for freedom, more direct methods become necessary." One tool of the State's methods is a helicopter gunship commanded by Ben Richards (Arnold Schwarzenegger). He's been directed to Bakersfield, North of Los Angeles, to investigate a disturbance where he finds in progress a food riot by unarmed civilians. When his controller orders him to open fire on them, he refuses. Big mistake. His crew takes him prisoner and attacks the hungry, helpless people. Before you can say Franz Kafka, Richards has been framed for the ruthless attack, sentenced to years of hard labor, and imprisoned as the Butcher of Bakersfield. He and his fellow inmates soon revolt and stage a violent break out. He travels back to L.A. with fellow escaped prisoners Laughlin (Yaphet Kotto) and Weiss (Marvin J. McIntyre), where underground connections await to help. Their freedom doesn't last very long. Richards makes his way to his brother's apartment only to find that he's been sent to a re-education camp and Amber Mendez (Maria Conchita Alonso) has taken over the lease. She's part of the elite and has bought into the government's propaganda that, among other things, convicted Richards. Mendez turns on him and Richards again finds himself in captivity, but this time he's made a better offer, one he can't refuse.
Damon Killian (Richard Dawson), the sleazy host of The Running Man, has seen video footage of Richards' escape and immediately recognizes a ratings bonanza. He pulls some strings and has Richards delivered to a holding area within the show's set. Richards is given the choice of either becoming a running man or having Killian send Laughlin and Weiss out in his place. Naturally, Richards does the noble thing and agrees to appear, only to be betrayed by Killiam; all three of them are sent out to the game's killing zone to be hunted by such stalkers as Subzero (Professor Toru Tanaka), Dynamo (Erland Van Lidth), Buzzsaw (Gus Rethwisch), and Fireball (Jim Brown). Retired stalker Captain Freedom (Jesse Ventura) waits in the wings, just in case the game doesn't go as Killiam expects. When Richards is about to be launched into play, he scowls at Killiam and voices the line Schwarzenegger made so famous three years earlier, "I'll be back." It's no surprise that Richards makes good on his promise. The Running Man is a wonderfully cynical extrapolation of government and media gone wrong. The comic book style violence is exaggerated and not to be taken very seriously. I've not read the novella on which the film was based, written by Stephen King using the pseudonym of Richard Bachman, so I can't be sure how much of the wit is his and how much should be credited to screenwriter Steven E. de Souza. I will mention that the humor is somewhat schizophrenic. There are delightfully droll lines like, "Get me the Justice Department, Entertainment Division." And then there is the endless series of lame one-liners that Schwarzenegger utters to cap each action set piece. You know the type of lines I mean: James Bond after impaling a baddy with a spear gun, "I think he got the point" or C3PO bemoaning the disconnection between his head and torso, "I'm just beside myself." Distracting and artificial. I suspect that those lines are not the creations of Mr. King. Richard Dawson's Damon Killian steals the show. His amoral and disingenuous game show host reeks of self-importance. He abuses his staff and is ruthless to anyone who annoys him or gets in his way. He's focused on one thing only, the ratings. He will sacrifice his best stalkers. He will betray anyone who threatens his empire. He's the alpha dog of sleaze. The plot is full of obvious holes, like how and when Mendez inserted a Macguffin in a convenient orifice, or why the security terminals in the labor camp were left so conveniently vulnerable. But The Running Man is escapist entertainment that mustn't be taken too seriously; just sit back and enjoy the ride. |
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