Retro Sci-Fi: The Running Man

There was a time when movies were somewhat original and Hollywood wasn’t completely devoid of original ideas. Yes, I realize that The Running Man is based on Richard Bachman’s (Stephen King) novella, but the two are almost completely different. I read the book a few years back and the only thing that the screenwriters really took from the book was the setting, the name of the game and the lead character. This surprised me due to the fact that the book was very good as well, but I think the book would have been more expensive to make than what was filmed.

Either way this movie came out during the Action Movie Golden Age that Arnold, Sly and Bruce brought us in the 80’s. Something I really don’t think will ever be topped. Yes the Marvel movies are amazing, but they’re not movies like Cobra, Die Hard and Commando!

The Story

Arnold Schwarzenegger plays Ben Richards, a man who has been framed by the State Run Media for mass murder. The opening scene shows his plight, he was ordered to shoot people who were attempting to get food for their families. The other people in the chopper take him down and open fire on the people anyway. The “studio” then recuts the scene to blame Richards for this heinous crime.

We find Richards in prison and he and two of his compatriots make a daring escape. The host, Damon Killian, to the hit television show The Running Man sees Richards’ escape tape and wants him on the show. Antics ensue and Richards ends up getting caught and thrown onto the show with his two buddies. The rest of the movie is Arnold and company fighting off the game’s Stalkers. What makes the television show popular is the fact that the Stalkers hunt down the contestants and kill them. In the movie the Stalkers are some of the best of 80’s action stars, which really make the movie more interesting.

The Cast

Obviously Arnold being the lead in this movie gives the audience the reason to buy the tickets back in the 80’s. However, the supporting cast is also stellar. The late Richard Dawson (Family Feud) plays Damon Killian, the ruthless host of The Running Man and he doesn’t leave anything off camera. Hands down he portrays one of the best villains on camera during the 80’s and 90’s.

The supporting cast and the Stalkers are also pretty big 80’s names! Maria Conchita Alonso plays the damsel in distress for some of the movie, but compliments Arnold very well during the slower scenes. The action scenes from Yaphet Kotto, Jim Brown and Jesse “The Body” Ventura all kick ass while trying to stay alive or kill Arnold. It is fun seeing which 80’s action star will show up in the next scene. This may not be as cool to someone who is younger than me, but for someone in their 40’s it is a blast!

Foresight 

Little did we know that in 1987 we would see almost exactly what “The Network” does in the movie do in real life. Things are edited to lean one way or another to fit an agenda, whether that be left or right and it can end someone’s livelihood or if pushed hard enough their life. Obviously this movie is fiction, but it gleans on some uncomfortable truths right now. The Running Man show is sponsored by the Justice Department, Killian is seen having several phone conversations with the Attorney General.

Also, Ben Richards IS an innocent man, but with some clever editing and a smear campaign he is suddenly the most hated man in America. I’m sure that any one of my readers can come up with plenty of examples of this happening recently in our society. Whether that be “cancel culture” which actually started off for good, but ended up being weaponized for the most trivial things; all the way to flat out lies by media outlets. For fans of 70’s and 80’s music, Mick Fleetwood is in the movie and he is part of a group that wants to take “The Network” down so that people can see the truth. I didn’t realize it was him until I was older and I have become a fan of Fleetwood Mac, but it gives one chills to think about it.

You see the audience rabidly cheer on these Stalkers and The Running Man show is the highest rated show on television. “Bread and circuses” anyone? The Romans did this with the Coliseum to keep the populace’s minds on something else instead of worrying about work, or food or life in general; modern day sports anyone? Look at how not having the NFL, NBA and NHL have affected society. Think on that for a hard minute, instead of paying attention to what is going on in the world, spending time with family males (mostly) are watching sports, talking about sports or pretending to have sports teams. Bread and circuses; I generally try not to bring up society too much in my posts because I know movies and games are escapism for some, they are for me. But watching this it slapped me in the face with Mr. Fantastic’s giant ass hand!

Overall

This is a great thrill ride of a movie. I suggest everyone give it a watch, not only because it is Arnold in his Prime, but because it opened my eyes a little bit. As I said before, they really do not makes movies like this anymore, they don’t make you think to be honest. They TELL you what to think and I prefer to think for myself. It is weird of me to say that an Arnold movie made me thin and opened my mind a bit, yet here I am.

Fans of old school action and Arnold kicking ass and taking names NEED to watch this. For some reason when people list off favorite Arnold movies this one usually doesn’t get mentioned. True Lies, Terminator 2 and Total Recall are generally in the top five, and if you ask my mom, Kindergarten Cop.