Running Man (1987)

Action| Sci-Fi | Crime

A wrongly convicted man must try to survive a public execution gauntlet staged as a game show.

MG – “This film rates highly in my favourite Arnie list. It’s highly entertaining and energetic, with an excellent ‘future’ concept, pushing the boundaries of morality for the pleasure of TV viewer entertainment. I’m talking of course about Arnie (Arnold Schwarzenegger) as Ben Richards, a military man framed for not taking orders and saving lives because of it. His punishment is prison, but is swept up by the TV show executives as the next star in, ‘The Running Man’. Criminals running their way through a labyrinth of gladiators (With great retro names by the way) in a fight for survival. 

The story is consistent and action packed, without a dull moment of viewing, It’s based on the novel by Stephen King. And Arnie is pulling his classic one-liner jokes left, right and centre in this one. It’s gold! The set design is great, and the pod tunnel sequences are great as the contenders are propelled like a rollercoaster down to their imminent doom. Well… they didn’t bank on Arnie being one of them did they. Ha! Maria Conchita Alonso plays Amber Mendez, the señorita damsel in distress, caught up in the game, simply for association with Richards. And the bad-ass retro gladiators, well, you can;t mess with these names; Fireball, Captain Freedom, Dynamo, Buzzsaw, and Subzero. Each with their own unique and deadly touch in the ‘battlefield’. 

Helluva lot of fun this one. And for me, it’s right up there with True Lies and Terminator 1 & 2 as Arnie’s top performances from his hey-day.”

MG ★9/10★

Amber: I’m warning you, I get sick. Air sick, car sick. I’m gonna throw up all over you.

Richards: Go ahead. Won’t show on this shirt. (Wearing a Hawaiian shirt)

Damon Killian: You bastard! Drop dead!

Richards: I don’t do requests.

Amber: What happened to Buzzsaw?

Ben Richards: He had to split. [after Richards cut Buzzsaw in half with a chain saw]