The Running Man (1987)
It’s 2017 and reality TV rules. This is based, loosely, on a Stephen King novella. We get Arnie, 80s SFX, 80s action and terrible quips in this testosterone tsunami full of people who can’t act. This has no artistic merit. Captain Freedom (Jesse Ventura) lurks in ridiculously tight tights doing nothing. There is screaming, death and this was not complex or compelling or fastidiously plotted or wistful. There is lame duck acting and this was dispirited and dire and a crass misreading of King’s work.
The baddies aren’t stylishly malevolent just dumb. Arnie sneers, snarls and scowls and is quite unpleasant. Nobody is heartfelt or emotional. Arnie’s character Ben Richards has an unjust reputation as a nut and yet acts in irredeemably sour fashion and is highly irritating. I say again this was awful and Ben has no strong dramatic motivation and nobody seems convincingly affected by the dystopia they occupy.
This was sense deadening and starved of substance and is pretentious twaddle and spectacularly nondescript. The baddies are all self-conscious decadence and sneering nihilism that isn’t subtly deviant. Dancers in leotards who are extraneous whores prance. Ben and his ’love interest’ escape the deranged clutches of the game makers which did not happen in the novella. This is ultimately tedious, lacking in emotional subtlety and is full of macho chest beating by illiberal avidly awful people.
There is 80s hair, 80s earrings and is like pro-wrestling from hell. Killian is the gameshow host, TPTB don’t seem to understand the concept of television, the game zone is a joke and nothing from the novella makes it in. Ben shows off his Protein World muscles and everyone has teeth like a toothpaste model. Ben has persistent defiance, really stupid dialogue and is clamorously dumb. Nobody shows compassion and everyone watches snuff TV with rapturous acclaim. The ‘love interest’ does dumb things and is useless and makes bad choices typical of her unwise lifestyle choices. This movie is a horrendous thing. Woe betide viewers.
Best Lines:
“Eliminate anything moving.”
“Food riot in progress.”
“Street punks.”
“Are you ready for pain?”
“Climbing for dollars.”
“I’m your court appointed theatrical agent.”
“I’ll be back.”
“Only in a rerun.”
“Flaunted the law and traditional morality.”
~
Gilda (1946)
I don’t get it.
One Hour Photo (2002)
No.