In a dystopian USA, a former policeman, who was convicted for a massacre he did not commit; manages to break out of prison, only then to get recaptured very quickly afterwards. He is given the opportunity of gaining his freedom, if he agrees to appear on ‘The Running Man’, a gameshow, where contestants are chased through a derelict district of Los Angeles, by a group of merciless warriors called Stalkers!
Released in 1987, and directed by Paul Michael Glaser; The Running Man is a dystopian action film, loosely based on the 1982 novel of the same name by Richard Bachman (i.e. Stephen King). The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Conchita Alonso, Yaphet Kotto, and Richard Dawson, with Karen Leigh Hopkins, Jesse “The Body” Ventura, Jim Brown, Marvin J. McIntyre, Erland van Lidth, Gus Rethwisch, Professor Toru Tanaka, Sven-Ole Thorsen, and Mick Fleetwood (from Fleetwood Mac) in supporting roles. Interesting note, the TV station in the film; ICS, is also a playble station in The Networks board game.
The Running Man is undeniably, a very silly movie. There are several reasons as to why it’s very silly, but it uses this silliness rather well, to mask the film’s biggest problem, in that it’s a very flawed movie. The Running Man is set in a dystopian future, that’s setup, almost equally the same as another dystopian epic: Escape From New York. It features a convict, who is given the chance at freedom, by going into a hostile location. Now that could also be the explantion for other films of this kind, however these two share a couple of things in common. One, they are both set in a ‘future’ America which has turned into a police state, and neither film involves the lead character trying to topple the regime. If that statement sounds a little confusing for those who have seen the ending of The Running Man; let me explain.
The Running Man is a very grounded film, which largely takes place within the world of the game show of the same name, and to it’s credit, plays with it for as long as possible. The ending however, which sees Schwarzenegger and Conchita Alonso, lead a group of soldiers to disrupt the broadcast of the game show, and then execute the show’s host, is not the same as toppling a police state regime. All they do, is disrupt the show, they don’t bring to an end what they currently live in.
The dystopian setting is decently covered in the film, highlighting the corrupt nature of those in charge, whilst also presenting how the truth is covered and doctored in a way to keep the masses from thinking the other way, and just living their lives. The game show is one of these suppression methods, which helps keep the civilians focussed on something else, rather than rising up. But when the game show The Running Man is disrupted, and the truth is revealed, that’s all that happens! The film ends on this anti-climax, where what happens next, is entirely up to the viewer to decide. It probably doesn’t end as well, or as nicely however, as how does ending a long running game show, cause the masses to rise up, and bring down the totalitarian regime?
The flawed nature of the film’s premise and ending, is very hard to overlook, but what helps greatly is how ridiculous this film is. The game show The Running Man is like a cross between professional wrestling and Gladiators (although you can’t help but wonder whether the idea for Gladiators came from this film, due to the fact this film was released almost two whole years before the first ever episode). It gets this definition, via it’s use of ridiculous jump suits (kindly provided by Adidas), rocket sled cars travelling down miles of tubing, and of course…the wild and whacky stalkers. The stalkers are introduced in a professional wrestling like way, with a nickname, a theme, and a spectacular entrance.
One of them even has their own specialized stage in the form of an ice hockey rink. Although (flaw point number 2), it does mean that stalker Sub Zero could only be chosen, when the runners, are in that area, as anywhere else, and he’d surely be useless? The silliness surrounding the stalkers continues further when you look at their costumes. OK, fair enough, one of their costumes. Dynamo‘s costume is totally absurd. It’s just a strange black body shell, covered in fairy lights, with a flat mushroom for a helmet. It looks sort of good on a totally black background, but in any form of light, it’s just comical.
Whilst one (or two, if you include Ventura’s later costume) of the costumes may be comical, what isn’t, is a couple of noteworthy elements. Firstly the inclusion of Richard Dawson, who was outside of this film an actual game show host, adds some realism, and credibility to this film, as he moulds so well into the character of a vile, but popular game show host. He is a terrific villain, who acts so easily like a people person, whilst also demonstrating a cold heart.
The other thing that stands out about this film, is it’s rather effective soundtrack. The film features a rather basic soundtrack, in that not many pieces are evident. It’s just a few pieces here, which are then manipulated and edited, to be either light, or heavy, depending on the situation.
When you watch it, four pieces stand out. The first of these is it’s main theme, which is the one that’s played the most. You hear it throughout the wholse film, but it’s been tweaked, and changed, to fit the situation. Sometimes it’s energetic, sometimes it’s slow and meaningful, like when Laughlin dies, and those incredibly heavy notes just ring out in the background, highlighting the seriousness of the moment!
The introductory music of the stalkers (but Dynamo) is the same basic theme, but used differently per each stalker, with Fireball’s entrance being the most prominent, but also sounds like something you may hear in an amusement arcade. The show’s opening dance routine meanwhile, is a nice and very lively piece, featuring an element of disco to it. This builds quite dramtically, to the big reveal of the show host, and acts quite nicely as a mirage to the dystopian world outside the studio. This could also be said about the film’s closing credits song too. It does find itself awkwardly positioned at the moment of an anti-climax, but it does help end the film on a nice, if predictable action movie note.
The Running Man is undeniably a silly, and very flawed movie. The costumes and stalkers are rather comical in presentation, and the dystopian setting is rather glossed over, in favour of just focussing on the game show element. But it’s grounding in this one section of it’s setting, helps tremendously in keeping your attention. It may be a silly movie, but it helps make it a very entertaining movie, featuring solid action, great characterwork, and a memorable soundtrack!
Things I Like 
Leave a comment