Running Man
Movies set in the future, particularly a dystopian one, always tend to run a few risks, particularly if that depiction of the future is intended as a âwarningâ to us in the present day which then opens the floodgates for many rounds of political moralizing throughout the story in terms of its dialogue. However, itâs also a treat to watch an older movie from the 80s that depicts this kind of future environment just to see how close they came to where we are right now in their âfutureâ, with Ridley Scottâs Blade Runner in particular always being praised for its accuracy, but an even better candidate is this 1987 release directed strangely enough by Paul Michael Glaser of âStarsky and Hutchâ fame and based upon a (considerably different) novel by Stephen King under his one time pseudonym of Richard Bachman. With the basic ideas of the novel retained, the movie went full blast with giving us its view of the future, utilizing an understated approach to the raw details and backstory of the setting, and focusing instead on the main concept, that in this future there exists a game show where convicted murderers are pitted in battle zone situations against opponents called âstalkersâ, guys who are promoted as being American heroes and patriots, but in reality are just vicious, almost animalistic, cold blooded killers themselves, albeit ones who earn a hefty paycheck to dispense justice to the condemned. This of course requires bringing a lot of satire to the table in more ways than one, as obviously the filmmakers couldnât have predicted the rise of Reality TV where the participants and subject matter have become in and of themselves a freakshow type display for all of us to take in. The more obvious targets on display at the time include game shows (obviously), the likes of which were very popular in the 80s (the more bizarre the better), and pro wrestling, as seen by the larger than life personalities of the stalkers themselves along with there being a number of ex pro wrestlers in the supporting cast. So while the action packed exploits of the show itself are the primary focus of the film, the overall state of the fictional futuristic society where much of it is set is thankfully kept secondary, with actual details being fed to us in an almost piecemeal fashion, as we get little bits here and there being thrown to us just like crumbs, with the main details being that there is a heavy class warfare struggle going on after a worldwide economic collapse, and that there is an underground resistance movement with intentions of freeing the people and âwaking them upâ from the governmentâs lies, all of which sound not that far off from the truth in 2015. Even more interesting is the fusion thatâs described as being between the government and the entertainment / media industries, where everything we see on TV is tightly controlled and monitored to feed even the most outlandish lies to the populace for them to swallow and accept in order to keep them docile, along with mega violent shows like The Running Man for them to watch that are designed to satisfy their thirst for blood and violence (âBetter they get it on TV than in the streetsâ says a character at one point), as well as the concept that artistic freedom has been completely crushed so as to prevent any subversive elements from being exposed to the people, with references to getting ahold of The Presidentâs agent or the Entertainment Division of The Justice Department being the comical icing on the cake. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, red hot coming literally right off the set of Predator but who was always big throughout the decade, as Ben Richards, a member of The State Police Force who while flying in a chopper to observe a âfood riotâ by starving civilians is ordered to open fire on them and refuses, only to be knocked out, arrested, and framed for what he was originally ordered to do in the first place (with heavy media coverage that basically declares him guilty in the publicâs eyes). While in prison, he escapes along with two members of the underground resistance (Yaphet Kotto and Marvin J. McIntyre), and is brought to meet their leader played by Mick Fleetwood, a delightfully inventive piece of casting with enough references and old age makeup to suggest that it might actually be the man playing himself (the character is even named âMicâ). Meanwhile, there is the matter of The Running Man show itself needing big name contestants to draw in the ever important ratings (and keep the general public subdued) and it is here that we meet this bloodsport game showâs host and Executive Producer, as well as the primary villain of the piece played by real life Family Feud host Richard Dawson. As it is, it works perfectly, as Dawson did have legit acting experience (he was a longtime cast member on Hoganâs Heroes), and his own persona on The Feud was outrageous enough as it was (being famous for nearly sexually assaulting any and all female contestants) that all Dawson had to do was to pump up his own personality to the extreme to turn himself into an ultra sleazy, fast talking, larger than life bad guy, as his Damon Killian was said by those who had worked with him on Feud to be eerily similar to the real life person, but itâs his nonchalant, donât give a shit, say anything to get what he wants attitude (including to his obvious connections inside the government) that ultimately make him endearingly hatable, and when Arnold is recaptured as a literal enemy of the state to possibly be suppressed, he instead gets served up to Dawson on a silver platter anyway to be a contestant on the show, with Dawson falling in love with the footage of the prison break knowing that a tough physical specimen like that with his kind of notoriety would be a huge ratings draw for the show and (presumably) increase his own standing with the powers that be that depend on him to successfully lull people into being nodding sheep. And so off Arnie goes (along with his two compadres from the prison break) to fight his way through various âgame zonesâ against a legion of ridiculously gimmicked up stalkers, from Toru Tanakaâs hockey blade touting Sub Zero to Erland Van Lidth (a legendary movie fat guy whose extreme obesity resulted in an early death shortly after filming) as the lightning bolt throwing Dynamo to Gus Rethwisch grunting and snorting as the motorcycle riding Buzzsaw to Jim Brown being cool and deadly as the flamethrower carrying Fireball, all with Jesse Ventura waiting in the wings as Captain Freedom, once considered to be the greatest stalker who ever lived now reduced to a pithy commentary position on the show. Throw in Maria Conchita Alonso as the hot female executive tossed into the mix when sheâs caught helping Arnold, Dweezil Zappa as the punk kid fellow revolutionary working with Fleetwood, and Swen Ole Thorson in the (mostly) non speaking role of Dawsonâs massive head security guard whose bemused reactions and calm physical handling of Schwarzenegger are certainly considered highlights as well and one has all the ingredients for an over the top action extravaganza, and as Arnold naturally starts to wipe the floor with the stalkers (shocking the viewing public while doing so even while this supposed âbutcherâ winds up sparing lives also), he also starts to win over hearts and minds in a fitting bit of action film irony, literally building up his own clout enough in one night to join with the rebels to stage an assault on the TV studio and Killian himself, certainly not the head of the oppressive regime but definitely one of their finest propaganda artists. All in all, an odd but incredibly entertaining mix, considering some of the factors involved (including the director) and the open knowledge that this was considered to be a troubled production, but still turned out to be something that hit the nail right on the head with top flight Arnie action and one liners along with a look at a shitty future that although exaggerated, would show surprising accuracy at predicting our own shitty present dayâŚ
10/10