The Running Man Review

hello world like way behind us a turbulent personality the best hair and welcome back to and it's time to cover another one of those big requests and a movie based on a novel with the Running Man more loosely than you might realize as the Running Man was written by Richard Bachman but who wouldn't you know it that's actually a pseudonym for Stephen King well you would know it if you read the novella where the protagonist starts out as a racist before seeing the light and among his many rumps around the northeastern United States why do you know he wound up in Derry Maine all I think would be interesting to track down the original novella and do a Stephen King a Richard Bachman drinking game to what's inside but that doesn't answer the question as to what in hell the movie is actually about the running man stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as Benjamin Richards a former police officer framed for a crime he didn't commit however wouldn't you know it there happens to be a game show where contestants can win their freedom or die and they mostly just die but this time the contestant is Schwarzenegger which means biceps battles in the body count rising so let's take a look at the Running Man and see the man running our story begins in the mystical futuristic year of 2017 he'll never guess but the economy has gone to total [ __ ] and the government has gone bad using the power of TV to control the masses either through distracting them with the ultra violent game show the running man or straight-up censoring and it all works not sympathetic with the establishment but of course sometimes you need more than a boob tube to squelch the unwashed masses food riot in progress approximately 1,500 no weapons evident resonate with plan help eliminate anything moving I want to assault on all joggers dancers and children playing in the street leave the quadriplegics alone they've had a bet enough shorts Nagar here playing Ben Richards refuses to comply though because think of the children only the ones currently getting government assistance from unfortunately Ben's desire to disobey orders to save innocent lives isn't shared among his crew end for long he is detained and the innocent people below our seals are just as sane we suddenly jump a year and a half into the future to find that Ben was sent to prison but it's not all that bad he's got a few buddies here yeah fat cat oh who plays William Laughlin and Marvin McIntyre is the tech head Harold Weiss him having knowledge of computer technology and the guards being stupid enough to not have there entered passwords show up as asterisks is all the good old-fashioned prison riot needs in order for them to deactivate the perimeter fence and render their collars completely safe well that and enough time to get a computer to accept the codes in the first place but it always makes me wonder do future prisons have a contingency plan in case a computer locks up but in just a few moments more they do bring the fence down and then it's onward to freedom yes this is the dystopian 2018-19 place and they can only get their explodey colors removed by the underground resistance who don't entirely trust Ben he's the butcher of Bakersfield come on Mick you can see through that crap it's Network propaganda we don't know that you mean they say things on TV that aren't entirely true that wild Hollywood imagination despite this they have them just the same and just because the resistance helped him that doesn't mean he has any intent of helping the resistance Ben's plans to just go to hiding and meet up with his brother for help along the way getting to his brothers apartment is easy enough but the man isn't answering [Music] security code accepted [Music] 4 4 5 5 6 6 the hell is the code for your part Mint 306 4 4 5 5 6 7 upon entering it seems his brothers in here or is now his sister I'm not judging however when the tenant returns home it's kind of hard to see a family resemblance she doesn't notice anything I miss though and goes about her daily routine watching Jesse Ventura hold an exercise show as Captain freedom before it's rudely interrupted by a news bulletin about the escape of Ben Richards if you see this man do not approach him contact your local why get the ladies from the aerobics showmagic their way into her living room this would be amber Mendez played by Maria Conchita Alonso who you might know as Leona from predator 2 she's the new tenant here because Ben's brother kinda sort of got hauled away for re-education and funnily enough even though the lights and TV are controlled through voice commands it seems they never thought to add calling the police to the list of things you might want to do hands-free also around the same time the host of the Running Man Damon Killian played by Richard Dawson has seen the impressive footage of Ben Richards daring prison escape I want him can't happen why not Damon you know our contract we never get military prisoners was a military prisoner he's still at large and then we have Kurt fuller as Tony as one of the sort of tech heads in this operation it's quite a few big-name actors in this I'm not going to get a man who's not caged up and ready to ship is a problem for another day Ben's got to keep moving and find something to help him a neighbor's apartment her music won't be of any use besides it hasn't been approved by Dear Leader and is therefore contraband the money on the other hand that might help them flee the state you don't have a Travel Pass you do now I do because in the years since the world turned to [ __ ] in the police state crack down hard on everyone they removed the photo part of photo identification just to be nice ever he is taking her along as well possibly because it's still her name attached to the ID but it's kind of hard to tell they're flying to Hawaii and he presents her past as if it's his own and it's accepted however their second passes somewhere in the purse oh my this is taking so long when I move it up there we got a play go on go on with them live without that's the only check a little swipe to the Travel Pass the metal detector and boom you're going towards the plane [ __ ] I wish flying was as hassle-free as it is in the running man unfortunately though despite them going through all the checkpoints amber remembered that screaming for help is a good way to get the attention of police therefore been tries to make a run for it way out in the open where it's very easy for the police to catch up to him and net his ass in short order what is it about only killing things that move this means Ben is brought in front of Damon host and producer and important catch-all guy of the running man and asked if he would like to be their special guest for tomorrow's broadcast [ __ ] you Matt it seems like he's not exactly on board with the idea or he's more interested in things that they don't like on network television so Damon sweetens the deal and by that I mean he just so happy to track down and get Laughlin and Weiss through unspecified means and if Ben isn't going to be a sport and agree to participate in the running man he sees no reason he can't just use these guys instead so that's a YES on will Richards be the lucky contestant amber on the other hand gets to go home and forget about all this spare the news reports about then being captain at the airport quite exciting especially with all the magical people he's supposedly killed like the ticket agent and security guard Richard shot at point-blank range when he arrived in the airport well yeah but we all know how News amnesia works you notice all of the glaring problems on the subject of the story that you actually know about but next thing the rolls around me a [ __ ] has got to be truce on the news after all ever however starts to question if she really had been spoon-fed [ __ ] all this time but never mind that for a bit the running man is on as this is a three hour show with a massive budget naturally it starts off with a musical bit and many sexy dancing ladies I can get behind that all day long huh so while the show is getting all the preparations out of the way while already airing ever just can't shake the question of what else the news has lied about so she's sneaking into a few places she shouldn't be oh but I know that you'll hate me if I don't include this scene of been signing his contract before going on stage don't forget to sent me a copy kind of wish he showed up at the end of movie with it though like here's that copy you wanted Bram stabs it into his leg before they bring him out though they have to introduce him to the world with the opening to this very movie though it seems the broadcast version may have been edited slightly rounded Bernard the hell with you somebody had to take the babysitter home then I noticed she was sitting on her we can't quite grab her see we can oh just thinking about her kid now that they've nicely poisoned the well Ben Richards has revealed to all the jeering and calls for his death that he could ever want of course it's not guaranteed he's going to bite the big one for tonight's game after all Killian has quick to remind everyone about last season's winners Whitman price still wearing their running man jumpsuits another supposed to be a food shortage in this movie I didn't hear anything about a run on linen he still has one more surprise in store for Ben though you remember the resistance members who are going to be used in today's show unless Richards took their place I'll kill you is gonna have them join today's show anyway because honesty is for suckers Killian I'll be back get it I'm Allen Schwartz Anita that's the joke as they blast the man down the pipes shooting and swirling every which way with their perilous journey into a safety net amber is busy slipping into where she isn't supposed to be finding out because of the very obvious labels that the massacre that indicted Ben Richards was in fact edited for television and the raw flesh happens to be right here alongside its license sweetie doll freaked out it was just formatted a Fitch's screen we don't get to see your fate just yet instead the movie focuses on the fact that all three contestants have made it down into the game zone but this is a game show after all so the runners aren't the only ones who join in audience members get to pick which of the stalkers they want to kill them obviously not the mortal kombat variety this predates that by five years this sub-zero's a gigantic sumo hockey player man-thing played by professor Toru Tanaka his job is to track down the runners and kill them his task is made considerably easier as they do [ __ ] like this considering the stalkers are the only real threat to the runners on the course I'm not sure why they don't just do a boss rush from room to room I guess so the commercial breaks being so damn long on network television they need something for them to do after all it's so freaking long you can spend that time preparing fresh microwave popcorn from jolly time including my favorite flavor the big cheese for being a guy who kills people trapped in a box for a living sub-zero doesn't seem particularly effective at it sure he's got to put on a show and toying with his prey works well for that but he passes up many opportunities to just kill these guys giving Ben enough time to catch the [ __ ] with barbed wire No you mean in this ultraviolent gladiatori little showcase people sometimes die and sometimes they're not the people that we actually wants to die what I've ever seen it's coming but in terms of one-liners here is Sub Zero now plane zero I don't get it would that technically mean he's doing better now as with many game shows in movies it's kind of hard to figure out what the rules are of the running man or if such things even matter as the next audience member can't decide between sending buzzsaw or dynamo so after his time is up they say [ __ ] said in buzzsaw and dynamo bizarre play by Gus rest wish and dynamo by Erland van 'let's [Music] who actually is a real opera singer and that is his real voice they're not sure whether it has to do with them being an electricity based enemy with a plastic mohawk but yeah / there's one more surprise for today's program a new contestant shelter right into the middle of the game amber Mendez she's flaunted the law and traditional morality all over life we don't lie well that settles Adventists okay guys they said they don't lie they go ahead and blow any misdemeanor she may or may not have had in her life way the [ __ ] out of proportion as well as claim she's been Richards lover before launching her down to be gleefully murdered for a live studio audience now who will find Bennett his friends first the stalkers or the stalky it seems that Weiss is directing the team now as a satellite relays are in this area and that means he might be able to find the uplink codes needed to hijack the transmission unfortunately course of actions made considerably harder the fact that the stalkers are still after them and dynamo has a goddamn car been in Laughlin end up separated from Weiss and amber and find themselves pitted against buzzsaw [Music] damnit why'd you have to go and do that Schwarzenegger is protected by Platt armor he'd been fine so Laughlin is bleeding out while Richards is dragged around the arena however while they're wasting the time with bat Weiss and amber managed to track down the satellite relay dish and the uplink password is right at their fingertips great hexagonal decode system possible but they need to hack an override the interface to reveal the code makes me wonder why they didn't just hack to get the uplink working in the first place but I digress while I spokes ran the buttons Ben is fighting for his life against buzzsaw our hero can't die but he can make us question if we really wanted to survive this onslaught [Music] yeah it's not every day you catch your favorite good guy castrating people the [ __ ] chainsaw so yeah ow but in any case wise manages to correct the code which means he has the code which means he tells amber the code good thing too [Music] as it's considerably harder to run were things after you've had a little too much white lightning for better or worse dynamo seems less interested in killing amber and more into yeah but have no fear Ben Richards swoops in to draw his attention this works a little too well and when dynamo gets back into his car to run Richards down he's gotta act fast to avoid him but that all changes when dynamo crashes his car come on it's annoying is [ __ ] a show when shits just about to go down and then suddenly the little logo pops up and you're hearing all about all the ways you can save money on car insurance distich gum thank you let's find at least go Terminator 2 on him and bust his kneecaps the lack of brutality obviously upsets the bloodthirsty studio audience who really wanted to see Ben Richards put to justice for the horrible things that he really did for real if they want blood I guess there's always Laflin who has speed quite a healthy amount all of it a set but keeps breathing long enough to tell Ben that he must bring amber and the access codes to the resistance so that he did not poetically die for nothing of course he's not the only one with an important message for Ben during the commercial break Killian decides to offer him a job why have Richards running around killing all his stalkers when he could have a stalker played by goddamn Arnold Schwarzenegger of course though Ben tells him to take the contract and eat it but I hope you live in a room for my fist because I'm going to Ram it into your stomach I break you got them ok let's try that again with two more days paid vacation see if he bites them so instead of being hired killing attempts for Ben to be fired or fried fryer however the hell this pun works they SiC another sucker on him fire ball played by Jim Brown trying to find their way to freedom it's going to be hard with a flame throwing jetpack firing [ __ ] on their tail so Ben distracts him allowing amber to slip away now they just have to remain nice and quiet or maybe scream loud enough that he goes deaf and can't find you anyway I'm trying to give her the benefit of it out here but as she is stumbled upon just so happy those of the alleged winners of the last season seems the studio didn't exonerate them and send them off to Maui but rather kill them and stuff them in the corner don't worry about amber though Ben stuffs fireball into the corner and kills him this means it shows down to only one stalker forget it Gillian I won't do it but [ __ ] that Jesse Ventura is not about to take the risk of Arnold Schwarzenegger or fluoridated water so he doesn't go after them not saying that nobody is as the do are quickly trapped in another cage this isn't the TV studio though they're busy doing some quick touch of CGI on another fight before it airs this turns out to be the resistance yeah the set the running man just so had to go through the studio's uplink towers and the secret base of the resistance who know so they accidentally got the code to them safe and sound but what's this it seems Killian has some amazing footage to show of Ben Rich's final battle during the last commercial break [Applause] it seems despite all the running fighting him one-liners he just so happened to slip into a pit of death and be skewered so faster they were still in the middle of selling you Cola when it happened obviously it's been a neighbour are still alive this footage was just wishful thinking on Hollywood's part but in the early 21st century CGI would not look nearly as screamingly fake it's gonna be happy we're officially dead looking go anywhere do anything no don't you understand it he'll never let us out of here alive they can't afford it well that was their plan from the get-go just now you can run out and show the world that they're obviously lying for two minutes and then get killed but they just so happened to be in the rebel base with unedited footage of the massacre and the code to override the broadcast they'll need to keep it overridden though so Ben then the resistance arm up to take over the studio which means they probably never need the override code in the first place and give the television audience but if in this world you can just CGI it up and convince millions of people these guys are still alive how is this proof couldn't they just dismiss this as possible CGI just the same maybe but they do followed up with raw footage of the massacre showing a version of events not exactly in line with the official story and if you need another reason to think maybe you can't trust what you see on TV [Music] it's show time which wouldn't be a problem if they didn't just tell the world that he died minutes earlier I mean it's not exactly like that was their only option last season's winners won and then were killed you mean they couldn't just congratulate Bennett's the new season's winner and then kill him while the cameras are off so the guards open fire on the rebels leading to quite a lot of crossfire with the not quite so live anymore studio audience at least the cameras are still rolling so we can hear Killian try to reason with Ben in what little time he has what the drink what the where a Christ's sake Ben don't you understand Americans love television it's kind of funny that filmmakers never seem to contemplate that maybe by now people just wouldn't give a [ __ ] about TV anymore I haven't watched it in years and from my experience and not alone in that regard but he means to shift the blame onto their viewers swearing he was just giving the audience what it wants I'm going to give the audience what I think they want [Music] no Pepsi tried that spicy Cola thing it didn't end well but the movie did so happy ending Gillian dies and Ben is exonerated is because for some reason everyone watching readily accepts that they've been lied to for years without question more important than that though is that Amber and Ben hook up cue the romantic ending music I don't know if I'm understanding the lyrics 100% on that one but anyway that was the running man and it does have its share of problems but it's a classic for a reason that being the fact that it is ultra violent entertainment starring Arnold Schwarzenegger but it also satirizes the idea of ultra violent entertainment which it seems is always a concern of moral busybodies funny how 2016 s doom would cause anyone in the 20th century to faint well today we find fairy tales as they are originally written to not be appropriate for children either way the future vision is obviously a product of its time as they often are concerns about waning resources and economic instability cranked up to 11 the popular entertainment mediums of the time also made more extreme and further amusing of the results of a generation raised to blindly believe whatever the idiot box tells them to it's quaint and silly but also thought-provoking also it works pretty damn well as a movie following our protagonist says he just wants to be left alone but the obstacles the world makes for him force him to fight for the truth not all the plot points really meshed though which is a shame the resistance supposedly never knew the relays were in the running man course despite it not only being broadcast to the world but the fact the resistance secret base was also on the running man course overall the running man tries to say somewhat profound things about entertainment and a TV centric society which is undermined slightly by its own desire to be a badass action movie but on the plus side that does mean it's a badass action movie not a masterpiece but a very entertaining one and a surefire way to scratch that eighties itch coming in at four big fat opera singers with Pikachu powers out of five today people seem to be musing on what the feature of videogame consoles is going to be but myself I'm just wondering what the next generation is going to be using as their primary source of entertainment my money's on smart devices thank you all for watching hide my dark shadow and remember the future is just like today only [ __ ] up so welcome to the future [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] we should have taken that trip to Hawaii I had the chef boys but you [ __ ] it up

Channel: Decker Shado

Views: 166,463

Keywords: Decker Shado, the running man, arnold schwarzenegger, action, sci fi, science fiction, review, movie review, review (media genre), stephen king

Id: PWgeVhwyxvI

Length: 23min 54sec (1434 seconds)

Published: Tue Oct 10 2017