Don’t Run From This One
There’s something I would like to point out right away — The Running Man on Blu-ray only goes for $12 on Amazon, which is a great deal for this release. As many of you know, the film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as Ben Richards. Co-stars include Richard Dawson as Damon Killian and Jim Brown as Fireball. The movie is set in the near future, around 2017, and by this time the world is in a very desperate state. Through a brief text introduction, we’re informed that the world’s natural resources are depleted and poverty and hunger are rampant. A brutal police state now exists in the US, and it seems people only respite from their harsh lives is a TV show known as The Running Man. In this show, hosted by Killian, convicts are given a chance to earn back their freedom. That is, if they can survive the Stalkers (which include Fireball, Buzzsaw, Dynamo, and Sub-Zero), and escape a 400 block area, then they will be free.
Of course, no one has actually won this challenge before. As the film begins, Arnold Schwarzenegger (Ben Richards) is on a routine patrol in a police helicopter. He and his crew spot a food riot going on below them. Scanners show the large crowd is unarmed and just trying to secure some food, but orders come down to Richards and his team to kill them, all. Ben resists, but his co-workers carry out the orders. Ben is framed for the murders of all of these people and is sentenced to prison. With the help of two friends and the cooperation of the other prisoners, he manages to plan an execute an escape. However, he is soon captured again. The video of his escape captures the attention of Killian. Killian wants Ben on his Running Man show badly, he even wants to give him a contract — but Ben vehemently refuses.
Ben is then put on the show and it’s up to the Stalkers to kill him and his two friends who helped in the escape. The trio will face the hockey stick wielding Sub-Zero, the chainsaw maniac Buzzsaw, and two other Stalkers as they try to escape and clear their names.
What amounts is a fun movie to watch that has a good replay value. Sure, there are a lot of cheesy one-liners and the concept is kind of goofy and we’ve seen similar plots before (and since) — but The Running Man is just a fun movie that flows well and remains entertaining throughout.
Running To Blu-ray
I was surprised at how good this old film looked on Blu-ray. More specifically, I was surprised at the effort that went into putting The Running Man into HD. As you all know, most older niche action films like this just get slapped onto Blu-ray and re-sold, which is what I was expecting here. However, the video is sharp and clear with little to no grain or softness to the image. The DTS-HD 7.1 audio is very good as well.
As for extra features, there’s nothing new, but here’s what you’ll get:
-Audio Commentary by Director Paul Michael Glaser and Producer Tim Zinnemann
-Audio Commentary by Executive Producer Rob Cohen
-Game Theory Feature (20m, SD) – A lot of discussion on reality TV by various show contestants and people in the industry. Hardly interesting, although they do talk about how much The Running Man got right regarding the genre.
-Lockdown on Main Street (25m, SD) – A bizarre piece whereby people talk about the dangers of the US PATRIOT Act and the loss of civil liberties. It has nothing to do with the film at all and just doesn’t belong on this release.
To the summary…