Rotten
Schwarzenegger sadistically dispatches the baddies, enunciating typical wisecrack remarks (many repeated from his previous films), but it's all too easy.
Variety Staff, Variety
The Running Man
It is the year 2019. "The Running Man" is a deadly game no one has ever survived. But Schwarzenegger has yet to play.
1987 · 1h 41m · R
Action, Science Fiction, Thriller
Directed by
Paul Michael Glaser
Overview
By 2017, the global economy has collapsed and U.S. society has become a totalitarian police state, censoring all cultural activity. The government pacifies the populace by broadcasting a number of game shows in which convicted criminals fight for their lives, including the gladiator-style The Running Man, hosted by the ruthless Damon Killian, where “runners” attempt to evade “stalkers” and certain death for a chance to be pardoned and set free.
Director and cast
- Paul Michael Glaser Director
- Arnold Schwarzenegger as Ben Richards
- Richard Dawson as Damon Killian
- María Conchita Alonso as Amber Mendez
- Yaphet Kotto as William Laughlin
- Jim Brown as Fireball
- Jesse Ventura as Captain Freedom
- Erland van Lidth as Dynamo
- Marvin J. McIntyre as Harold Weiss
- Gus Rethwisch as Buzzsaw
- Professor Toru Tanaka as Subzero
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
59%
Tomatometer
Rotten
Pretty warmed-over stuff, this future world of the terminal TV game shows, and director Glaser fails to muster much pace and punch.
Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Fresh
It's not quite Network, but then it also doesn't take itself too seriously.
Vincent Canby, New York Times
Rotten
The movie's problem is that all of the action scenes are versions of the same scenario.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Rotten
You want to know if The Running Man is a good-time macho show, right? Stay at home and watch professional wrestling.
Desson Thomson, Washington Post
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