Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
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.
The Running Man is a propulsive, enjoyably trashy sci-fi action film built on a prescient premise about televised violence and authoritarian media control. The plot is serviceable but thin, functioning more as a delivery mechanism for one-liners and fight sequences than as genuine dystopian satire. Schwarzenegger is in full quip mode rather than delivering a nuanced performance, and the supporting cast ranges from campy to forgettable — Richard Dawson's Killian is the standout. Cinematography is functional 80s studio work, nothing distinguished. The concept borrows from Stephen King/Richard Bachman's source novel and has real novelty in its game-show-as-death-sport conceit, which proved remarkably prophetic, but the execution is fairly by-the-numbers action filmmaking. The ending wraps up too neatly and predictably, defusing any satirical tension the premise had built.