The Running Man

Day 161 - 6/10/09 - Movie 160

BEFORE: Yes, it's Schwarzenegger week, or in German, "Schwarzfilmeneggerwoche". We're still in the future, when the U.S. economy has collapsed in 2017 (hey, they were only off by 8 years), TV is filled with sadistic reality shows (well, they got that right...) and the goverment raises money by killing prison inmates on TV (all right, could still happen).

THE PLOT: A wrongly-convicted man must try to survive a public execution gauntlet staged as a TV game show.

AFTER: Ah-nold's character is a cop who gets framed for murdering civilians, and after a prison break and re-capture, is forced to compete for his freedom, "American Gladiators" style. But Richard Dawson steals the show as a sadistic host/producer, like a Simon Cowell/Ryan Seacrest/Mark Burnett mix. The "Running Man" TV show is a cross between "Gladiators", "Fear Factor" and the "Ultimate Fighting Championship", which draws ratings on the level of "American Idol". So should Steven King (who wrote the story this is based on, under the pen-name Richard Bachman) be credited/blamed for the creation of the reality TV genre? Honestly, I'm surprised that no network has tried to make this into an actual show - this could work in today's market, but instead we get shows about sextuplets, building motorcycles and choosing the right dress...ABC's "Wipeout" is a step in the right direction though. It's still just a matter of time until somebody dies on one of these reality stunt shows...

Arnold's acting skills are pathetic, but there's loads of action, and I think, unlike "End of Days", this film will become more relevant as time goes by. You can tell this was made shortly after "Terminator" because they made him repeat his "Ah'll be bahk" catchphrase and tried to create too many new ones, including "It's showtime!" and something cutesy every time one of his foes bites it. (after strangling a guy - "He vas a pain in da neck..." Come on, really?)

RATING: 7 out of 10 stalkers