The Movies That Moved Me: Paul Michael Glaser’s THE RUNNING MAN
Tri-Star Pictures’s The Running Man didn’t hit my eyes until sometime in the early 1990s. I forget if it was on cable or on VHS rental, but it definitely stands out as a film that further enriched who I am today both as a fan of action, and as someone very much yearning to see us eat the rich.
To add, I would say Glaser’e take on Stephen King’s pennamed novel does lend something interesting to the conversation considering the latest reboot is named to be a direct attribution to it compared to its predecessor. I haven’t read the novel so I can’t comment on it, although given the affinity that its grown from fans of Arnold Schwarzenegger who’ve been around more than thirty years, perhaps Edgar Wright’s own treatment will finally give the watercooler brohaha over remakes and reboots the litmus test it needs for fans to rethink a lot of their reactions to many of these kinds films.
Indeed, I’m very much aware of my recent opinions on at least one cinematic revival, even as I still wait to see if that film has what it takes to prove me and anyone else who shares my views to the contrary. Either way, I do look forward to the new Glen Powell-starrer from Paramount, while still holding space for the 1987 dystopian sci-fi adventure which finds Arnie’s miltary police captain escaping prison, and thrust into the titular nationwide-favorite life or death game show and forced to fight for his life alongside other players.
Between the explosive action setpieces, violence and gore, the futuristic dystopian and game show aesthetics and pivotal dichotomy between the roles played by Schwarzenegger and late actor Richard Dawson, The Running Man was exactly the kind of title that sat right alongside your favorite VHS tapes growing up. Arnie had already been hitting it big with thrillers like the Conan films, Raw Deal, Predator, The Terminator, and even Commando, while films like Total Recall, Red Heat and Terminator 2: Judgement Day would further cement him as a household name.
Also starring Maria Conchita Alonso and Yaphet Kotto, The Running Man hits the ground running, and delivers the old-fashioned goods in fine form, in an otherwise derivative take on the novel that remains unforgotten to this day. That said, will Wright’s iteration validate the supposed importance of remaining faithful to the source material?
Who knows? Either way, as long as it has an end credits track that bangs, I’m down.
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