The Running Man (1987)

Genre: Action

Directed by: Paul Michael Glaser

Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Conchita Alonso, Richard Dawson

Running time: 101 minutes

In a dystopian America where the police rule over the States with an iron fist, Ben Richards is a police helicopter pilot who gets framed for a massacre on rioters in Bakersfield after refusing to follow orders. He has to take part on the TV show The Running Man, where he will fight against hired killers in the hope of gaining his freedom back.

This film is loosely based on the Stephen King novel of the same name.

Acting-wise, the only bright spot here is Richard Dawson, as TV show host Damon Killan. You could say that he embraced that role and kissed it on the mouth. He brought that evil character to life. The rest of the cast was quite bad. I mean, you cannot expect much from Arnold to begin with, but I have heard him deliver lines more convincingly. Maria Conchita Alonso was bad too.

The story was fine for what it was, in the dystopian action genre. Richard Dawson was so good that he made you want to see the inevitable conclusion.

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