Oh, this was a hot mess.
It's one of those "could possibly happen, now that I think about it" movies set in the not-so-distant future. Big Brother government? Check. Violence as entertainment through the prism of reality TV? Check. Schwarzenegger shouting stupid one-liners? Check again.
Remember Bright Lights, where you took a black piece of paper, stuck small colored bulbs in them, and then turned on a light against the paper? It looked like this, but on an actual person. Yeah, I know! I had to keep reminding myself that this movie came out in 1987, so it was probably considered cutting-edge at the time. That's the thing with watching films that are 20+ years old: You know it was done in earnest, and that people would be all "Whoa!" and stuff with the end product, but really? It looks dated and contrived. I also think viewers' criteria for good movies tend to evolve, and also, we are not caught up in the marketing mayhem that surrounded the film when it was first released - we can take a step back and look at it more objectively without seeing advertisements extolling a piece of garbage as "(Insert director's name) finest work ever!" or "(Actor) needs an Oscar for this piece!"
Where was I? Yes, The Running Man. There is hardly any running in the film, unless you count Schwarzenegger running from the government, running from people who are trying to kill him, and just running. It's not an inspirational film, but it's an OK film to watch when you're cooped up inside because of the beastly weather.
Would I watch it again? Probably not.
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