The Running Man (BD)

I think it is fair to say that Arnold Schwarzenegger is a household name, be it as a Terminator or as a Governor of California. His name has always been associated with guns and swords, although in the later part of his career he experimented with comedy roles, with little success. “The Terminator” (1984) was an instant hit, and it gave its fans one of the most iconic images in Hollywood--the Terminator, clad in a black leather suit and riding a motorbike. The images of “The Terminator” and “Conan” are so deeply imprinted in our memory and culture that anytime we see these things, only one name instantly comes to mind: Schwarzenegger. “The Running Man” (1987) falls right between “The Terminator” and before “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” (1991) and “True Lies” (2004). “The Running Man” was a moderate hit upon its release and has gained something of a cult following since.

Based on the novel by Richard Bachman (a.k.a. Stephen King), “The Running Man” is set in the near future, in 2019, where reality TV shows control people’s lives. One such popular TV show, called “The Running Man,” provides pardons to top convicts if they can defeat a series of gladiators called “The Stalkers.” Ben Williams (Arnold Schwarzenegger), a former military helicopter pilot and convict, is brought to the show by Damon Killian (Richard Dawson), who acts as a host for ICS Studios. With the help of an ICS representative, Amber (María Conchita Alonso), and his friends Laughlin (Yaphet Kotto) and Harold Weiss (Marvin J. McIntyre), Williams is able to locate the network’s uplink so that he can reveal the truth about his innocence. Williams successfully eradicates all the Stalkers on the show and finally confronts Killian about the truth he has been looking for.

“The Running Man” follows the familiar template of Schwartzenegger’s earlier movies, in which he is fighting against the system like a one-man army. The movie starts with an interesting concept for its time, during the late 80s, but looking at it now, the movie hasn’t aged well. Probably, it has to do with the timeline of its futuristic concepts and design choices and the advent of similar movies like “Death Race” and “Gamer.” The movie was released in 1987, and the costumes and music of that decade don’t work today. Arnold in a tight, gold-colored satin outfit will provide more laughter than anything else. In fact, the costumes appreciably increase the movie’s “cheese” factor.  However, while the movie is guaranteed to fail on a number of levels, it does hold credibility in predicting our obsession with reality TV show concepts.

“The Running Man” was released in the period when Atari and Commodore gaming consoles ushered in a new era for the gaming industry. They were rapidly becoming a part of everyone’s household, similar to what we have seen with the “Wii” gaming console today. Certainly, the movie is a homage to a video-game hero and video-game culture, because it truly plays like a video game, one in which by killing a boss at the end of each round, the lead character progresses to a next level.

Mixing real-time gaming with TV was something not seen before. However, the movie never rises beyond this promising idea because of the underwhelming script. The characters are improperly fleshed out, their motives remain unconvincing, and the situations in the movie seem laughable by today’s standards. The writers have committed a common mistake of overloading the story with over-the-top violence. Consequently, all the action happening in the movie appears to be forced, loud, and redundant. The acting is pretty much forgettable, too, after you hear Arnold utter the words, “Are you the asshole on TV?”

Despite all the negatives, “The Running Man” has influenced a legion of filmmakers to reignite this idea. “Death Race” (2009) and “Gamer” (2009) both have their protagonists fighting a series of battles, and their freedom depends on surviving deadly rounds. Even though the special effects are better in these newer movies, they still suffer from a common syndrome; namely, a poor script. Sometimes filmmakers do improve upon an earlier concept, but alas, this not the case with “Death Race” or “Gamer.”

However insipid “The Running Man” might be in the execution of its storytelling elements, it does correctly foretell the obsession of our culture with reality TV shows like “American Idol,” “Bachelorette,” and “You are fired.”  In this aspect, I’d have to call the movie a mild success.

Video:
Lionsgate has rendered this movie on disc in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded in an AVC format at a high bit rate, averaging about 25-30 Mpbs. With the exception of a couple of daylight scenes, the entire movie is shot during the night. During daylight scenes, colors are bright and vivid. The close-ups reveal improved details; however, it is the background that is a bit problematic with this transfer. The transfer is soft throughout, and as a result the visual attributes are a bit inconsistent. On a couple of occasions, the sharpness varies from scene to scene. Normal film grain is present throughout, but it is never an issue. In nighttime scenes, the black levels are not as solid as I had hoped they might be. Overall, it’s an average video presentation for this Blu-ray release.

Audio:
As expected, we get a lossless soundtrack in the form of 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. The sound for the most part works well with the themes of the 80’s. Although the audio at times is a bit flat, I think it is due to the limitations of the technology of the time.  LFE and rear channels kick in during explosions and chase scenes. Dialogue is consistently clear and audible. And one can view the movie with English or Spanish subtitles.

Extras:
Starting the extras, we have a featurette, “Lockdown on Main Street” (23 minutes, 16x9). It is a rather odd extra to be included here since various interviewees talk about the controversial Patriot Act that was approved after 9-11 and techniques used in modern surveillance activities. This is an intriguing extra, but it seemingly found its way onto the wrong movie. This featurette would better have added value to movies like “United 93” and “World Trade Center.”

Up next, we have another short featurette, “Game Theory,” that focuses on the impact of reality TV shows on our culture and their rapid rise in the media world.

Finishing off the extras, there are two audio commentaries, one with director Paul Michael Glaser and the film’s producer and the second with executive producer Rob Cohen.

Also included on the disc is the original theatrical trailer. It appears that Lionsgate has dropped a featurette, “Meet the Stalkers,” which was present in the earlier two-disc edition.

Parting Thoughts:
“The Running Man” is just another run-of-the-mill film that is thoroughly campy, hammy in its acting, and overly cheesy. With poor acting and a blotchy script, the movie fails to provide any tangible viewing experience. Having said this, the movie precisely highlights our current obsession with reality TV. This Blu-ray edition improves on visuals and audio over the standard-def release.  What’s more, Lionsgate has competitively priced this Blu-ray edition, and fans should definitely check it out.