Arnold Schwarzenegger is a global superstar who has made a name for himself in the world of bodybuilding, politics and of course acting. With an acting career that has spanned forty years Arnie has been in some classic films; Terminator, Predator and of course Twins come to mind. One of the governor’s great films that often gets overlooked is ‘The Running Man.’

Released in 1987 the Running man like other great films such as the Shawshank redemption, the Green mile and Carrie was adapted from a novel originally written by Stephen King (written under his pseudonym Richard Bachman). The film was directed by Paul Michael Glaser. Best known for his role as David Starsky in the 1970’s TV series Starsky and Hutch. The Running man was only his second shot at directing a full length feature film.

Set in 2019 (only ten years away) where the economy and society have collapsed (very Mad Max). The government quell the population by broadcasting barbaric games shows. The most popular of which is ‘The Running Man.’ in the show convicts are sent out to an area of LA, where they are chased by “stalkers” who kill them. The game is like a deadly version of Gladiators. The audience in the studio are able to vote on who they think will be killed of first and how many kills each stalker will get. If a runner manages to evade death, the audience are told he is pardoned by the Justice department, though in reality this doesn’t happen.

After a miscarriage of justice and a government cover-up Ben Richards (Arnie) ends up imprisoned for crimes he didn’t commit. After breaking out of jail, Richards is eventually caught up with again. The evil host of ‘the running man’ forces Arnie to take part in the show. As you can probable imagine Arnie manages to get through the competition, gets the girl and of course starts the ball rolling for what looks to be the end of the military regime in charge of the country.

‘The Running Man’ is a classic 1980’s action film. It contains all the vital elements you want from such a feature, an over top megalomaniac bad guy, a muscle bound all action hero and of course some great action scenes. I feel the secret of the film though is, it’s plot, in a time when reality TV wasn’t as popular as it is now the idea of a deadly reality TV show is possibly ahead of it’s time.

Other films which explore this concept include the French film ‘Le Prix du Danger,’ the much celebrated Japanese film ‘Battle Royale’ and ‘The Condemned’ starring Stone Cold Steve Austin. An interesting concept, that I think will appeal to fans of action films of all ages. If you haven’t seen The Running Man I think its well worth a look.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ceegnWSENQ

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