THE RUNNING MAN: He's Bock!!

  If you love hearing Arnold Schwarzenegger say his great lines, this movie will entertain you.  And if you like satire and parody as your main forms of enjoyment, this movie will also suit your fancy. 
  The story takes place in 2019.  For all of us on the cusp of 2010, this isn’t too far away.  However, in 1987, it was a lifetime away.  Thankfully LA is still part of sunny Southern California, and not the dark, dingy place it is in The Running Man.  The U.S. has become a totalitarian society, not unlike the city of Toronto these days, numbed by falsified news and treated like sheep.  Ben Richards was a police officer assigned to crowd control.  When ordered to fire upon a helpless crowd who were protesting a lack of food, Richards refused.  He was arrested and thrown into jail under false charges.  He escaped, then kidnapped the woman who took over his apartment.  She turned him in, gets the guilts, does some research, gets caught, and also gets thrown into jail.  Follow me?  Richards is given a chance at freedom by taking part in The Running Man, a television game show that features convicts like Richards who have to dodge ‘The Stalkers”, who are trying to hunt them down.  Needless to say, the Running Men have about as much chance as the bull in a Spanish bullfight!  But this is Ah-Nold we’re talking about….he is no ordinary bull!  The majority of the story involves Schwarzenegger’s battles against the stalkers, so there are obviously lots of fights, explosions and new and gory ways to kick the bucket. 
  I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Richard Dawson.  The host of the Family Feud makes a great performance as host of The Running Man.  The parallels to his long running game show are obvious, and it’s hard not to laugh when he’s on screen.  And it’s interesting to note how censorship has evolved.  Television in 2019, according to The Running Man, is now full of the live killing of human beings.  Obviously we’re not to that stage, but with the onset of YouTube, plus the graphic violence witnessed on video games, are we really THAT far away from a show like The Running Man?    
  Overall, not a bad movie.  It’s pretty violent though.  But it makes you think!

7 out of 10