In the near future of 2019, the world is in dire straits. The global economy has collapsed, natural resources have been nearly depleted and food riots are routine. America has turned into a police state, with the government ruling over the citizens with an iron first. Meanwhile, Television has become the tool of the government to keep the populace passive and complacent. Reality shows like "The Running Man" are wildly popular, featuring prisoners, criminals and convicts on the run for their lives through the burnt out urban slums, being hunted to the death by professional killers who mercilessly hunt down and exterminate their prey - all under the watchful eye of the television cameras.

Enter everyone's favorite muscle man Ah-nold, as Ben Richards - a former policeman who refused to open fire on hundreds of innocent civilians at a food riot. For his brief spark of humanity, Richards wound up framed (evidence doctored to show that he was responsible for opening fire at the riots) and locked away at a maximum-security labor camp. But Ah-nold being Ah-nold escapes, catches the eye of Damon Killian (in a brilliant casting decision played by Richard Dawson) who recruits the Butcher of Bakersfield to appear on his show - and what Killian wants, Killian gets. And now Ah-nold must dodge larger than life comic book supervillians, escape the all-seeing gaze of the television cameras, save the girl, liberate the oppressed people from the evil totalitarian government and give Killian a taste of his own medicine. Does he succeed? Stay tuned and find out!

Based loosely (very loosely) on a short story by Stephen King, The Running Man is really two movies in one. The first one is a ridiculously over the top eighties action flick with a 'roided up Ah-nold delivering post mortem one-liners. The second is a scathing commentary on passive consumerism and a fascist America. Surprisingly, for the most part, both haves mostly work.

For what it's worth, Arnold is in full on Muscle Bound Eighties Action Mode. There's plenty of over the top violence, plenty of witty quips on hand, plenty of cheesecake for drooling over, and a pretty solid supporting cast. Professor Toru Tanaka as an ice skating razor blade wielding stalker? Mick Fleetwood as a hippie resistance leader? Former football running back great Jim Brown with a flamethrower? Jesse "the Body" Ventura as a retired, pill popping stalker reduced to pitching work-out videos? Opera singer turned wrestler Erland van Lidth dressed as a Christmas tree rapist? Richard Dawson as a cocky, smarmy and very sinister game show host bastard? While the acting may not be very good, it is bloody brilliant and exactly what the movie needs!

And then there's the social commentary - while it may not have been relevant back in the late eighties, The Running Man is far more topical these days. With the politically-charged themes of a fascist state, how reality is being distorted by the media, the rise of reality television and its impact on our culture, The Running Man is more like Robocop and Total Recall than mindless schlock like Invasion USA. While it's not Paul Verhoven levels of satire, it's deep enough to distract you from the shallow parts of the script.

THE DVD -
Considering that the film is getting on in years now, one might expect that The Running Man would show it's age - not so! The picture looks great, with some strong blacks and nice colors. Sure it's no High Definition release, but for one of Ah-Nold's second tier flicks, they did a bang up job. The audio tracks are a nice solid aggressive 6.1 DTS-ES Surround mix, and a 5.1 mix. The surround sound is really effective with booming explosions on all sides.

I should also point out that the pan-and-scan version of the film is included on the set's second disc - but I shunned that disc, as you should too!

THE EXTRAS -
I'm both pleased and disappointed with the extras at the same time. We get two commentaries with producer Tim Zinnemann with director Paul Glaser on track one and executive producer Rob Cohen going at it alone on track two. While neither of them offer any great insight into the making of the film, they're at least interesting to listen to. It's just a shame that they didn’t get Ah-Nold into the recording booth for a commentary - the one's I've heard from the man are brilliant!

Following that is a half hour documentary on the US Government and it's reaction to events in a post September 11th world, covering the patriot act, censorship and other diminishing civil rights in an increasingly paranoid world. The second documentary (also about half an hour) features interviews with reality show contestants and producers talking about the reality phenomenon and how it's mirrored in what we see in The Running Man. While both documentaries are well done, I'd also like to have seen something on the production and making of the actual movie. I mean the movie is good and all, but this political commentary is just killing my buzz.

Lastly there's a couple of text pages featuring the five stalkers and Damon Killian where you can see statistics, highlights from the movie, costumes, as well as trivia and audience comments. Then we get the original theatrical trailer and a page of Cast Credits.

THE BOTTOM LINE -
While not as good as some of his all time action classics like Terminator or Predator, The Running Man is still a very good second tier Ah-nold flick and is a heck of a lot of fun - and still a ton better than Junior or Jingle All The Way. If you love the eighties action flicks, you owe it to yourself to at least check this out for yourself.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older