{"id":1629316,"date":"2022-09-01T09:08:16","date_gmt":"2022-09-01T13:08:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1629316"},"modified":"2022-09-01T09:08:20","modified_gmt":"2022-09-01T13:08:20","slug":"schwarzeneggers-running-man-delivered-more-than-80s-era-cheese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/schwarzeneggers-running-man-delivered-more-than-80s-era-cheese\/","title":{"rendered":"Schwarzenegger\u2019s &#8220;Running Man&#8221; Delivered More Than \u201980s-Era Cheese"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fschwarzeneggers-running-man-delivered-more-than-80s-era-cheese%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1629316&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><\/div>\n<p><strong>Paul Michael Glaser\u2019s \u201cThe Running Man\u201d (1987) felt like a top-tier Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle upon release.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It was based on a novella by Richard Bachman, who we later learned was Stephen King. It followed the competent, well-produced vehicles like \u201cCommando\u201d (clearly, Schwarzenegger had better luck picking movies than Chuck Norris), and it was coming right after a big home run with \u201cPredator\u201d earlier in the year.<\/p>\n<p>Because the premise suggested not only a dystopic futurist parable but also the classic \u201cThe Most Dangerous Game,\u201d it seemed Schwarzenegger was finally going to be known for more than saying three words on screen.<\/p>\n<p>Schwarzenegger plays Ben Richards, a helicopter pilot who is framed for a heinous crime he didn\u2019t commit. He\u2019s sent to prison, then forced to participate in a vile and wildly popular TV game show called The Running Man.<\/p>\n<p>The host of the series is also a power player within the social structure of this corrupt world (at least as much as Caesar Flickerman was in \u201cThe Hunger Games\u201d).<\/p>\n<p>Steven de Souza adapted Richard Bachman\u2019s novella and the dialogue is amusingly dopey. Early on, Schwarzenegger protests, \u201cTo hell with you. I will not fire on helpless human beings!\u201d I\u2019m unconvinced that even Meryl Streep could make that line work.<\/p>\n<p>This plays like \u201cThe Hunger Games\u201d for grown-ups. However, a movie that aims to be this gnarly should be closer to the no-holds-barred, shocking and brilliant film \u201cThe Hunger Games\u201d ripped off, which is <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Battle_Royale_(film)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cBattle Royale\u201d (2000).<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodintoto.com\/batman-and-robin-review\/\"><strong>RELATED: SCHWARZENEGGER\u2019s \u2018BATMAN &#038; ROBIN\u2019 \u2013 HOLY STINK BOMBS!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Instead, this has the crowd-pleasing safety net of the former and none of the savage satire and barbarity of the latter. However, it is authentically a red meat \u201980s action movie, as it turns us into the studio audience and makes us root for carnage over anything else.<\/p>\n<p>Atop of racist stereotypes and broad caricatures on display, Schwarzenegger is playing an American here. Yes, his character\u2019s name is Ben Richards and, as it goes in some of his other starring vehicles, we\u2019re not meant to question why the very-Austrian Schwarzenegger is playing an American.<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, we know the character type, as Richards is in full Kill n\u2019 Quip mode and a fitting Schwarzenegger role.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">** BREAKING **<\/p>\n<p>THE RUNNING MAN is coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray on November 1 in SteelBook form and is now available for preorder over at Amazon. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/4K?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#4K<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Bluray?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Bluray<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/TheRunningMan?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#TheRunningMan<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/PhysicalMedia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#PhysicalMedia<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Schwarzenegger?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Schwarzenegger<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SteelBook?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#SteelBook<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ad?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#ad<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/rugKrEGGlZ\">https:\/\/t.co\/rugKrEGGlZ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 HighDefDiscNews.com (@HighDefDiscNews) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HighDefDiscNews\/status\/1561773909032243201?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 22, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Richard Dawson is first rate as the host of \u201cThe People\u2019s Network.\u201d Playing a cross between Vince McMahon and Simon Cowell, Dawson steals the movie and even has a great exit.<\/p>\n<p>After a strong intro, Maria Conchita Alonso\u2019s character becomes a basic damsel in distress Alonso, a dynamic actress, was actually better utilized in the Schwarzenegger-less \u201cPredator 2\u201d (1990).<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s also Kurt Fuller and New Line Cinema regular and \u201cInsidious\u201d MVP Lin Shaye. Mick Fleetwood (resembling Nicol Williamson) and Dweezil Zappa have early cameo appearances and are fun to watch acting alongside Schwarzenegger.<\/p>\n<p>Jesse \u201cThe Body\u201d Ventura shows up doing Hulk Hogan\u2019s schtick and, just in case the talent list wasn\u2019t wild enough, Paula Abdul did the choreography.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Running Man\u201d sure wants to be \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodintoto.com\/35-years-later-robocop-is-as-fresh-raw-and-relevant-as-ever\/\">RoboCop<\/a>,\u201d as the omnipresent ICS channel that airs The Running Man game show is to this world what OCP is to \u201cRoboCop\u201d (in fact, both were released the same summer). Despite how silly this is, it surprisingly gets a lot right about Reality Television.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also campy, very \u201980s and really bloody for a 1987 R-rating.<\/p>\n<p>While too dumb and silly to succeed as satire, it\u2019s involving and grasps the narrative pull of a corporation\u2019s ability to pull in and maintain a grasp on the masses.<\/p>\n<p>Another touch I appreciated: De Souza is correct in assuming that 2017 TV executives wouldn\u2019t know what \u201cGilligan\u2019s Island\u201d or Mr. Spock is.<\/p>\n<p>The fanatical devotion towards Reality TV depicted here reminded me of the time John Carpenter (no, not the filmmaker) won \u201cWho Wants to Be a Millionaire,\u201d and \u201cAmerican Gladiators,\u201d \u201cSurvivor,\u201d \u201cThe Amazing Race\u201d pointed to Reality TV getting really bad, really fast.<\/p>\n<p>Post-\u201cThe Truman Show\u201d (1998), it\u2019s not hard to imagine \u201cThe Running Man\u201d airing on prime time television, though presumably with a lower body count\u2026for now.<\/p>\n<p>Det. Starsky-turned-director Glaser\u2019s direction is TV-ready, including scenes ending with cuts to exteriors, like a TV show after a commercial break. Glaser\u2019s only directorial credit after this was, of all things, the Shaquille O\u2019Neal genie comedy, \u201cKazaam!\u201d (1996).<\/p>\n<p>In Schwarzenegger\u2019s 2012 autobiography, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Total-Recall-Unbelievably-True-Story\/dp\/1451662440\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cTotal Recall: My Unbelievably True-Life Story\u201d<\/a> (spoiler: the title does not lie), he complained over Glaser\u2019s handling of the sensational material and expressed unhappiness that the original director, Andrew Davis (who later directed Schwarzenegger in the 2002 \u201cCollateral Damage\u201d) was replaced.<\/p>\n<p>Schwarzenegger\u2019s dismissive assessment of the film isn\u2019t entirely fair. While not a classic and or on the level of either \u201cThe Terminator\u201d (1984) or \u201cPredator,\u201d \u201cThe Running Man\u201d is basically \u201cThe Most Dangerous Game\u201d crossed with \u201cRollerball\u201d plus a dash of \u201cEscape from New York.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It works.<\/p>\n<p>While it\u2019s easy to pick on the casting of Schwarzenegger as the very-American Ben Richards and the star\u2019s struggles with English were present at this point, this isn\u2019t a bad vehicle nor a career misstep.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Running Man\u201d didn\u2019t earn the respect of James Cameron\u2019s \u201cThe Terminator\u201d (1984) but it was a hit and another title that pushed the star towards his trajectory with \u201cTerminator 2: Judgment Day\u201d (1991).<\/p>\n<p>Most wouldn\u2019t consider Schwarzenegger an actor, but he would prove everyone wrong. He wound up having an unexpected flair for comedy (\u201cTwins,\u201d \u201cKindergarten Cop,\u201d the weird but watchable \u201cJunior\u201d and especially \u201cTrue Lies\u201d) and drama (while little seen, Schwarzenegger\u2019s performance in the \u201cMaggie\u201d is as understated and remarkable as the film itself).<\/p>\n<p>The former Mr. Universe is such a compelling screen presence that, even in movies like this, he makes his casting work. Few movie stars can pull that off.<\/p>\n<p>Harold Faltermeyer\u2019s John Carpenter-esque score is a big plus. The third act is crass and silly, as the heavies are all attired like \u201cMad Max\u201d villains. It\u2019s all very WWF, particularly the Iron Sheik and Junkyard Dog era.<\/p>\n<p>If only the fight scenes weren\u2019t so clunky.<\/p>\n<p>Considering that this came out in the era of Morton Downey Jr., the chair toss at Geraldo Rivera, but before decades of Jerry Springer and Maury Povich chaos, the depiction that the most blood thirsty gladiators are the audience members was dead on, then and now.<\/p>\n<p>The film\u2019s biggest achievement is that it makes the point that the real savagery is in the live studio audience. If \u201cNetwork\u201d (1976) was the prophetic, intellectual take on this premise and \u201cThe Truman Show\u201d (1998) is the gentle allegory of how TV shapes the lives of its watchers and products, then \u201cThe Running Man\u201d could be just a few years ahead of being the real thing.<\/p>\n<p>I hope that\u2019s not true, but it certainly looks like ICS-like sweeps week mayhem is right around the corner\u2026if it hasn\u2019t arrived already.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Paul Michael Glaser\u2019s \u201cThe Running Man\u201d (1987) felt like a top-tier Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle upon release. It was based on a novella by Richard Bachman, who we later learned was<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1629318,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1629316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1629316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1629316"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1629316\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1629318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1629316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1629316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1629316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}