The Running Man (1987)
The plot: Very, very loosely based on a Stephen King sci-fi thriller (i.e. it's really nothing like it), Arnie is the mighty-bicepped cop who gets framed for a government-ordered massacre he tried to stop. After breaking out of a labour camp, he's caught and re-cast into a top-rated gladiatorial gameshow where convicted felons are hunted by 20-stone-plus behemoths with ridiculous names, like Sub-Zero and Buzzsaw. He trades corny lines with said protagonists. And then falls in love.
Why's it a classic? Flexing-up literary masterpieces 1984 and Handmaid's Tale with mighty Arnie muscles, The Running Man warns against futuristic totalitarian society and capitalist extremism in the shallowest, most spectacular manner possible. Eye-opening corporate contempt are constantly stride-jumped for an action blow-out starring beardies running rampage with chainsaws, muscled opera singers blasting electricity bolts out of their 'Christmas Tree' fingertips and ex-wrestling legends impaling gameshow competitors on spiked walls, abetted by such naff yet goosepimple-sprouting quips as: "This chainsaw's always been part of me...and I'm gonna make it part of you!" Just like Shredded Wheat, this is corny goodness to the max. And astoudingly entertaining for it.
Like Rollerball before it, The Running Man's social themes of TV power, capitalist propaganda and pleibian brainwashing are nudged aside for killer set-pieces, trasforming the film into a tense, thrill-a-minute '80s action masterpiece instead. And if you do want to heed its dystopian future message: let's face it, The Running Man show is only a few steps away from Jerry Springer and Big Brother in terms of voyeuristic violence. Bearing in mind this was made in 1987, it was truly prophetic after all. And we haven't even mentioned that brilliant '80s title music from soft rock genius John 'St Elmo's Fire' Parr. Click 'play' below and flick open those lighters. Magic!
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