When I was much younger, Sunday night was a big event. Not because there was school the next day and we were all bummed about it. It was because local broadcast TV would air foreign movies at 9 PM in the evening, making it the best time for family to gather and just watch a movie. For you kiddies, this was the time before Netflix and even HBO (the cable channel) was a thing. You had to get what you can! There was some competition between ABS-CBN 2’s Million Dollar Movies and RPN 9’s Sunday’s Big Event. So, they actually went all out at times when it came to picking what movies to show.

Unfortunately, I don’t remember if it was ABS-CBN or RPN who actually broadcast the Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s starring The Running Man all those nights ago. But I do remember it leaving an impression on me. After all, this was an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie I haven’t seen before! I do remember there being awkward cuts in it to censor out the violence and the gore… I think. I mean, I never really rewatched The Running Man since that night…

…until it popped up in YouTube’s Free Movies! I didn’t even know YouTube had a Free Movies section. But that’s because I’m in the Philippines and it’s technically not available in my region. I had to use a VPN to get to it and I got there by accident anyway! So, while I was exploring this part of YouTube, I saw The Running Man and, since I had some time to kill, I decided to watch it once again, this time with more adult eyes. So how does this venerable but lesser known Arnold Schwarzenegger film hold up? Read on to find out!

Now, as this is a very old movie, I will be delving into SPOILERS from here on out. While it’s not exactly that popular, it’s still well known enough that most geeks would have seen this. So, yeah. SPOILERS!

In the near future (actually the past as the movie is set in 2017), the United States has become a police state due to the world’s economy collapsing. The government controls everything, including broadcast television. In order to appease the masses, they developed a show called The Running Man, wherein convicted felons called “runners” are hunted down by “stalkers.” If the runners manage to eludes the stalkers, they are supposedly given a full pardon and set free. Captain Ben Richards becomes the latest runner when he is framed as the “Butcher of Bakersfield” in order to put the blame on him during a riot that led to the deaths of hundreds of civilians. Now, along with a group of rebels, he must try to survive the stalkers as well as take down the corrupt government.

I will say I do not remember The Running Man starting out so slow. The first third of the movie is all about Ben Richards getting arrested, working in a penal colony, joining the rebel forces in an attempt to escape, only to get caught again and forced to join The Running Man. While I do appreciate this as it introduces Ben Richards’ allies and I guess new love interest, it does keep us from getting to the reason why we’re all here: The Running Man game show part of the film.

The same thing can also be said for the climax of the film as, by this point, Ben Richards is technically safe as he had already escaped and the government made a fake clip showing he got killed. Still, he had to return to overthrow the government, I guess? Honestly, the ending itself is kind of unsatisfying as I you just have to infer that the rebels crushed the government because… they showed they were lying? Honestly, I don’t see how that would work but whatever!

While the beginning and the ending parts of The Running Man does come off as a little lame, the middle part, which is all about Ben Richards taking out stalkers, is great! All the stalkers’ designs a cheesy theme to them. You have Subzero, the stalker with a deadly hockey stick and skates. There’s Buzzsaw, the chainsaw wielding motorcycle rider. Fireball is the most boring as he’s just a guy carrying a flamethrower. My personal favorite has to be Dynamo. Not only does he have an electric theme to him, meaning he has to be covered in silly little lights, he also sings opera! I’m not sure how opera connects to his electricity theme get-up. But I like that unnecessary attention to detail!

As this is an ’80s movies starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, there are two things you look for: cool action scenes and groan-worthy one liners. I will have to say, for the latter, this isn’t his best work. There are some gems like referring to Buzzsaw that “he had to split.” But the rest just seem so forced. I mean, the “Here is Subzero! Now just plain Zero!” was just terrible! It’s not exactly Arnold’s fault. Even he can’t polish turd lines like those and turn them into diamonds. I will say the action is glorious Arnold action, though. While the fight scenes in The Running Man aren’t his best, he still keeps the intensity way up. Weirdly enough, I kind of wish the action was a little more over the top than what we got.

I also have to say it’s not as violent as I thought it would be. Like I said, I remember noticing the jarring cuts way back when it was shown on broadcast television. Watching it without cuts does make me think how some of them could’ve been shown as a lot of the gore is just implied. A good example of this is how Arnold dispatches Buzzsaw by using his own chainsaw against him. You never see the chainsaw actually split him in half or anything like that. You hear it and you see the blood splatter. But the camera is obscured so you don’t see the grisly violence. I guess the squirting of buckets of blood was enough for that part to get cut out.

When it comes to the performances, while watching Arnold is always great, I also really did enjoy Richard Dawson as the game show host and the big baddie. The funny thing is that Richard Dawson was a pretty well-known as a wholesome fellow as he was the host of Family Feud at the time. What’s even more strange is how he still acted the same way while he was doing his game show hosting duties but he could still sell it as if he was being a very slimy fellow. Good on you, Richard Dawson!

Sadly, the rest of the cast fails to really make an impact. This was my first time seeing Maria Conchita Alonzo in a movie and I honestly forgot she was even in here! Arnold’s friends didn’t add all that much so, when they were eventually offed by the stalkers, I didn’t really care all that much. The stalkers themselves didn’t really get to show off any real acting prowess so the only impact they do deliver on is how campy they look. Even Jesse “The Body” Ventura doesn’t really get to do much here! What a waste!

Still, you don’t go to an Arnold Schwarzenegger flick to see great acting. You’re there to see Arnold perform almost superhuman feats of strength and hear him do some one-liners. In that aspect, The Running Man succeeds… if it was in a vacuum. The thing is, there are better Arnold movies out there. But that shouldn’t stop you from watching this while it’s free on YouTube. It’s still a hoot and a half to see and I suggest you do tune in.

When was the last time you watched The Running Man? Is it still good, in your opinion? Let me know in the comments section below!