The Running Man
A framed police officer battles televised gladiators while turning a government death game into a weapon against authoritarian propaganda.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Graphic
- propulsive
- campy
- paranoid
- action movie night
- 1980s nostalgia night
What critics said
Critics broadly found it an energetic and funny Schwarzenegger action vehicle whose television satire was engaging but thin and undermined by repetitive, excessive violence.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The government uses The Running Man game show to suppress public dissent while broadcasting convicted criminals fighting for survival.
Ben Richards is framed for the deaths of nearly a hundred unarmed civilians after refusing an order to fire on protesters.
Richard Dawson's Damon Killian and the game's gladiatorial presenters turn authoritarian propaganda into exaggerated television entertainment.
The 2019 United States has sealed borders, censored communication, and become a police state amid economic collapse.
Films like The Running Man, and why
RoboCop
Shares dystopian authoritarianism, media manipulation, action spectacle, and a wrongly accused protagonist fighting a corrupt system.
The Running Man
Shares near-future police-state paranoia, televised violence, anti-authoritarian themes, and heightened science fiction action.
The Hunger Games
Shares dystopian social collapse, survival-game structure, spectacle-driven violence, and political satire.
1984
Shares totalitarian control, propaganda, resistance politics, and a protagonist hunted by the state.
Movie Details
- Director
- Paul Michael Glaser
- Release Date
- 1987-11-13
- Runtime
- 101 min
- Rating
- 6.5 / 10 (2990)
Cast
- Arnold Schwarzenegger
- Richard Dawson
- María Conchita Alonso
- Yaphet Kotto
- Jim Brown
- Jesse Ventura
- Erland van Lidth
- Marvin J. McIntyre
- Gus Rethwisch
- Professor Toru Tanaka
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, YouTube TV, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel, Starz Apple TV channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Running Man about?
- A framed police officer battles televised gladiators while turning a government death game into a weapon against authoritarian propaganda.
- What is The Running Man like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Running Man as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is The Running Man violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in The Running Man as graphic.
- What did critics think of The Running Man?
- Critics broadly found it an energetic and funny Schwarzenegger action vehicle whose television satire was engaging but thin and undermined by repetitive, excessive violence.
- Which films are like The Running Man?
- Films with a similar feel include RoboCop, The Running Man, The Hunger Games, and 1984.
- How long is The Running Man?
- The Running Man runs 101 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Running Man?
- In United States, The Running Man streams on fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, YouTube TV, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel, Starz Apple TV channel.
