Customer Reviews

Runaway

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I don't understand all of the negative comments on this movie. The story was good. The cast was good. The special effects were good. What is the problem? Granted it is SCIENCE FICTION! The story is no more far fetched than most other hard sci-fi films. Anyway, I am wasting this review defending the film from the critics.

The film is based in the near future, when robots (rather believable ones) can be found in many homes and businesses performing menial or repetative tasks. A certain level of AI has been reached but these machines are far from perfect, and seem to malfunction with some regularity. This background sets the scene for Tom Sellek and his partner who are police officers who specialize in deactivating "runaway robots." It also forshadows the evil genius Gene Simmons who has a bunch of wonderful (and lethal) robotic "toys." He also has developed an explosive "smart bullet" which is encoded with a specific target's thermal pattern and can home in on that target, even around corners. Anyway, without giving anything away, the plot gets more involved as Sellek and partner track down Simmons to a final exciting showdown.

My best recommendation here is that if you are a fan of hard sci-fi movies, Tom Sellek, Kirstie Alley, or Gene Simmons (of Kiss fame) then you will probably like this movie. It is nicely paced, with some intense moments and a satisfying, if cliched ending. If you are on the fence about whether or not to see this film, get it. I'll wager you won't be disappointed.

P.S. I'm waiting patiently for the DVD verson.

Poor Tom Selleck. I swear everybody loves him but he never gets a hit movie. This happens to be a very good SciFi movie. I know since there are not many I don't own. Not to mention you have a good director and great music. Add in a cool evil Vectrocon doctor played by Gene "Kiss" Simmons with killer insect like robots and you have a winner.

Selleck plays Sgt. Jack Ramsey, a cop that polices runaway robots. Since most of them are fairly harmless house units it starts out a bit comical. But as the story develops with a Vectrocon secretary played by Kirstie Alley finding out about killer robots. Add in some incredible heat seeking signature bullets that can turn corners and the tension mounts.

The DVD includes some extras including Bios on the stars. The picture and sound quality are sharp. Well worth owning on DVD, especially for fans of Tom Selleck.

"Runaway"

This is the archetypal "average" movie. Whilst not expertly handled by director Crichton (yes, Michael Crichton), Runaway at least succeeds in being reasonably interesting and very watchable. It's one of those movies that succeeds in being very enjoyable without actually being that good; there is something very comfortable about the tone of the whole film. Whilst most of the set-pieces could have been more tightly edited and paced, there is an undeniable consistency in the visuals throughout. And note has to be made of Gene Simmons (yes, from Kiss), who makes a convincing bad guy, and the subtle but workable chemistry between Tom Selleck and the glammed-down Cynthia Rhodes.

The film boasts an impressive electronic score by the legendary Jerry Goldsmith, done in the same year as his beautiful work on Ridley Scott's Legend, at which time Goldsmith was in the process of moving over to synthesizers. The closing theme, which plays out as Selleck and Rhodes kiss under showers of sparks, is exhiliarating.

The DVD is unremarkable, with a fairly good transfer and sound if nothing in the way of extras (unless you're still counting trailers).

When I am watching a 1984 sci-fi movie, I am not expecting to see an oscar calibur portrail full of twists and turns. Some may call it predictible, but myself I feel that the story flowed and made sense. Too many times have I seen a movie wher its certainly unpredictable because the plot climax comes out of nowhere. Tom Sellek plays the part well and is very believeable as a hardened and some what cynical cop. Gene Simmons in one of his only noteworthy film performances takes his KISS type persona and plays the evil genius well. I for one enjoyed this movie alot, and unlike Blade Runner didn't find myself watching it 5 times to understand the very shallow story line. If you are looking for a believeable near future story, pick this up.

Jack Ramsay (Tom Selleck) is a sergeant on the runaway squad - a police squad dedicated to robots. Ramsay and his new partner (Cynthia Rhodes) track down an electronics genious named Charles Luther (Gene Simmons) who has programed robots to kill. After the murders of two electronic engineers Ramsay discovers Luther has stolen a new weapon and plans to sell it to the highest bidder.

Its hard to believe this movie is sixteen years old. I like all the actors in this movie and have seen it several times and it still is not boring. The only problems i have with it is that the dvd does not have many options on it and there are two very cheesy scenes at the begining.

Featuring both the original Panavision version in 16:9 anamorphic and a pan&scan version for those who don't know why there must be black bars on a widescreen frame. Also features Dolby Digital 4.0 and Dolby Digital 2.0 sound in English, and monophonic soundtrack in Spanish. Includes English, Spanish, Portugese, Chinese, Korean, and Thai subtitles. Special feature worth mentioning is only the original preview. (The preview is actually more interesting than the movie!) The disc is single layer, double sided. One side in widescreen and the other in full screen Pan&Scan. Disc replicated by Sony DADC USA. Authored by Sony DVD Centre.

The movie isn't as bad as a lot of people coin it to be. (After seeing real garbage like "Space Mutiny", it's hard to call a bad Hollywood movie "bad".) As for the music, I love the score, which was composed and performed by the master of film music, Jerry Goldsmith. (Although I can understand why some people may not like it, it does sound eighties as they were performed on Yamaha digital keyboards. Appropriate, though, given the "technical" atmosphere the film attempts to portray. The score was electronic to help better portray this intent.) <

I'm afraid I have to disagree with Mr. Maltin, although I'm biased because I've loved anything to do with robots since I was a small child. While the plot _is_ a bit weak, Crichton's carefully constructed "world of the near future" populated with construction robots, housekeeping robots, security guard robots, robot pets, etc. is one of the most realistic treatments of the subject I've seen in a long time. People who, like me, have followed the development of real robots and eagerly await the arrival of the world depicted in "Runaway" will enjoy the robots in the movie at least as much as the human characters.

Runaway is what I pictured the future to be like, if robots were slowly, logical, inserted into human society. They pop up everywhere, from our homes to our businesses, from our cars to our weapons. There is drama, humor, horror, greed, lovely actresses, great actors, wonderful if sometimes over-the-top special effects - like the exploding Gene Simmons. Everything you could want, including Kirstie Alley undressing, all written and directed by Michael Crichton. This movie is so individual and stand alone I can't even suggest a book or movie you may also like after watching it.
The plot is simple - terrorist has chip designed that allows him to program robots, any robots, to kill. In a world where robots are now in every layer of our culture this is like the idea of a slave revolt in the Roman Empire. The 'Runaway' Squad happens to realize what is happening after stopping a robot gone out of control and finding one of the chips. Enjoy!

There are entertaining movies that aren't great, and great movies that aren't entertaining. If I had to choose one, I'd choose entertaining. That's what this movie delivers. If you're reading the reviews, you know the characters and the story. If you like science fiction with characters you can care about (or hate), a good story, some suspense, and creative technological features, you'll enjoy this film. It's far better than a lot of the garbage they're cooking up in CGI labs today!

I just watched Runaway and was impressed with the movie and would like to add I am not a science fiction movie person, but my husband is. Gene Simmons was in the movie so that is what caught my eye. For science fiction this was very believable film. I am purchasing this movie for my husband and he will get a kick out of that since I refuse to watch any other Sci-Fi.