Night of the Running Man

Ah, another somewhat bizarre crime film that few people have heard about and, as of March in 2006, still is not available on DVD. It is one of the fastest-moving films I've seen.

Usually, I like to see at least one good person in the film but this is an exception but this is a notch above the average low-life affair because of the performances of Scott Glenn and John Glover. They play cold-blooded professional killers who act polite, have impressive vocabularies, dress with class, keep their cool, don't get loud and obnoxious....but are brutally sadistic. Both are also fascinating to watch with Glenn having the bigger role as the main hired killer and Glover as his friend in another city.

I might be overrating this a bit because the last 45 minutes is a stretch, a real stretch, beginning with the entrance of a beautiful nurse who unrealistically gets involved with Andrew McCarthy, a guy on the run from these killers. That just wouldn't happen, but it does keep the story going strong.

There are some memorable scenes in this movie and some of them not too pleasant, so be forewarned: a woman dangled from the top of Hoover Dam and McCarthy being tortured with his feet scalded. Tough to watch. There are two gratuitous sex scenes in here, too.

At any rate, for a no-name movie, it was surprisingly entertaining and I'd like to see it out on DVD before too long.

'Night of the Running Man' is not much more than your average direct to video release. The production values are standard, the music or direction isn't anything special, the only thing that actually stands out is the performance by Scott Glenn (Silence of the Lambs). That and the torture scene.

The Breakfast Club's Andrew McCarthy plays a Las Vegas cabbie, who discovers a million dollars of cash stashed in her cab. It turns out to be stolen mob money, and he finds that a hired hit man (Glenn) is after the money- and him.

You could do a lot worse than to rent this, and a lot better, but considering the miniscule budget the producers had to work with, it is a pretty good actioner, even deserving of a limited theatrical run. Nothing special.

5.5/10

At one point a friend said to me that Andrew McCarthy is one of the kings of Bad movies. Ok, ok, "Weekend at Bernies" or some of the others may be ok, but they are not very memorable and would be on few top 100 or 1000 lists.

Anyway, Night of the Running Man, brings this idea of McCarthyism into the 90's (1994), and once again it rings true.

The concept of the movie is ok: $1 mil in the taxi, a killer is after you, and you run. But, alas it is really simplified. Scott Glen, plays the killer without morals, so much so, that we know something is up come ending time.

There are also little type goofs, like McCarthy's feet are burned so badly that he is supposed to be bedridden for 2 or so weeks, yet in 2 days, he is walking without any limps.

Also, "night " is a bit of a mis-nomer as the movie takes place over days.

Oh well, what else do you expect?

Other thrillers are better, but you may like this.

Viewed on tape, Rating = 4

This was an amazon prime find , it's nothing special but kept my attention. McCarthy does a decent job but the plot is a little dull at times . Worth a watch if you like a cat and mouse thriller . Sex and violence are pretty good too in the film. Scott Glenn is enjoyable as the hitman.

Fading brat-packer Andrew McCarthy is a Vegas cab driver who finds himself subjected to that hoary old plot device of finding a briefcase stuffed with money in the back of his cab. The problem is its stolen from the mob, who engage ruthless hitman Scott Glen to recover it. A laid-back performance from Glenn is the main reason to watch this generic thriller, which goes in some unexpected directions - thanks mostly to stupid decisions made by both McCarthy and Glenn.