Runaway Train

R

Released Jan 17, 1986

1h 51m

Action

List

83%

36 Reviews

Tomatometer

76%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Escaped convicts (Jon Voight, Eric Roberts) and a stowaway girl (Rebecca De Mornay) ride an unmanned diesel speeding out of control through Alaska.

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Critics Consensus

Charging forward with the momentum of a locomotive, Runaway Train makes great use of its adrenaline-fueled premise and star presences of Jon Voight and Eric Roberts.

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ben j

Much more than your average 80s action thriller (though a perfect one at that), Runaway Train is an existential meditation on what it means to be human. Simultaneously exhilarating--it's pacing is as fast as the titular runaway train--as it is philosophical. The ending is as perfect as they come. Broken, tough guy prison hero Manny is accompanied by buffoonish yet likable Buck in their prison escape, hunted down by obsessive, Captain Ahab-esque prison warden Ranken. Ranken and Manny define each other, mirror images, and their existence is defined by the game they play with one another, and who gets the final victory. Manny hysterically screaming "I won!!!" while barreling 90mph towards his demise is as about as poetic, ironic, and ultimately sad, yet somehow true, as anything I've seen. One of the best 80s flicks out there.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/26/24

Full Review

reghuvaran s

Runaway train is about a train unhinged and hurtling towards disaster through the icy wilderness of alaska. Two law breakers and a stowaway girl who unwittingly choose to ride it must share a common destiny. Aside from the simple premise of convicts making the great escape of their lives and policemen in pursuit, Runaway train engages you in an emotional roller coaster ride through brilliant acting performances from a young John Voight who plays the titular role and his accomplice played by Eric Robwrts. The movie is absolutely about the thrills that puts you in the convicts seat taking the escape ride. However in its short running span of two hours it paints good character stetches of the main protagonists without going overboard on social commentary. Technically it is an accomplished movie. Visually it is an absolute treat to watch with excellent cinematography and beautiful tracking shots in a very inhospitable and difficult terrain to shoot.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/21/24

Full Review

DanTheMan 2

Charging forward with the momentum of a locomotive, Runaway Train is another incredible concoction by mad lads at Cannon Films. Being based on an unfilmed Akira Kurosawa script, refined and co-written by Edward Bunker (Mr Blue from fucking Resovier Dogs) and then directed by Andrei Konchalovsky, the film is a terrific mix of tightly coiled action and psychoanalysis that remains a wrenchingly intense and brutally powerful watch even now. Before viewing, I only really knew the film in passing due to its influence on Speed and now having watched it, I can confidently say that this is the full embodiment of Dad cinema, I love it. Between the nihilism and the vicious intensity of Jon Voight's performance, the endless charm of Eric Roberts, its outstanding dread-inducing score by Trevor Jones, gorgeous Alaskan photography and spontaneously odd direction, Runaway Train marks not only a high point for Cannon Films but takes great pleasure in delivering a breakneck ride to the end of the line.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

12/21/23

Full Review

Jack P

I love this movie, it emphasizes what it is like to live as a convict, and I love how the train is shown as a beast. I would recommend this movie to anyone looking for entertainment!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/11/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Based on a story by the legendary Akira Kurosawa and directed by Andrei Konchalovsk. Jon Voight, Eric Roberts, and Rebecca DeMornay star in a high speed thriller along the likes of 'Speed' and 'Unstoppable'. In an Alaskan prison called Stone Haven two convicts Manny and Buck are eager to escape. Once they do they board a train hoping to make it scott-free. What they didn't count on what the locomotive having no conductor and it's speeding out of control. So the train is literally a runaway much like them. Manny wishes he could be reformed and he wants Bucky to do the same. Neither of them are sure what to do with their freedom at the moment. A woman named Sara gets caught up in the escapade played by Rebecca DeMornay. She serves as the voice of reason asking these two to work together. Next to that the warden of the prison is hot on their trail but wants to bring them back dead or alive otherwise the prison will be in riot. After all Manny was an idol back in the slammer. The Alaskan setting I like a lot giving you that searing feeling of the cold. You can almost feel the frostbite. The movie has the advantage of constantly moving at break speed so to speak. Exceptional performances by the three leads. It's also very bloody which I was surprised to see. Im pretty amazed how the powerful the music was as well as the ending. Is freedom on the run better than being locked up or dying free? Winning or losing, it's hard to tell the difference. We can act brave but maybe it's only to save face. Despite some implausibilities and logistical issues and some lack of common sense which is funny at times the movie is still intelligent enough to keep you glued to the screen. It's all the characters you see that you care about testing their bravery and redemption. It poses some interesting questions about life and humanity, which explore ideas proposed by William Shakespeare to illustrate the thematic concepts. These moments are when Kurosawa's influence really shines. The central characters are animals in many ways, but they aren't without their moments of pity either. Sadly it's another one of those movies that got overlooked in the shuffle but it really needs some reappraisal today because of its exploration of the human condition and the thrilling set pieces.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

12/07/23

Full Review

jwcdood

The only thing wrong with the high reviews of 1985's RUNAWAY TRAIN, from both the critics and audience, is that they still aren't high enough! This flick's plot is simple but extremely engaging and exciting. Jon Voight and Eric Roberts were both Academy Award nominees for their outstanding performances and the locations and conditions are real; it must have been extremely intense filming this outstanding movie...! ✨🥴👍✨

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/07/23

Full Review

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Andrey Konchalovskiy

Director

Jon Voight

Oscar 'Manny' Manheim

Eric Roberts

Buck

Rebecca De Mornay

Sara

Kyle T. Heffner

Frank Barstow

John P. Ryan

Ranken

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Paul Attanasio

Washington Post

"Runaway Train" isn't just bad -- it's bodaciously bad, grotesquely overblown, lurid in its emotion, big ideas on its brain.

Jan 4, 2018

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

Wrenchingly intense and brutally powerful, Andrei Konchalovsky's film rates as a most exciting action epic and is fundamentally serious enough to work strongly on numerous levels.

Mar 26, 2009

Full Review

Geoff Andrew

Time Out

Somehow one leaves aside the blatant implausibilities, the coincidences, even Eric Roberts, and takes great pleasure in a breakneck ride to the end of the line.

Feb 9, 2006

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...a periodically effective yet predominantly tedious misfire that squanders a seemingly foolproof setup.

Rated: 2/4

Nov 27, 2021

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

A rare quality credit for The Cannon Group.

Rated: 3/4

Mar 27, 2021

Full Review

Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

Unpredictably cohesive elements collaborate, unveiling an intensity and underlying poignancy that come as a great surprise considering the cliché action movie title.

Rated: 8/10

Sep 7, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

Escaped convicts (Jon Voight, Eric Roberts) and a stowaway girl (Rebecca De Mornay) ride an unmanned diesel speeding out of control through Alaska.

Director: Andrey Konchalovskiy
Producer: Robert A. Goldston, Henry T. Weinstein, Robert Whitmore
Screenwriter: Djordje Milicevic, Paul Zindel, Edward Bunker
Distributor: MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc.
Production Co: Golan-Globus
Rating: R
Genre: Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 17, 1986, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 30, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $7.2M
Runtime: 1h 51m
Sound Mix: Surround

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