Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

The Running Man

Play trailer 1:25 Poster for The Running Man R 1987 1h 41m Sci-Fi Action Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
60% Tomatometer 121 Reviews 61% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
In the year 2019, America is a totalitarian state where the favorite television program is "The Running Man" -- a game show in which prisoners must run to freedom to avoid a brutal death. Having been made a scapegoat by the government, an imprisoned Ben Richards (Arnold Schwarzenegger) has the opportunity to make it back to the outside again by being a contestant on the deadly show, although the twisted host, Damon Killian (Richard Dawson), has no intention of letting him escape.
Watch on Fandango at Home Stream Now

Where to Watch

The Running Man

The Running Man

What to Know

Critics Consensus

The Running Man is a winking sci-fi satire with ridiculous clothes and workmanlike direction.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View More (121)
David Edelstein Village Voice As an actor, Schwarzenegger makes Stallone look profound. He's pretty hilarious cast as someone called "the running man"; he's so muscle-bound he can hardly walk. Nov 7, 2025 Full Review Jay Boyar Orlando Sentinel This movie may barely escape the exploitation category, but not the garbage classification. Nov 7, 2025 Full Review Joe Kane New York Daily News The Running Man is an often sophomoric but generally fun dystopian slaughterfest. Nov 6, 2025 Full Review Julian Petley Monthly Film Bulletin The Running Man is efficient enough as a violent action movie if hardly a very original addition to the already well-worn 'apocalyptic city' genre. Nov 7, 2025 Full Review Jack Garner Rochester Democrat and Chronicle The visceral action, the gory-but-funny violence, and the campy one-liners make this a wonderfully entertaining comic book-in-motion. Rated: 2.5/4 Nov 7, 2025 Full Review Dan Geringer Philadelphia Daily News "The Running Man" is a first-class Arnold movie, which means it has non-stop comic-book action, the Arnold Glare, the Arnold deadpan one-liners, some wonderfully bizarre secondary characters and a bad guy you love to hate. Nov 6, 2025 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More (1000+)
Ray C Wildly entertaining and full of 80s cheese. The Running Man sees Arnold Schwarzenegger at peak action hero status, one liners and everything. I also loved Richard Dawson as the sadistic game show host antagonist. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 11/01/25 Full Review Daniel W Very fun movie, I will say. Arnold is Arnold, the one liners are bad, plot that is relevant today. Good time if you want an 80s thrill to waste some time. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 10/26/25 Full Review Albert W Silly, fun, and entertaining movie with the Arnold. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 10/20/25 Full Review Arlen B A really fun movie. Arnold is Arnold. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 10/15/25 Full Review David E Arnie is at his best in an action-based movie with quirky one liners that is pure entertainment. Highly recommended entertainment. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 10/13/25 Full Review Justin T This is so very eighties and so much of a classic Arnold Schwarzenegger film. It is fun but it is not amazing. The acting is not great. The action has lots of explosions which is cool but looks dated and when there are no explosions the action is a little slow. It’s not as good as Demolition Man (1993) or Predator (1987) or Total Recall (1990). I actually think that a respectful remake could make an excellent film, fix the action, keep the fun and eighties. Overall fun mindless action that is enjoyable but far from outstanding. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 09/30/25 Full Review Read all reviews
The Running Man

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

The Running Man

The Running Man: The Running Man (1987) - Best Scenes The Running Man: The Running Man (1987) - Best Scenes 9:40 The Running Man: Official Clip - Dynamo Crashes The Running Man: Official Clip - Dynamo Crashes 2:59 The Running Man: Official Clip - Let's Start Running! The Running Man: Official Clip - Let's Start Running! 2:56 The Running Man: Official Clip - Subzero Gets Iced The Running Man: Official Clip - Subzero Gets Iced 2:55 The Running Man: Official Clip - TV Studio Shootout The Running Man: Official Clip - TV Studio Shootout 2:11 The Running Man: Official Clip - Captain Freedom's Kills The Running Man: Official Clip - Captain Freedom's Kills 2:39 The Running Man: Official Clip - Fireball Chase The Running Man: Official Clip - Fireball Chase 2:07 The Running Man: Official Clip - Fireball Explodes The Running Man: Official Clip - Fireball Explodes 2:24 The Running Man: Official Clip - Buzzsaw Attacks The Running Man: Official Clip - Buzzsaw Attacks 2:18 The Running Man: Official Clip - Americans Love Television! The Running Man: Official Clip - Americans Love Television! 2:03 View more videos
Total Recall 81% 79% Total Recall Watchlist TRAILER for Total Recall RoboCop 92% 84% RoboCop Watchlist Judge Dredd 21% 31% Judge Dredd Watchlist TRAILER for Judge Dredd Demolition Man 66% 67% Demolition Man Watchlist RoboCop 2 29% 37% RoboCop 2 Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis In the year 2019, America is a totalitarian state where the favorite television program is "The Running Man" -- a game show in which prisoners must run to freedom to avoid a brutal death. Having been made a scapegoat by the government, an imprisoned Ben Richards (Arnold Schwarzenegger) has the opportunity to make it back to the outside again by being a contestant on the deadly show, although the twisted host, Damon Killian (Richard Dawson), has no intention of letting him escape.
Director
Paul Michael Glaser
Producer
George Linder, Tim Zinnemann
Screenwriter
Steven E. de Souza
Distributor
TriStar Pictures
Production Co
TAFT Entertainment, Home Box Office (HBO)
Rating
R
Genre
Sci-Fi, Action
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 13, 1987, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Jun 6, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA)
$38.0M
Runtime
1h 41m
Sound Mix
Surround
Most Popular at Home Now