‘The Running Man’ With Bill Simmons and Kyle Brandt
April 30, 2024 · The Running Man (1987) · Action · Sci-Fi · Thriller · 1:33:51
Categories
Most Rewatchable Scene
Bill Simmons▶ 26:46Multiple scenes including the escape from Wilshire detention zone, Captain Freedom's workout tape (arguably favorite part of whole movie), Ben Richards taking Amber to Hawaii, and the extended sequence with slutty aerobics cheerleaders/Buzzsaw's entrance/Killian's entrance/doctored Bakersfield massacre video
Kyle Brandt▶ 27:15Loves the Chico escape scene and Captain Freedom's workout, comparing Chico to embarrassing sports moments and praising the workout scene's over-the-top nature
Butch's Girlfriend Award
Bill Simmons▶ 53:24The Dynamo, Buzzsaw, and Figaro fights - wanted them to be better, lacking choreography compared to modern standards
Kyle Brandt▶ 53:44The weird ending sequence with Richards, Killian, and Sven - makes no sense why Killian thinks Sven can beat Richards, plus Sven's unintelligible line
What's Aged the Worst
Bill Simmons▶ 56:08Richard Dawson stunt casting (hard to explain the big deal now), futuristic machine guns that aren't intimidating (should have been plasma rifles), Dynamo's sexual assault scene with Amber, and Schwarzenegger's smaller 17-inch biceps due to back injury
Kyle Brandt▶ 58:10The dialogue, especially during Yaphet Kotto's death scene where real actors have to deliver terrible lines like 'secure my travel arrangements'
Overacting Award
Bill Simmons▶ 59:27Jesse Ventura — Jesse Ventura's scene with Dawson ('I was killing guys like this 10 years ago with my bare hands') or Arnold's scene about ramming it up Dawson's ass
Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award
Bill Simmons▶ 1:02:36The Running Man should have been made into a Grand Theft Auto-style video game and represents one of the great missed opportunities in video game history
Kyle Brandt▶ 1:00:49Fireball (Jim Brown) is the worst stalker of the four main stalkers - he doesn't catch anyone, doesn't kill anyone, and turns into a bitch when his gas line goes
Casting What-Ifs
Bill Simmons▶ 1:05:09Christopher Reeve — Discusses Christopher Reeve being attached to play Ben Richards in a darker version, thinks he could have done action and one-liners; mentions Andrew Davis being fired as director after two weeks would have made movie better; discusses Chuck Woolery vs Richard Dawson for Damon Killian role
Kyle Brandt▶ 1:06:35Richard Dawson — Agrees Woolery was cool and tan but thinks Dawson was better choice since he was actually an actor; supports the Andrew Davis director discussion
Half-Assed Internet Research
Bill Simmons▶ 1:11:25Screenwriter Stephenie de Souza wrote 15 drafts of the script, and Arnold's campaign bus was named 'the running man'
Apex Mountain
Bill Simmons▶ 1:12:03Jesse Ventura — Arnold: not yet, closer to Terminator 2/Total Recall. Richard Dawson: no, peak was Match Game/Family Feud. Jesse Ventura: yes, announcing Wrestlemania 3 plus Predator/Running Man felt like bigger things coming
Kyle Brandt▶ 1:12:56Jesse Ventura — Questions whether Jesse Ventura's announcing Wrestlemania 3 is bigger than becoming governor of Minnesota
Sequel/Prequel/Limited Series/Remake
Bill Simmons▶ 1:19:59Sequel - interested to see where it goes with deep fakes and reality developments from last 10 years, prefers movie format over Netflix series
Kyle Brandt▶ 1:20:09Both sequel and prequel - sequel for continuation, prequel showing rise of Killian and young Captain Freedom, plus suggests storyline where Richards' brother becomes a stalker opponent
Coach Finstock Life Lesson
Bill Simmons▶ 1:26:52Deep fakes dangerous even in 1987 - be careful you could get accused of a 60 person
Movies Referenced (39)
Directors Referenced (1)
Andrew Davis
2 mentions · Bill Simmons, Kyle Brandt · Known for The Fugitive, Holes, Under Siege▶ 1:06:03IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Actors Referenced (11)
Albert Brooks
1 mentions · Kyle Brandt · Known for Drive, Broadcast News▶ 1:21:57IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Danny Glover
1 mentions · Kyle Brandt · Known for Lethal Weapon▶ 1:25:03IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Donald Trump
1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Home Alone 2: Lost in New York▶ 12:04IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Jesse Ventura
1 mentions · Kyle Brandt · Known for Predator, The Running Man▶ 19:08IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Kurt Russell
1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Escape from New York, The Hateful Eight▶ 36:50IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Linda Hamilton
1 mentions · Kyle Brandt · Known for Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The Terminator▶ 7:08IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Luke Wilson
1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Old School, The Royal Tenenbaums▶ 1:00:30IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Steven Seagal
1 mentions · Kyle Brandt · Known for Under Siege 2: Dark Territory▶ 27:55IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Writers Referenced (2)
Edgar Wright
1 mentions · Kyle Brandt · Known for Shaun of the Dead, Baby Driver▶ 8:54IMDb ↗Lb ↗