Runaway (1984)

Director:

Michael Crichton

Writer:

Michael Crichton (written by)

Release Date:

14 December 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Thriller | Crime

Tagline:

IT IS THE FUTURE. Machines are being programmed to turn against us. Someone must stop the madman who started it all.

Plot:

In the near future, a police officer specializes in malfunctioning robots. When a robot turns out to have been programmed to kill, he begins to uncover a homicidal plot to create killer robots... and his son becomes a target.

Plot Keywords:

Robot | Future | Killer Robot | Police | Bullet

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Tom Selleck	...	Sgt. Jack R. Ramsay
Cynthia Rhodes	...	Officer Karen Thompson
Gene Simmons	...	Dr. Charles Luther
Kirstie Alley	...	Jackie Rogers
Stan Shaw	...	Sgt. Marvin James
G.W. Bailey	...	Chief of Police
Joey Cramer	...	Bobby Ramsay
Chris Mulkey	...	David Johnson
Anne-Marie Martin	...	Hooker at Bar
Michael Paul Chan	...	Vectrocon Security Guard
Elizabeth Norment	...	Miss Shields, Reporter
Carol Teasdale	...	Sally (as Carol Teesdale)
Jackson Davies	...	Jerry, Inspector
Paul Batten	...	Harry
Babs Chula	...	Construction Foreperson (as Babs Chulla)

Also Known As:

Bekstvo (Serbia) [sr]
Fora de Controlo (Portugal) [pt]
Gyilkos robotok (Hungary) [hu]
Karkuri (Finland) [fi]
Runaway - Fora de Controle (Brazil) [pt]
Runaway - L'évadé du futur (France) [fr]
Runaway - Spinnen des Todes (West Germany) [de]
Runaway, brigada especial (Spain) [es]

Runtime:

99 min | Germany:100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Alphacine)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 (re-rating) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Moses Lake, Washington, USA

Company:

Delphi III Productions

Trivia:

When Thompson and the police tech officer are assembling a mug shot of Luther (right after Luther kills Johnson) on a small computer screen, the image of Luther blinks.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Sgt. Ramsay goes in to rescue the baby, the rogue robot is heard to cock a shotgun several times before firing its weapon. The weapon, however, is a revolver and could not possibly produce the sound we hear.

Quotes:

Luther: Drop it, sucker!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Shooting the Police: Cops on Film (2006) (TV)

Gloriously stupid, but also entertaining

This film was listed in my television guide one night and it failed to mention what it was about, who starred in it, nor who directed it. If I had known all of the above ahead of time, I surely would have made sure to see the entire film; instead, I happened to turn it on after twenty minutes had already been aired. I saw Tom Selleck (an actor I've always enjoyed watching) and thought, "What is this?!" I looked it up on IMDb and when I saw Michael Crichton had directed it, I couldn't believe it.

First of all, I'd never heard of it, but that's beside the point - this movie is awesome! In a bad way, sure, but nevertheless awesome! It's got Gene Simmons as a villain for goodness sake, what more can you ask for? This is so cheesy and bad that it wouldn't earn a newbie director a passing grade in film school. Crichton, however, has such confidence in his outrageous material (small acid-spewing robots being used to take over the world) that it comes across as totally entertaining. From beginning (almost) to end I was kept amused by the film and never felt like it was too slow or anything.

Don't get me wrong. This is an awful film. But it makes no attempt to be a great epic or anything; the ending is so far-fetched, ridiculous and clichéd you can't help but love it! A classic of bad '80s movies to be cherished eternally.