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I watched the running man with some friends last weekend. I'd say it's a solid meh. It's the first time I've actually seen Schwarzenegger in a movie, and I gotta say, I don't understand why he's so popular. He's a pretty terrible actor.
That's because you haven't seen Kindergarten Cop yet, the pinnacle of his acting career.
WHO IS YOUR DADDY AND WHAT DOES HE DO!?!
That's a pretty early film. His acting and especially his comedy does improve a lot over time, though it's never amazing. I think he's a product of the 80's. If he were getting his start today I'm not sure he'd stand out. He'd be like a less charismatic Jason Momoa.
He tends to be in movies that don't rely much on emoting (Conan & Terminator) or with better actors (Danny Devito, Gabriel Byrne, Jamie Lee Curtis, Bill Paxton—it's a very long list) and the action and effects were top notch for the day, and the stories usually had a good emotional core. I do think True Lies was probably his best movie even if not the most iconic. And it really holds up today - I would strongly recommend it.
The Last Action Hero got panned, but it's a pretty solid satire of the action films he made his career on.
I love that movie. But it also had Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister) in it and a great villain really helped make LAH the classic it is. I think it exemplifies my comment: emotional core (relationship with the kid and his mom), better actors, good effects.
But I do wish it was given the respect you and I think it deserves.
Watch Running Man for Richard Dawson. If you know about his time as host of Family Feud, his character in this movie takes on a whole extra level!
His Mr. Freeze escaping Batman and Robin by way of various vault doors is absolutely one of the greatest achievements in western cinema so I really don’t know where you’re coming from.