Runaway (1984).

Review #1171: Runaway.

Cast: 
Tom Selleck (Sgt. Jack R. Ramsay), Cynthia Rhodes (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), and Chris Mulkey (David Johnson) Directed by Michael Crichton (#988 - Westworld)

Review: 
Runaway was the fifth film that Michael Crichton directed and wrote for, and I suppose there must've been a yearning for him to make a sci-fi action thriller film with a look at machines. It certainly invites some comparisons to the technology present over thirty years since its release, that is for sure. There certainly are some things present here that are interesting to look at, such as smart bullets or robot spiders with acid. For a movie with no real terrible performances, how does the end product manage to be just mediocre? I suppose this comes due to the fact that there also isn't too much from what the movie offers that differs from other cop movies besides occasional moments with tech, particularly with its climax in a unfinished building. It manages to have a bunch of the cliches that you might expect from something like this, such as a new partner, greedy bad guy, someone involved in double-crossing the villain, hostage exchanges, etc, having a fair bit of predictability by the time the film moves towards its climax  For a movie that is about cops taking care of wayward machines, I feel that the premise isn't really executed too well, feeling a bit too casual with its approach. Honestly, you probably could've made a comedy with this material, as if the Geek Squad suddenly became cops in the future. Selleck (playing a cop who happens to be a expert on robots) is fine and pleasant, but the material doesn't really give him much to do besides a few stiff moments trying to establish chemistry with Rhodes and occasional moments trying to play off Simmons that begs for something a bit over-the-top. The oddest scene is where he takes down a robot that shocks you without protective gear to help a woman to safety because...he just wants to impress her I suppose, although I don't know how much she'll like him beating the thing with a bat. Rhodes is fine, having a bit of charm on occasion. Simmons (in his first feature role) is somewhat interesting in this slimy role, at least. Perhaps the material needed to give him a bit more to do to make it really have more impact. His fight with Selleck at the end feels a bit lacking, but at least there's a few killer spiders to go around and plenty of heights. Alley is fine, but she isn't really in the film too much to make much of an impact. The film doesn't really have any character that sticks out too greatly, being an okay but not special action flick with occasional moments of robot stuff. In a year with hit films such as Beverly Hills Cop and The Terminator, this movie did not prove to be a hit with audiences, making just over six million at the box office on an eight million budget upon release in late December. On the whole, the movie isn't anything to point and pick at, but it also isn't anything too great to write home about either. It exists on the scale of average, teetering between interesting and forgettable. Would I recommend it? I can't say it won't waste your time too much, but I also can't say that it really will prove to be too beneficial for certain tastes and patience, seemingly fitting only when there aren't too many choices to pick from.

Overall, I give it 6 out of 10 stars.

Westworld.

Review #988: Westworld.

Cast: 
Yul Brynner (The Gunslinger), Richard Benjamin (Peter Martin), James Brolin (John Blane), Norman Bartold (the Medieval Knight), Alan Oppenheimer (the Chief Supervisor), Victoria Shaw (the Medieval Queen), Dick Van Patten (the Banker), Linda Scott (Arlette), Steve Franken (Technician), Michael Mikler (Black Knight), Terry Wilson (Sheriff), and Majel Barrett (Miss Carrie) Directed by Michael Crichton.

Review: 
Westworld is certainly an interesting film, in part because of how clever it feels in terms of its construction of plot and style. It's interesting how it can be classified as a "science fiction Western thriller", but it is even more interesting that this was the directorial debut of Michael Crichton, a novelist who prior to this film had four of his novels adapted into films (most notably The Andromeda Strain), while also directing a television film (Pursuit) and writing for another film (Extreme Close-Up). In any case, this is a fun movie that establishes an interesting premise and atmosphere while not bogging itself down with its characters. It's easy to immerse in the fantasies that the character go through in part because of how familiar they seem (namely the shoot-out in the saloon or the sword fight in the hall), but they are being played out in a world all about reenacting things like the Old West or medieval Europe or even Rome. The film is not merely "robots gone amok", feeling like a fable about the danger of corporate greed, but in any case the film still feels pretty relevant today.

Benjamin and Brolin are certainly an interesting pair of protagonists, partly because of how much charisma they give off despite not much being revealed about their characters (aside from one brief conversation); one of my favorite scenes is them being involved in a brawl, in part because you can see the amount of fun they seem to have (even at something like fighting), prior to the climax. Oddly, one other favorite scene of mine doesn't involve the main cast; it is the opening scene, advertising the park (named Delos), complete with a showcase of satisfied customers. Perhaps it's their enthusiasm over what they experienced from the world they visited, but it certainly helps establish the film's credibility without needless exposition. Brynner does a fine job that serves as the highlight of the film, certainly making for a good foe for both the world he inhibits along with in the climax (especially with those piercing eyes), with the look of the Gunslinger being similar to the character that he played in The Magnificent Seven (#427). It was the first film to use digital image processing, done so in order to simulate the Gunslinger's point of view, which was done by pixellated photography by John Whitney, Jr, and Gary Demos at Information International, Inc). I think the view ages pretty well for what it is used for, and the effects with the robots are also certainly quite effective. It's interesting to note how the run-time is 88 minutes, because the film certainly never feels lacking in any kind of quality. A follow up called Futureworld would be released three years later, and there have been two television shows broadcast (Beyond Westworld and Westworld, with the latter premiering in 2016). This is an enjoyable film that certainly lends itself to enjoyment even after over four decades since its release.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.