197. The Running Man (1987) – Kill or Be Cancelled
Description
Lace up your fireproof spandex—it’s time for another dystopian episode of Podcast Assemble! This week, DL’s been to Egypt (queue tinfoil hat time), while Tommy’s was really disappointed with Peacemaker season 2. Then it’s time to drop into The Running Man (1987), where Arnie outruns death and network ratings—sometimes simultaneously.
Timecodes:
- Intro (00:00 )
- What Have You Been Up To? (20:21 )
- MAIN TOPIC: The Running Man (1987) (33:32 )
- Cast & Crew (35:38 )
- Plot (37:20 )
- Did You Watch This Growing Up? (42:05 )
- Themes (47:51 )
- Music (52:12 )
- World-Building (53:40 )
- Performances (55:38 )
- Movie vs Book (57:15 )
- Tones & Themes (07:20 )
- 3 Best & 3 Worst (08:51 )
- Critical Reception (1:11:58 )
- Better or Worse than Aquaman (2018)? (1:13:01 )
- Trivia True or False (1:15:01 )
- Better or Worse than Aquaman (2018)? (1:08:26 )
- Wrapping Up (1:19:09 )
Main Topic:
The Running Man is peak '80s dystopia: bright colours, big muscles, and a future so grim it's basically Tuesday. Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as a wrongly accused man forced into a televised murder gauntlet hosted by a smarmy game show host and patrolled by stalkers with the subtlety of WWE villains. It’s satire, it’s camp, it’s somehow prophetic. Tommy loves the campiness. DL still trying to process the Stalkers' outfits. Spoiler: there's an opera singing Christmas tree.
Is The Running Man biting social commentary wrapped in neon lycra—or just a dumb, glorious excuse for Arnie to punch buzzsaws? Let us know at thepodcastassemble@gmail.com or hit us up on socials.
Website || Instagram || Twitter || YouTube || Email
****************************
And while we've got you, we'd love it if you gave us a 5 star review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and let us know what you think of the show.
#podcast #moviereview #movietok #TheRunningMan #ArnoldSchwarzenegger #80sActionMovies #DystopianCinema #StephenKingAdaptation











