In a distant future (as it was imagined in the mid-eighties), Sgt. Ramsay (Tom Selleck) heads up a special police task force designated to deal with dangerously malfunctioning robots. With his new partner, Officer Karen Thompson (Cynthia Rhodes), Ramsay must stop an evil cybernetics genius named Luther (Gene Simmons) from turning all of Robot-kind against humanity. This is the premise of Michael Crichton’s low-budget Blade Runner-esque film Runaway (1984).
The fact that the robots in Runaway look like drones and rumbas run amok adds a certain terror to the film today. Sure a rumba wielding a handgun is campy goofiness, but beneath the humor of the spectacle is a fundamental fear that grips our society in a much more profound way today than it did almost forty years ago. Our society is at the place technologically that is depicted in Runaway. Sure some of the science and concepts Crichton has cooked up are nonsensical garbage but that doesn’t soften the blow of the paranoia that pulsates throughout Runaway.
Imagine if a psychotic nut like Gene Simmons’ character weaponized all of the automated features in a smart home? It’s a terrifying thought, but that is where we are at now. Runaway predicted those fears and acts them out in our most intimate spheres. Science fiction movies with similar themes usually stage their robot revolt on distant planets or out in the streets as some kind of allegory for a race war. But Runaway puts this fear, this violence into homes and into work places.
The relevancy of Runaway does not mean that it’s a good film. It’s fun, it’s entertaining, but ultimately it’s a killer robot movie starring Tom Selleck and Gene Simmons. To his credit it is Selleck’s performance that carries Runaway. Selleck is handsome, charming, and giving off tons of good dad vibes. He’s a very human, highly accessible character in Runaway which makes its more oddball conceits a little more paletable. Without Selleck Runaway wouldn’t be half as fun nor half as watchable.
Where the film meets Selleck halfway is in those scenes of escalating tension. For his part Michael Crichton does know how to build suspense. Those scenes at Selleck’s house may feel wooden but any time there’s mortal danger the film picks up and is largely affecting. The POV shots from the heat seeking bullets is also a nice touch that gives Runaway a lot more visual diversity than one would expect. All in all Runaway is a solid little sci-fi actioner that’s worth checking out.
