Runaway (Tom Selleck/Gene Simmons)

[Alan Smithee]

Anyone remember this movie? I guess it came out in 1984 or so and was directed by Michael Crichton.

Gene Simmons was actually pretty good as the one-dimensional, cliched villian. That's probably the only good thing I can say about this movie.

I remember when the producers of this movie were touting that heat seeking bullet as the highlight of the film. Watching the movie recently, that dated gimmick gave me some good chuckles.

The movie was just your ordinary, run of the mill, by the numbers cop movie set in the "near future" replete with the obligatory showdown in the highrise.

What's funny about this movie is that the robots seem to pose very little threat since they appear to be little more than remote controlled dustbusters.

Even the acid spewiing cockroaches don't even come acoss as imposing. Couldn't anyone outrun this spring-loaded, wind-up toys?

[odinn7]

Ah, you know...it wasn't a great movie but it was a typical movie for the times. Many movies had the same "feel" back then even if they were different.
Sure the robots were cheesy but it was still a decent waste of time, in my opinion anyway.

[Ted]

I have a copy of this movie, thought I was one of the few that ever saw it!

[Ash]

I've always liked this film...they used to show it on HBO all the time.
The opening scenes where Tom Selleck rescues a family from a robot gone haywire were great.



Post Edited (03-20-05 17:38)

[Yaddo 42]

This filtered down to TBS and TNT during the 90s, I always thought it had more potential than was realized. The idea of small robots being used as weapons for assassination, espionage and basically as suicide bombs is a good one for movies, but special effects circa 1984 couldn't pull it off convincingly.

If nothing else the film can remind us that Kirstie Alley was actually attractive at one time.

[Dr. Whom]

I recently caught this on TV, and watched it a bit until I got bored. I agree it has potential and Gene Simmons is suitably menacing.

However, the whole human interest side (single guy with son etc) just doesn't work for me. And there is no chemistry at all between Tom Selleck and whoever played his partner.

Mind you, the way things are going now, perhaps we get a remake with Ben Stiller soon.

[Jamtoy]

I liked the bullets that would follow the target around.  I always thought that was cool.