An action thriller or exploration of existential angst? RUNAWAY TRAIN manages to be both of those things, and the Akira Kurosawa (upon whose screenplay the film is based) credit at the opening is the first clue that this is going to be quite unlike the rest of the Cannon Group's fare during the 1980s. On the face of it, RUNAWAY TRAIN looks like a superficial thriller: it starts off with a prison break and then moves to the out-of-control speeding locomotive stuff, throwing in plenty of suspense and stunts along the way. But it's something far more besides.
The best action films work because of the characters involved. DIE HARD wouldn't be so well remembered today if it wasn't for Bruce Willis's wisecracking cop, and imagine PREDATOR or COMMANDO without Schwarzenegger's larger-than-life presence. RUNAWAY TRAIN is a very good film, and the reason for that is in the well drawn characters, in particular Jon Voight's long-term con. Voight plays a scarred, hulking prisoner who's been welded into his cell for the past three years, and he understandably goes a bit crazy when he discovers himself a free man. Usually, we're used to seeing Voight as a serious and subdued character (as in DELIVERANCE) which makes his performance here as a borderline-insane brute of a man all the more shocking and surprising. During his various monologues I realised I was watching a performance of greatness.
Eric Roberts is a bit harder to stomach, playing a slow-witted character who's there as a foil for Voight. His mannered performance may be off-putting to some, but in the end I give him the thumbs up thanks to his fresh-faced innocence. Rebecca De Mornay, in her breakout role, is a breath of fresh air and adds immeasurably to the experience.
Let's face it: much of what happens in this film is clichéd. The early prison scenes, while mean, vicious and violent, are overly familiar. The train-bound shenanigans are also familiar – and I groaned when they threw in the old 'weak bridge' cliché once again. Late scenes involving the crazed warden (a deliciously nasty John P. Ryan) are pretty ludicrous. Nonetheless, RUNAWAY TRAIN makes up for these shortcomings with well drawn, realistic characters, superb meditations on the nature of man and one of the best, most chilling endings I've ever seen in a film, a literally hair-rising shot that will stay with me for a long time to come.
The best action films work because of the characters involved. DIE HARD wouldn't be so well remembered today if it wasn't for Bruce Willis's wisecracking cop, and imagine PREDATOR or COMMANDO without Schwarzenegger's larger-than-life presence. RUNAWAY TRAIN is a very good film, and the reason for that is in the well drawn characters, in particular Jon Voight's long-term con. Voight plays a scarred, hulking prisoner who's been welded into his cell for the past three years, and he understandably goes a bit crazy when he discovers himself a free man. Usually, we're used to seeing Voight as a serious and subdued character (as in DELIVERANCE) which makes his performance here as a borderline-insane brute of a man all the more shocking and surprising. During his various monologues I realised I was watching a performance of greatness.
Eric Roberts is a bit harder to stomach, playing a slow-witted character who's there as a foil for Voight. His mannered performance may be off-putting to some, but in the end I give him the thumbs up thanks to his fresh-faced innocence. Rebecca De Mornay, in her breakout role, is a breath of fresh air and adds immeasurably to the experience.
Let's face it: much of what happens in this film is clichéd. The early prison scenes, while mean, vicious and violent, are overly familiar. The train-bound shenanigans are also familiar – and I groaned when they threw in the old 'weak bridge' cliché once again. Late scenes involving the crazed warden (a deliciously nasty John P. Ryan) are pretty ludicrous. Nonetheless, RUNAWAY TRAIN makes up for these shortcomings with well drawn, realistic characters, superb meditations on the nature of man and one of the best, most chilling endings I've ever seen in a film, a literally hair-rising shot that will stay with me for a long time to come.