Bullet Points: Night of the Running Man

Night of the Running Man is a cool as hell cat and mouse action thriller. It stars Andrew McCarthy as a Las Vegas cabbie and Scott Glenn as the sociopathic hitman chasing his ass. Night of the Running Man has planes, trains and exploding automobiles; and I now have the pleasure of giving it the Bulletproof Action BULLET POINTS treatment.

• Goatee Power: When you think action star, I’m sure Andrew McCarthy is right on the tip of your tongue. I would normally have him listed between Kermit the Frog and Hello Kitty. Andrew does something in this movie that catapults him to almost action star: He has a GOATEE! He starts out as a down-on-his-luck cabbie in Las Vegas who smokes so many cigarettes he gives JOE CAMEL lung and throat cancer. He lives in a trailer, has chronic heartburn and drives his cab in the dirty grimy shady part of Vegas that you don’t see in the brochures. Magically, lady luck lands him a lot of cash. A cab fare goes haywire and Mr. Goatee is left with a big bag of loot containing 1 million dollars. There’s only one problem: Scott Glenn has been hired to retrieve the money at any and all cost. 

• Knife Ninja Glenn: BPA readers listen up: Scott Glenn gives one of the greatest bad guy performances this side of Hans Gruber. He is 100% psycho. He has zero redeeming qualities. It is like the T-1000 had an actual heartbeat. Michael Myers would run away from him. Jason Voorhees would jump into the water to avoid his pursuit and Freddy Krueger would have nightmares about Scott. This Mo Fo puts the Mo and Fo into relentless. He’s a savage. Don’t you ever get too close to him. You will regret it. Oh yeah, he has ninja knife powers that would make Britt from the Magnificent Seven blush. 
• Dirty Vegas: Sin City is the perfect setting for the beginning of our chase. We see the highs and the lows of the Las Vegas Strip. What is more Vegas than Wayne Newton? That answer is nothing. Mr. Wayne Newton shows up to play a casino boss who wants his million bucks back. Wayne Newton not actually playing Wayne Newton in a movie set in Vegas is about the most Las Vegas thing I can think of. Being we love action at BPA, I would like to remind you the opening has a great car chase and a steamy sexy scene with a hot high dollar lady of the night. That’s Vegas, Baby!

• Lester’s Signature Move: Like a Marty Jannetty dropkick, a lot of entertainers have a signature move. Director Mark L. Lester’s signature is dropping a fool to his or her death. Think Commando for a minute. Arnie dropping Sully to his demise. Lester loves this shot. Once again, in this film, is the Lester Drop. Of course, it is Scott Glenn dropping a too nice waitress to her death and watching her fall from the Hoover Dam. 
• VEGAS TO LA: The natural progression in a chase movie is to go from Vegas to Los Angeles. New city equals new characters. Over halfway through the film we get introduced to Loco Hitman John Glover and Naughty Nurse Janet Gunn. Glover is all over the place practicing his signature move: Sock and Water Torture. John Glover makes all movies better. God Bless him. Janet Gunn becomes the surprise love interest for Andrew, but I’m saving a special BULLET POINT for her in just a minute. 

• Unexpected Nakedness: I’ve had a crush on Janet Gunn for as long as I can remember. I’m a huge Silk Stalkings fan and of course I’m Team Rita and Chris forever, but that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate Detective Cassy St. John. I was excited to see Janet show up to play nurse to Andrew. I was even more excited when she does a session of Forward Cowgirl with her Cowboy. A cool sex scene without a body double from a super-hot actress I’ve always liked. What more could you ask for?
• Curiosity Kills & Dumb Luck: I want you to remember this BULLET POINT while watching. Curiosity Kills and Dumb Luck are the two themes of Night of the Running Man. People do stupid things, ask too many questions, love the wrong person, steal the wrong money and wait on the wrong customer all in the name of curiosity. It might not kill the cat in Night of the Running Man, but it does kill off the cast. In all honesty, Scott vs Andrew should’ve been a squash match. Instead, by dumb luck, the chase continues throughout the movie. Andrew has a lot of lifelines. He has more lives than a cat. He isn’t a superhero. He doesn’t have any powers, but he might just be the luckiest sumbitch to ever star in an action movie. 

Hot damn I love this movie! What, you thought I would forget the BONUS BULLET POINTS? 

• Literally Robbing Someone Blind: Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do when you’re in an airport bathroom and your life is on the line. 
• Run, Running Man, Running Scared: Don’t get confused. This movie is called Night of the Running Man.
• Stop Snitchin’: Whatever you do, don’t be a snitch. Scott Glenn will make you pay for snitchin’.
• David Silver’s Dad: I hear there’s a Beverly Hills, 90210 reboot on TV. Pay attention to the million dollar cab fare early in the film. It is Melvin Silver from 90210 aka actor Matthew Laurance.