The Running Man 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		0.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

The Running Man 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Paramount has released the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger Action vehicle 'The Running Man' to the UHD format. This featureless disc includes new 2160p/Dolby Vision video and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless audio. No Blu-ray disc is included. This release is currently exclusive to SteelBook packaging. The film was previously released to Blu-ray in 2010.

The Running Man 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Running Man trots onto the UHD format with an excellent 2160p/Dolby Vision UHD presentation. The picture quality is nothing short of excellent. The image is naturally grainy, with a tighter, more organic grain structure compared to the 2010 Lionsgate release. This is a high-quality filmic image that captures both the fundamental and the intimate characteristics quite well, bringing the Running Man costumes and the crude future-scape locales to life with newfound definition, sharpness, and assuredness, even in dark where much of the middle stretch action takes place. The film looks positively gorgeous in good lighting, though, with the natural grain structure and crisp, tactile filmic details at work. There are also no print or source blemishes to consider. This is a very big step forward from the Lionsgate image, which still looks decent enough, but this just blows it away.

The Dolby Vision grading is equally as impressive. One of the first things viewers will notice is the bright red backdrop for the scrolling white text that starts near the one-minute mark. The UHD's Dolby Vision grading makes this element brilliant. The red is engagingly bold and the whites super crisp, both standing well above the Blu-ray, which cannot approach the level of pop and color assault on display here (the text is also sharper). The red color fades to black as the text scrolls, but that initial barrage is blinding. The yellow color on the Running Man costume looks amazing, while all the shadowy black levels during the main action segments are perfectly deep and true. Additional colors pop (Richards' loud Hawaiian shirt, for example) with not just added punch but also depth and accuracy over the Blu-ray. The colors look very natural and pleasing. Add in excellent whites and healthy skin tones, both far superior to the Blu-ray, and all of it adds up to a wonderful viewing experience. Longtime fans of the film are going to be ecstatic!

The Running Man 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Paramount brings The Running Man to the UHD format not with a Dolby Atmos soundtrack, or even the 7.1 lossless configuration from the 2010 Blu-ray, but instead a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless presentation. Though fans might have desired an Atmos track, there is nothing but good things to say about the 5.1 track. The track reveals its wares in the opening helicopter scene. It bursts through the stage with prominent directionality, and when viewers watch the fabricated flashback later in the film, as Richards is introduced to the Running Man live studio audience, the same characteristics hold true, here with impressively deep and ripping gunfire bursts. Additional action elements follow suit, with prominent and sometimes prodigious depth and low-end extension and plenty of seamless surround content, both for in-motion and discrete content alike. Music plays with authoritative spacing and clarity, as well as a healthy and balanced surround immersion. Dialogue is clear, well prioritized, and centered for the duration. Who needs Atmos?

The Running Man 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This UHD release of The Running Man contains none of the supplements from the original Lionsgate Blu-ray, which included a pair of commentaries and a pair of featurettes. So, for extras, fans will have to hang on to that decade-old disc.

The glossy SteelBook is attractive. It will gather some handling fingerprints in the darker areas. All of the external elements are in silhouette. The front panel features a yellow- and gray-shaded Richards (his costume from the film) running from the various stalkers, who are shaded black. An explosion appears in the background, along with a crude cityscape. The terrain is red and the sky a dark blue. The film's title runs across in yellow top center but in red, and in bigger letters, is "Schwarzenegger." The rear panel features a crowd in silhouette along the bottom half looking up to and cheering at a monitor depicting The Running Man; they appear to be enjoying themselves despite the fact that they are surrounded by fencing and barbed wire, a nice little commentary on the public mentality depicted in the film. A dark red sky appears in the background. The spine is a very deep blue color with the film's title in yellow slightly above center. A Paramount logo appears at the top in white.

Inside, the digital copy code is tucked underneath the left-hand-side tabs. The lone UHD disc is situated on the right on a central hub. The inner print is a two-panel spread that features Killian introducing Richards for the show.

The Running Man 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Running Man may be one of the more "unsung" Arnold movies, but it's a great watch -- it never gets old. It's got a solid story, good characterization, agreeable production design and visual effects, enthusiastic performances, and several good one liners. Don't miss it, especially now that it's on UHD. Paramount's 2160p/Dolby Vision video presentation is an absolute delight. The 5.1 lossless audio is terrific as well. There are no extras, which really drags the release down, but it's impossible not to highly recommend, anyway, based on the strength of the film and the awesome new video and audio.