No not the Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines fun cop movie from the ‘80s, no, no, no, this one is much
different. Having had a short stint theatrical release in March of this year, Running Scared drops with a bang on DVD. A very dark, ultra-violent, fast moving exploitative flick featuring the gutter’s slimiest trash: wife beaters, pimps, junkies, bad cops, child molesters, and murderers.
Paul Walker (The Fast and the Furious) stars as a man on a desperate and frenzied dash to find a stolen gun used in the shooting of a Russian mobster. I can’t help but keep thinking of Mark Wahlberg when I see Walker act in this film. Cameron Bright (Godsend) plays a child named Oleg who endures just about every abuse possible at the hands of half of the cast in the movie. Although heart wrenching at times (because of the child angle), Running Scared is an action packed thriller that never slows to give the viewer a rest. Definitely over the top and possibly takes itself a little more seriously than it should, but overall, this film is a winner. It reminds me of Sin City without the comic book visuals, but it contains a few awesome looking effects including a hyped variation of the Black Hawk Down bullets that allowed you to watch them coast the air on the way to their target.
Chazz Palminteri (A Bronx Tale) gives a typically great performance as a corrupt cop, and David Warshofsky plays a flamboyant and very over the top pimp; who does a good job portraying one of those characters we love to hate. However, I could help but thinkg ‘what Mickey Rourke would have done with this role?’
Running Scared is a great flick to check out when you’re in the mood for watching some a mindless action, revenge, and crime story.
