The Running Man

Corrected entry: When Richards and his buddies are making their escape from the prison at the beginning, Weiss can't get the code to work to shut down the deadline. He says it must be because of the walls, but why all of a sudden would that be a problem? All he did was move a few feet from where the security guard was sitting, so the walls shouldn't have made a difference that quickly.

Correction: Another possibility is that the resulting gun fire alerted the soldiers outside to what was happening and was trying to prevent Weiss from deactivating the deadline. When they run outside, one soldier is seen typing away frantically at a computer in an attempt to keep the deadline up. It's not until the soldier is killed that Weiss is able to deactivate the deadline and everyone can escape.

Correction: They moved more than a "few feet." They were inside the building then they ran outside, near the perimeter. Also, it's not unusual for wireless tech to lose a signal if you move a few feet, especially indoors. My smartphone's reception can become spotty if I'm in a huge building or underground, and this is 2018 technology.

Corrected entry: When Laughlin is having his explosive collar removed, one of Mic's men gives Richards a cigarette. Less than 30 seconds later, this has changed into a large cigar.

Dristarg

Correction: There is no cigarette involved in this scene. Richards had a large cigar the whole time.

I agree, it's always a cigar. The way the light hits the cigar gives the impression of a thin cigarette.

Bishop73

Around the 10:50 mark, as he says, "Hasn't been very popular lately", he raises what looks like a thin white cigarette to his mouth?

No. What you're seeing is a highlight along the side of his cigar.

Corrected entry: When Sub-Zero slices through the gong during his introduction you can see the pre-made cut right down the middle.

jbrbbt

Correction: It's a prop on a television show, prepared beforehand to be cut.

Corrected entry: Why go through the trouble of even bothering to shut down the deadline with the code when they could have just destroyed the sensors making up the perimeter?

Correction: It is never explained how exactly the deadline works, and it is never shown how durable the sensors are. Also, the plan to get the code was itself fairly simple.

BaconIsMyBFF

Corrected entry: When Weiss is trying to enter the code into the computer to shutdown the deadline he says he can't enter the code because of the walls. Why would the walls suddenly be a problem when the guard was able to enter the code minutes earlier?

Correction: Earlier in the scene, it was shown the guards needed not only the code, but also clearance from the other guards on the other computer to shut the perimeter. The guard on the other computer was preventing Weiss from shutting down the perimeter by blocking his entry of the code. That's why when Laughlin shot the last guard on the computer, Weiss was able to enter the code and shut down the perimeter.

Corrected entry: After Ben Richards kills Buzz Saw, he hears Amber scream. The scream he hears is the exact same scream played when Richards and Laughlin first enter the Buzz Saw kill arena.

Correction: It's not implausible that people can scream the same exact way many times.

Corrected entry: After Richards goes back to his brother's apartment, he is somehow able to shower, shave off his beard and change his clothes despite the fact that the apartment is now occupied by a woman living by herself who would not have any reason to have men's clothes or male grooming products there.

Correction: A similar entry was already added and corrected. Amber tells Richards she has a box of items that the previous owner, who she just learned was his brother, left behind. This box could include clothes and shaving materials. Why she kept the box, we do not know, but probably because she is a nice person and kept the box in case the previous owner or a friend came back to claim the items.

Corrected entry: Weiss somehow manages to make it from the computer he was using to the one on the other side of the perimeter without moving.

Correction: It's the same computer. After Weiss figures that the walls must be jamming the signal, Ben tells Weiss to try it outside. He then closes the computer and takes it with him and when they get outside, Ben puts the computer down and opens it back up.

Corrected entry: When Amber stumbles on the decayed, skeletal remains of a runner, she picks up a dogtag from the body and reads the name "Whitman." If the dead runners had name tags, where are her and Richards' tags?

Robert Cotton

Correction: This is a question and not a mistake. We don't have enough information about why they had dog tags. However, we do know several key factors. 1: These are the runners the public think made it and are living it up (so the dog tags could be related to that.) 2: Richards is a military prisoner and The Running Man game show doesn't have rights to use them, so special permission was made. 3: Amber was a late entrance because she was caught snooping around and wasn't a planned contestant (and it seems neither were Weiss and Laughlin).

Bishop73

Corrected entry: When Fireball first enters the arena and chases after Ben and the woman, the distance Fireball is from them changes from shot to shot.

Correction: All 3 are constantly moving, and there are several cut away shots to the audience. In the one shot change of them being chased, the camera angle changes dramatically, altering the perception of distance.

Bishop73

Corrected entry: In the scene before Richards is sent down the tube, he says "Killian". When Killian comes in to hear, he lowers the microphone. Then when they cut to Richards to say "I'll be back", the shot back to Killian has him having the microphone up near his mouth again.

posty

Correction: There is enough time between the shots for him to move it.

Knever

Corrected entry: In the scene where Sub-Zero is introduced, he takes his "hockey stick" blade and promptly cuts the gong in half. You can clearly see where the gong was pre-cut and held together with what looks like gold coloured tape. (00:43:34)

Correction: He is staging a trademark stunt for a television show. The gong is a prop, precut in order to make his character seem more ferocious.

Corrected entry: When Arnie goes back to his brothers apartment and finds it's been taken over by a woman who lives by herself, how come he still finds a change of clothes that fits him?

Correction: Amber tells him she has a box of items that the previous owner, who she just learned was Arnold's brother, left behind. Why she kept the box, we do not know, but probably because she is a nice person and kept the box in case the previous owner or a friend came back to claim the items. That explains why Arnold has a change of clothes that fits.

Corrected entry: Why does the cage that Arnold straps Killian into at the end suddenly take flight as it leaves the tunnel and explode? There is no ramp and the others don't do this. Did Arnold slip a bomb into Killian's pocket?

Correction: The knob that Arnold turns as Killian is launched probably controlled the speed at which the cage would go through the tunnel. It is clear that the cage is moving much faster than it did when Arnold was in it.

Corrected entry: How can Arnold tell it's a food riot, when he only has white dots on his helicopter screen? And why does he report "approximately 1500 civilians" - did he count to 1500, while relaying other information? And how come he reports 1500, when there aren't 1500 dots. And how come he knows the crowd are unarmed? Perhaps he should have flown down for a closer look instead of beating up his flight crew.

Correction: Most information systems are designed with the intent of quickly summarizing information for human consumption. Perhaps the fact that they are dots instead of squares or triangles indicates that the people are unarmed. Each individual dot may represent a group of 50-100 people. Perhaps the fact that they are white dots indicates that this is a food riot (which might be relatively peaceful), whereas red would indicate a full-scale revolt. Without powerful summarization capabilities, what good would this targeting/tracking/etc. system be?

Corrected entry: In the shot where Ben and Buzzsaw are fighting, the saw chain can be seen to stop several times, even though the engine does not slow down.

Correction: All chainsaws have a clutch.

Corrected entry: When the video of Arnold's helicopter incident is shown to the Running Man audience, the last shot in the video is of Arnold being struck with the butt of a rifle, from Arnold's perspective. If the video was supposed to be shot with some interior surveillance cameras in the chopper, how is it that the last shot is from a person's (Arnold's) point of view, and obviously not a camera's?

Correction: It is shown (in the faked fight to the death scene) that the TV engineers can fake any footage they want, from any angle at all. They obviously faked this shot to show the 'criminal' Arnold getting what was coming to him.

Corrected entry: When Richards shows up in the studio for a final showdown, a firefight breaks out causing everybody to flee. The television audience is able to watch the entire battle which would be impossible as all stage crew and camera operators fled the room.

Correction: Also, this is set in the future, where cameras are operated automatically in the zone arena, it wouldn't be too far-fetched they could also be either automated or partially automated.

Correction: The cameras were left running when the crew fled in haste as the firefight began, also, the control room crew was being held at gunpoint by Stevie (Dweezil Zappa) and other members of the resistance so that the unedited footage exonerating Ben, among other things, can be broadcast without interruption. So, although the cameras were unmanned, they were still active and subject to being switched from the control room.

zendaddy621

Corrected entry: When Sub-Zero pushes Weiss into the net, Weiss slides towards the camera. Just before hitting the camera, you can see the camera guy's hand sticking out to stop Weiss.

Correction: Weiss never slides towards the camera, the camera is always behind or to the side of him. And he never hits anything other than the net, and there's never someone else's hand seen.

Bishop73

There is a hand appearing to catch Weiss right before the shot cuts.

Corrected entry: When Amber and Ben are at the airport, Ben holds up Amber's pass and the guard scans it. Seems kind of odd that the guard doesn't question Ben why he's using Amber's pass.

Correction: This isn't really a plot hole. The same guard simply lets Ben and Amber through when Ben starts holding up the line. Since this is Ben's entire plan, the movie is saying that security at the airport is somewhat lax because of disinterested guards, and everyone knows it.

BaconIsMyBFF

Continuity mistake: In the scene after the prison break, we see Richards, Weiss and Laughlin walking through the city. On the big television screen there is a commercial for The Running Man game show. The footage they feature on the commercial is footage from the episode Richards is in. How could they show footage from that episode if it has not taken place yet?

More mistakes in The Running Man

Laughlin: Who the hell is this?
Ben Richards: She's the one who turned me in at the airport. Guess this is her reward.
Amber: Oh, go ahead. Make jokes. It's all your fault I'm here. They think I'm helping you out. They even think I'm your girlfriend.
Ben Richards: I can straighten that out. You see that camera up there? I'll strangle you in front of the whole audience.

More quotes from The Running Man

Trivia: Jesse Ventura, who plays Captain Freedom, was invited to the film by Schwarzenegger after becoming friends while making Predator.

oswal13

More trivia for The Running Man

Question: At the very beginning of the movie, Ben refuses to fire on anyone even though he was under orders to do so. I can understand him being court-martialed for this but, why would they alter the video to show him killing innocent people with orders not to? And why send him to prison for allegedly killing innocent civilians?

Answer: They needed a scapegoat, someone to blame. The government controlled the people through violence, but at the same time tried to convince the people the government was fair (i.e. Runners who made it through were given their freedom when in fact they never left the arena alive). The people at Bakersfield were still massacred (that part wasn't made up) by the government in order to control the riot, but just not by Ben. But people would just riot more if they knew the government ordered their killing, so the footage was faked to make people think Ben acted alone and against orders. And to continue the ruse, they convicted him to appease the people and prevent them from rioting.

Bishop73

More questions & answers from The Running Man

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