Line #17 Film/Runaway


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6	''Runaway'' is a 1984 sci-fi film starring Creator/TomSelleck and Gene Simmons (yes, ''[[Music/{{KISS}} that]]'' Gene Simmons), directed by Creator/MichaelCrichton (yes, ''[[Literature/JurassicPark that]]'' Michael Crichton).
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8	TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture, robots are as much a part of everyday life as any other electrical appliance--and are just as prone to malfunctions. But when a robot malfunctions, it can pose a threat to people or property. Such robots are colloquially known as "[[TitleDrop Runaways]]". As runaway robots can be somewhat more dangerous than a broken printer, they are not handled by company tech support personnel but by the Runaway division of metropolitan police departments.
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10	Sgt. Jack Ramsay (Selleck), an experienced member of the Runaway squad, is breaking in a new partner; officer Karen Thompson (Creator/CynthiaRhodes). Though she is enthusiastic, Ramsay assures her that there is little excitement involved, saying that all he usually has to do is flip a switch; most people know less about their robots than they do their desktop computers, and rarely take any better care of them than they do their cars. Basically, she's signed up to chase broken machines while lazy mouth-breathers laugh at her.
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12	...And less than twenty-four hours later, Ramsay and Thompson find themselves {{The Only One}}s capable of facing a completely unforeseen threat; the first ''[[HomicideMachines robot-facilitated homicides]].''
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14	The brilliant and amoral Dr. Charles Luther (Simmons) has made the breakthrough to turn household appliances into killing machines, and it's up to a couple of desk jockeys to engage the evil genius in a cat-and-mouse game of acid-spitting robotic spider assassins, smart bullets, and freeway-running guided bombs.
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16	Luther thinks he's unstoppable, but Ramsay is a determined cop who knows what every IT professional knows: '''any system can fail.'''
17	----
18	!! This film contains examples of:
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20	* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: Robots and other forms of tech are used with 80's vehicles, buildings and helicopters. Apart from the TechnologyMarchesOn aspects, this reflects real life [[SpaceBrasilia where everything isn't upgraded at once]]. In addition, there were were bomb defusing robots, just not as advanced. [[WordOfGod Crichton himself]] would state that this was a purposeful design choice in order to make the set time of the movie more vague.
21	* AbnormalAmmo: The movie features a gun which fired small heat-seeking missiles at a [[PainfullySlowProjectile speed slightly slower than an athletic man can run]]. Presumably its designer believed in giving targets a sporting chance.
22	* AcmeProducts: Luther implants the killchip in the Johnson house's robot by claiming to be from "Acme Robot Repairs".
23	* AIIsACrapshoot:
24	** Averted - there ''is'' no AI, just machines doing what they are programmed to do (even if it is to kill people), or malfunctioning because somebody ''didn't'' do what ''they'' were supposed to do.
25	--->'''Ramsey''': Let me tell you the way the world is. Nothing works right. Relationships don’t work right, people don’t work right, people make machines so why should machines be perfect?\
26	'''Karen''': Because they’re machines.\
27	'''Ramsey''': Yeah, well that's not the way it is.
28	** As a result, there are many bugs and the occasional LoopholeAbuse that triggers runaways... and one of these loopholes is what allows Thompson to save Ramsay's son at the climax: the spider-bots are programmed to kill anybody who steps off the elevator (such as the kid)... but they don't attack anybody who is already at the ground level and picks the passenger into her arms.
29	* AlmightyJanitor: The "runaway" squad is considered worse than desk work; at least when you're driving a desk, you don't have to chase broken machines while people laugh at you. Ramsay only does it because he feels his fear of heights makes him unsuitable for regular police work, and after years on the job he's become one of the profession's few real experts. Which puts him front-and-center when Luther introduces the world to ''[[HomicideMachines robot-facilitated homicide]].''
30	* ArtisticLicenseBiology: The "smart bullets" allegedly home in on the uniquely-recognizable body heat patterns of a designated target. Body heat distribution in a given person varies ''enormously'', depending on their level of excitement, what outfit or cosmetics they're wearing, and whether they're chilly, exercising, have eaten recently or even have the sniffles. By rights, just ''becoming scared of'' Luther should've changed his targets' heat-signatures enough to baffle a bullet that was initially aimed at them before they realized the danger.
31	* TheBait: Ramsay takes Jackie on a LiveActionEscortMission to a 'secure location' to draw out Luther, and to [[PerpSweating force Jackie to reveal where the templates are]].
32	* BigBad: Dr. Charles Luther, the MadScientist responsible for all the robot murders.
33	* TheBigDamnKiss: Ramsay and Thompson share a kiss that takes up half the credits, while [[ElectricLove showered with sparks]] from the building site.
34	* BottomlessMagazines:
35	** The robot that commits the Johnson family massacre is armed with a .357 magnum revolver. It fires more than six rounds despite not having a second claw hand with which to reload. Several blasts are accompanied by a pump-action DramaticGunCock at one stage, with shotgun-size holes blown in the wall. Yet when we see the robot, it's still clutching the revolver.
36	** Averted when Luther is shown reloading his missile handgun after blazing away at Ramsay during their final confrontation.
37	* BriefcaseFullOfMoney: Luther uses the "real bills on top of stacks of cut newspaper" trick when paying off Johnson -- he's cursing Luther for this double cross [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness when a spiderbot attacks him]].
38	* BuildingIsWelding: The skyscraper construction robots. They do come in handy for misguiding missiles though.
39	* CampingACrapper: Luther finds the TrackingDevice Ramsay planted on the templates and leaves it on the toilet roll of a hospital bathroom. [[BoobyTrap He also leaves one of his spiderbots]] which kills forensic officer Sally and a SWAT guard.
40	* CaptainObvious: When a kill chip self-destructs inside the police station, the security system helpfully tells the coughing policemen: "There is a high level of smoke in the room."
41	* ChaseScene: A fairly memorable one - Luther attacks a police convoy with roving smart bombs by dropping them from a trapdoor in cars both in front and behind them, so the heroes can't even see where he's attacking them ''from.'' Fortunately their WeaponizedCar has a laser system defence, but even then they have to abandon the vehicle ''while it's still moving'' when Luther starts spamming them.
42	* CigaretteOfAnxiety: Jackie when she discovers the police have stuffed up and let Luther escape.
43	* ClimacticElevatorRide
44	* CombatStilettos: Officer Thompson runs around in pumps.
45	* ComeAlone: Ramsay obeys due to Luther's extensive use of electronic surveillance -- he'd know if someone came with him. Thompson decides to come anyway, [[BigDamnHeroes arriving just in time to save Bobbie from the spiderbots]].
46	* ComputerVoice: Lois the RobotMaid speaks with a female voice, while a male voice is used for the building computer at a robot research centre, and there's a brief discussion among the protagonists about the high quality of its voice synthesizer.
47	* CutLexLuthorACheck: Luther's ability to invent the chips and killbots would've gotten him top bidders from governments around the world legally.
48	* DaChief: Played by Creator/GWBailey, known for playing the equally acerbic Captain Harris in ''Film/PoliceAcademy''. Not that the Chief of the Runaway Squad doesn't have cause for tearing strips off Sgt. Ramsay, as Luther keeps getting away and police officers keep getting killed. Amusingly, it's also inverted at one point with Ramsay chewing the chief out about a botched stakeout.
49	* DeadlineNews: During the first "runaway" incident where a house robot commits murder and holds an infant hostage, a local news crew keep bugging Sgt. Ramsay for live coverage from inside the house. The cameraman actually follows Ramsay inside to document it despite Ramsay's warning signs to get out of there for his own safety, and the guy is [[TooDumbToLive shot and killed by the robot]].
50	* DeadlyHug: Luther killing Jackie; he kisses her and then stabs a knife into the back of her skull.
51	* DeadlyRemoteControlToy: A variant. Small cars with bombs attached are used to attack a police car carrying a witness on the freeway but they are autonomous rather than remote controlled, homing in on a bug in the witness's bag.
52	* DeathByGenreSavviness: Luther - he knows all the angles except the one Ramsay makes a living on; ''any system can fail.'' Ramsay thus kills him by [[HoistByHisOwnPetard feeding him to his own killbots.]]
53	* DefeatEqualsExplosion:
54	** Strangely averted with Luther, despite the fact that his killbots had previously exploded to [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill ensure their victims deaths after injecting them]]. Instead we have a NotQuiteDead CatScare.
55	** During the interception of an agricultural runaway at the start of the movie, Ramsay and Thompson jump on top of it, only for the robot to explode in a large ball of smoke, to the amusement of [[DistantReactionShot watching farmers]].
56	* DramaticThunder: As Sally scans the hospital bathroom, thunder is heard outside as a spiderbot skitters up the wall and [[CeilingCling across the ceiling]] towards her.
57	* TheDulcineaEffect: After noting how attractive she is, Ramsay charges in to save [[SexySecretary Jackie]] from being zapped by a malfunctioning security robot, instead of returning to his car to suit up in protective gear. He gets zapped repeatedly, snarked at by both Jackie and Thompson, and ends up smashing the expensive robot with a chair. And getting pretty pissed off when Jackie drops her purse, revealing it's full of killbot microprocessors - she's working with Luther.
58	* EndangeringNewsBroadcast: The cameraman who follows Ramsay inside the house.
59	* FailedASpotCheck: Ramsay and Thompson scan Jackie for bugs (turns out her psycho boyfriend has loaded her with them) but fail to scan her handbag where both the templates and another bug are hidden, even though it's the first place they should have looked.
60	* FairCop: Cynthia Rhodes looks pretty hot in uniform. Unfortunately she changes to a dress for the latter half of the movie.
61	* FanserviceExtra: Ramsay startles a topless prostitute during the raid on the Ritz hotel.
62	* FeminineWomenCanCook: By the end Ramsay and Thompson are falling in love, and how does he ask her to have a relationship with him? He says "Can you cook?", causing the woman to melt adoringly into his arms as the sparks fly. This caused reviewer Creator/HarlanEllison to do a slow burn. He said Ramsay's robot maid/cook Lois was featured prominently in the film (including a scene where it cooks pasta) so Ramsay's partner should have replied, "I don't have to; Lois can do it. I can fuck; Lois can't do that!"
63	** This happens after Lois has been trashed (a "dying" scene included - Thompson flat out says "she's losing a lot of [[SymbolicBlood hydraulic fluid]]", which is oddly humanising, compared how the other robots are treated) and really seems like a QuipToBlack joke. Unfunny, perhaps cringeworthy, but a joke. After all, he's not asking for relationship, just inviting her to dinner - then remembering he has no cook anymore.
64	* {{Foil}}: Invoked by the psychic, who not only says that Ramsey and Luther were destined to face off, but that they were reincarnated from brothers.
65	* GoryDiscretionShot: A detective lifts a sheet so Ramsay can get a look at what a runaway robot did to two women with a kitchen knife.
66	* HandCannon: As well as the huge handgun that fires Luther's heat-seeking projectiles, there's Ramsay and Thompson using the Detonics [=ServiceMaster=], or the smaller (but still .45 calibre) [=CombatMaster=] as a plainclothes weapon.
67	* HardWorkMontage: The TitleSequence shows Ramsay working at the Runaway Squad.
68	* HeyThatsMyLine: Robots with voice synthesizers tend to do this, as they're programmed to respond to what people are saying regardless of whether they're the ones being spoken to.
69	* HoistByHisOwnPetard:
70	** Luther's killbots allow Ramsay in to the exchange, but will kill the first person to come out. [[YouSaidYouWouldLetThemGo That starts off being Ramsay's son]] -- it ends up being Luther.
71	** Luther puts one of the kill chips in the household robot of the engineer who helped design it.
72	* HomicideMachines: Luther's breakthrough and the only flaw in Crichton's normally spooky prescience; in the film, Luther is the first person to develop a reliable way of re-tasking robots to kill specific people on command, after years of robots being limited to industrial and commercial work. As of 2015, industrial and commercial robots are still years away from being viable, let alone as common as they are in the film.
73	* HomingProjectile: Luther's handgun fires tiny rockets which can home in on a person's unique infrared signature.
74	-->'''Sgt. Marvin James''': Jack, this is a police nightmare. We used to worry about terrorists getting A-bombs? [[NewTechnologyIsEvil The real problem is this microelectronics stuff like this.]] I mean, a ''smart bullet?''
75	* HostageForMacGuffin: First Luther grabs Thompson in exchange for his girlfriend and the templates, then when that fails he abducts Ramsay's son.
76	* HumanShield: Luther holds a gun to a prostitute's head to get out of the Ritz hotel.
77	* ICanSeeYou: Luther does this twice to Ramsay.
78	** First by hacking into the security cameras inside the police station.
79	-->'''Dr. Charles Luther''': You're standing by the desk in the middle of the room punching buttons on the console trying to trace this call--which won't do '''shit'''--[[TechnologyMarchesOn because I'm calling from a mobile phone.]]
80	-->(''Until Thompson puts her cap over the camera. Luther is not happy.'')
81	-->'''Dr. Charles Luther''': That wasn't very nice Ramsey!
82	** Luther contacts Ramsey by radio while he and Jackie are at a restaurant, eventually revealing himself to be sitting next to his partner holding a pistol on her.
83	* IHaveYourWife: I Have Your Son.
84	* ImpersonatingAnOfficer: Luther dresses as a policeman to enter the department and hack into their database for information on Ramsay. Strangely, everybody on the force is on the lookout for this maniac, but no one in the station recognizes his face.
85	* InTheFutureWeStillHaveRoombas: Averted -- design follows function.
86	* IntrepidReporter: Taken to [[ExaggeratedTrope such extremes]] that it seems like the news media has the right to barge onto crime scenes and actively impede police operations. A local reporter keeps demanding that she be allowed firstline coverage of every incident involving a KillerRobot, and her cameraman follows Sgt. Ramsay inside a house where a robot is keeping a baby captive. None of the other police officers make an effort to stop them.
87	* KickTheDog: Charles Luther killing his girlfriend after she's returned to him in a hostage exchange. Later, he abducts Ramsay's son, makes the acrophobic Ramsay confront him on a high-rise, and lets the kid go before taunting him that he's programmed his robots to kill the first person who leaves the area.
88	* KillTheCutie: Jackie via a knife to her brainstem while Luther has her distracted. And then Sally, the poor lab technician, who gets attacked by a spider drone that [[CruelAndUnusualDeath injects acid into her head through the floor of her mouth]] and then explodes when another officer tries to help her, killing them both.
89	* KillerRobot: Luther and his co-conspirators at Vectrocon designed and built an integrated chip which can turn any household robot into an assassination tool. Luther lists TheMafia, terrorists and foreign agents as possible interested buyers. He also has spider-bots that jump on people and inject them with poison, then explode.
90	* KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter: Laser weapons are used but only against robots, implying they're less effective against flesh and blood targets.
91	* KubrickStare: Luther's default expression.
92	* LargeHam: To be expected from Gene Simmons.
93	* TheMafia: Luther's rap sheet shows he has "mob connections". The Runaway Squad burst in on him selling his missile handgun to a pair of hoods. They turn out to be an electronic engineer and a solid-state physicist with conspicuously Italian names. It appears the mob has gone high-tech.
94	* MechanicalMonster: One of the more realistic versions in the bug-bots.
95	* MisguidedMissile: Ramsay uses the heat generated by the welding robots, and a steam pipe he opens, to throw off Luther's missiles. One of the missiles is also seen hitting a candle on a table during the restaurant scene.
96	* MyGreatestFailure: Ramsay no longer works the regular force because he feels guilty over how his vertigo led to a criminal escaping, who later that night murdered a whole family.
97	* NerdGlasses: Ramsay wears glasses for close-up work; he forgets them when trying to remove the [[BombDisposal unexploded microshell]] in Thompson's arm, and asks dryly if she wants to wait while he goes down to the car to get them.
98	* NoOSHACompliance: The skyscraper construction site. Justified because only robots are meant to be there. Taken to ridiculous levels though when the button to reset the elevator turns out to be ''underneath'' it, so Ramsay has to climb under while over a dozen stories up.
99	* NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup: Averted -- the MacGuffin of the film are photo-templates enabling Luther's clients to build more killchips.
100	* NotQuiteDead: Ramsay leans down to check Luther's pulse, only for him to snarl and grasp at Ramsay's throat...[[CatScare then he dies for real]].
101	* OneWordTitle
102	* OnlyAFleshWound: Subverted when the 'minor' wound in Thompson's arm is only because the bullet didn't explode. Thompson is in great pain when Ramsay has to fish around to remove it.
103	* OurGraphicsWillSuckInTheFuture
104	* PainfullySlowProjectile: The homing bullets of Luther's gun. From the bullets' point-of-view they travel only slightly faster than their running targets.
105	* PistolPose: Used on the posters and video covers -- Tom Selleck holds the missile handgun, [[CoversAlwaysLie even though he doesn't use it]].
106	* PocketRocketLauncher: The BigBad Luther is armed with a large pistol that fires heat-seeking mini missiles.
107	* PolicePsychic: Ramsay is ordered to consult a police psychic for information on Luther -- he's not very impressed when told that he and Luther were [[NotSoDifferentRemark brothers in another life]], but pays attention when she tells him that Luther will be in touch because he has [[MacGuffin something Luther wants]]. This is actually a good example of Crichton's opinion of psychics; they're mostly bogus second-rate stage magicians, but their skill sets would actually make some of them skilled detectives - this is ''after'' Luther contacted the station, so she's simply thinking about everything very carefully to reach a conclusion.
108	* RescueRomance: Thompson is a lot more willing to have dinner with Ramsay after he risks his life to remove the bullet, [[OpenMouthInsertFoot only for Ramsay to mess things up]] trying to emphasize how natural it is for him to have his female partner for dinner.
109	* RoboSpeak: Averted; robot voices are synthesized. At one point Ramsay casually chats with a security guard about the excellent voice of the Vectrocon computer system.
110	* RobotMaid: A robot maid called Lois looks after Ramsay's son, giving him a rundown on his eating habits and whether he's watching videos after bedtime.
111	* SarcasticClapping: Or cheering in this case. Ramsay's difficulty with dealing with a runaway construction bot makes the other workers snark ''they'' could have [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim destroy the bot]] like Ramsay, and they sarcastically cheer when Rhodes subdues the bot.
112	* SelfDestructMechanism: The killchip burns up when the Runaway Squad try to examine it; described as an 'arson special' (presumably because such chemicals have been used in computers to [[FieryCoverup start fires or destroy evidence]]) its use tells the police that the Johnson family massacre was a premeditated murder.
113	* SexySecretary: Jackie Rodgers, a secretary at Vetrocon and Luther's girlfriend. Played by Kirstie Alley in a [[HellBentForLeather tight leather skirt]].
114	* SensorSuspense: During the car chase scene, a large part of the tension is derived from a map screen showing Luther's smart bombs zoning in on the car.
115	* SharpDressedMan: Except when in disguise as a repairman or a police officer, Dr. Luther always dresses in a suit and tie.
116	* ShipperOnDeck: Bobbie immediately realizes the potential of Dad's attractive new partner.
117	* ShootTheBuilder: The first thing Luther did when he cracked robotic weapons was kill the rest of his design team. All the better to sell it himself.
118	* ShoutOut: The killer spider-bots that attack specific targets is one to the Creator/BelaLugosi serial ''Serial/ThePhantomCreeps''.
119	* SignatureStyle: {{Infodump}}s, TechnologyPorn, RockBeatsLaser (when wielded by a GuileHero)... This is quality Crichton work.
120	* SmokeOut: A floater robot drops from the ceiling to spray smoke everywhere after the police burst on Luther's meeting with TheMafia.
121	* SoMuchForStealth: An annoying news crew gets in Ramsay's face as he's suiting up to go into the Johnson house; he points out they're broadcasting on an EM frequency that the robot can read. The cameraman then follows him into the house ([[FridgeLogic why didn't the police stop him?]]) and gives away his position by coughing and refusing to switch off his camera light.
122	* SuperIdentikit: Thompson and Sally are shown reconstructing Luther's face on a clunky-looking Eighties version of an [=iPad=].
123	* TemptingFate: Ramsay says "I know what I'm doing" just before being [[StaticStunGun zapped]] by a malfunctioning security robot.
124	%%* TheyKnowTooMuch: Luther kills the two Mafia gangsters at the Ritz after the police burst in.
125	* TimeMarchesOn: The hotel raid is executed (rather ineptly) by regular uniformed cops, a reflection of how law enforcement wasn't as militarized in 1984 as it is now. Today, the first thing Luther would've noticed would've been the door getting kicked in, followed by the [[BlindedByTheLight flashbang]] going off, and quite possibly would've gotten killed right there...
126	* TooDumbToLive: A news cameraman follows Ramsay into a house where a robot is armed and dangerous. [[RedShirt It doesn't end well for him.]]
127	* ToplessnessFromTheBack: Jackie stripping off as the police find one bug after another hidden in her clothes. Becomes FanDisservice when she turns to reveal the angry red bruises Luther has left on her back.
128	* VideoPhone: The Johnson family house's doorcam -- anyone turning up at the door just leaves a message if no-one's home. Dr Luther erases his own message after turning up as a fake repairman, but enough of the tape survives to get a good view of his face. Video intercoms are used on a couple of other occasions too.
129	* WeHaveToGetTheBulletOut: Thompson takes one of Luther's heat-seeking microshells in her arm, which fails to detonate as it hadn't traveled far enough to arm. They can't risk moving her to the hospital because it could explode at any moment, so Ramsay has to yank it out then and there - he flings it across the room the ''instant'' he succeeds in removing it, and it goes off with enough force to take out a wall.
130	* WitlessProtectionProgram: The police catch Jackie red-handed with the templates and, after she confesses, decide to use her as TheBait to flush out her boyfriend. Unfortunately her boyfriend is a supreme expert in HollywoodHacking and CrazyPrepared (having concealed ''multiple'' bugs in her clothes) and she doesn't survive the night.
131	* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Ramsay is scared of heights. Knowing this, Luther sets the exchange in the climax to happen in an unfinished skyscraper.
132	* WildGooseChase: Ramsay plants one of Luther's own {{Tracking Device}}s on the templates before he hands them over, but Luther leaves it in a hospital bathroom [[BoobyTrap along with one of his spiderbots]].
133	* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: The two electronic engineers who built the chips, and [[YouHaveFailedMe Luther's girlfriend]].
134	* YoureInsane: Used by Jackie re our heroes oddly enough, rather than her psycho boyfriend.
135	-->(while robot bombs are closing in on their car) "You're crazy! You're both crazy!
136	* YouSaidYouWouldLetThemGo: Luther lets Bobbie go, but as he's going down in the elevator reveals that he's programmed the spiderbots to kill the first person to leave.

Context Film / Runaway