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The Londoner's Guide to London
07 January 2009
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Running Scared (18)

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The ViewLondon Review

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Review byMatthew Turner04/01/2006

Two out of Five stars
Running time: 122 mins

Overblown, ultra-violent and frequently stupid, yet perversely entertaining with it, this is just about passable as a forgettable Friday night action flick but it’s unforgivably bad in places.

What’s it all about?
Paul Walker stars as the improbably named mobster Joey Gazelle, who gets tasked with disposing of an incriminating gun after a drug deal goes horribly wrong and a corrupt cop gets shot. However, Joey doesn’t do a very good job and his neighbour’s son Oleg (Cameron Bright) steals it and uses it to shoot his abusive stepfather (Karel Roden).

When Oleg disappears, Joey realises what has happened and embarks on a desperate nightlong search for both the kid and the gun, all the time staying one step ahead of the cops (led by Chazz Palmintieri) and two rival mob factions.

The Good
If you’ve ever wanted to see Paul Walker get repeatedly smashed in the teeth with a hockey puck then this is the movie for you. The plot is genuinely gripping and Kramer keeps things moving at a breakneck pace so you’re never actually bored.

The performances, like the movie itself, are wildly over the top for the most part, although there’s good work from Bright and Farmiga makes an intriguingly offbeat heroine.

The Bad
There are a couple of well-written scenes but the script is horribly corny in places and occasionally the whole film descends into outright madness. In addition, it’s sickeningly violent in places and not for the faint-hearted.

Worth seeing?
In short, if you can stomach the brutal violence and ignore (or appreciate) the rubbish bits, then this is just about worth seeing.

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Running Scared (18)
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