Love the idea of it a lot more than the execution. Eric Roberts is a terrible actor and Voight isn't strong enough to carry it. Still well worth seeing it, but can't but feel slightly underwhelmed.

It's a marvelous premise, and the dramatic beats are all excellent. It could really be a top-shelf movie, if only it hadn't been so severely hampered by such lousy acting (across the board, too... not a single decent performance in the whole cast) and such over-the-top dialogue. Perhaps it would have been better in Japanese, where such things aren't so easily noticed, or at least more readily forgiven.

add cast to Danny Trejo and Tommy "Tiny" Lister with their debuts.

"This movie is a piece o' shit, sucka!"

A very fun watch. But I can't help thinking about how much better it would've been if it weren't plagued by bad acting and cliche, overdone dialogue. Voight's character is quite a badass. I THOUGHT WE WAS FRIENDS

Through the cheesy dialogue and mediocre acting the premise shines through and the plotline becomes gripping early on. Voight is the only one who stands out from the rest, his character Manny is intriguing yet brutal. Still a worthwhile watch overall.

For a movie that takes place almost entirely in a train car it sure is thrillin'

Wow... the acting in this was terrible. I guess the idea was pretty cool... but... Jon Voight!

31/1/13

A strange film. I found it reasonably entertaining but hard to "get into" and ended up watching it in about 6 sittings.

Manny!

Filmens styrke ligger i omgivelserne, uendeligheden og afmagten...

Jon Voight and Eric Roberts (both in full-on crazy mode) hijack a far too obvious phallic metaphor. From there, it's just complete insanity, what with the actors chewing every bit of scenery and spouting incredibly ridiculous dialogue. Gotta wonder what kind of shit cast and crew must have been on when they made this, truly one of the most bizarre entries in the action genre.

Decent thriller.

"Runaway Train" is an extremely well-made action drama, featuring magnificent set pieces and assured direction by Andrei Konchalovsky. Still, it is impossible not to get distracted by the ridiculously cheesy dialogue and manufactured melodrama, especially in the second part, or the god-awful acting (see De Mornay), that makes most of the characters unpleasant to watch. The sole exception is Voight, who is riveting as the hard-headed convict. The tragic ending is stunning and purgative, though.

I really liked this at the time, but haven't seen it in ages, would be curious to see how it's dated.

What a marvelous, intense movie, which I like very much. Beautiful train roadmovie and great performances of Voight and Roberts. Excellent music fits in this snowy, icecold movie. Super !

Classic!

Akira Kurosawa first conceived of this premise, but another A.K.--Andrei Konchalovsky--realized it. It's often highly impressive: constantly suspenseful (deservedly Oscar-nominated editing), starkly photographed, well-directed, and written with a worldview both savage and blackly amusing. The acting is a bit variable, the over-the-top nature of the film inspiring most, but swamping a few (also, one of the fakest looking heart attacks ever); it was, however, one of Jon Voight's last good roles.

Bu "soguk ve hizli" aksiyon filminde, Jon Voight ve genc Eric Roberts'in en iyi performanslarini seyrettigimi soyleyebilirim. Hele Jon Voight, azili hapishane kackini rolundeki performansiyla hayranlik uyandiriciydi. Degisik bir yol filmi Runaway Train. Eric Roberts'in da gordugum en iyi performansiydi bence. Veeee bir surpriz daha: Gengecik Rebecca De Mornay! Yetenegini taa o zamanlarda ispat ediyor. Basarili bir film, bulup izleyebilirsiniz umarim.

Runaway Train is one of the lesser-known films in 80s that influence on 90s and 2000s major studio films. Magnificent synthesis of action and drama, unforgetable train travel in both of this genres. I Think Voight's career's best performance in this film.

Riveting action thriller with strong existential themes. Voight and Roberts are perfect in this, the Alaskan wilderness is pitiless. A class act.

One of the few standout movies that Cannon made before they capsized. Jon Voight and John P. Ryan are outstanding in what are, for them, very atypical roles

from a script by Akira Kurosawa, I think.