Runaway

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Year:	1984
Country of origin:	USA
Director:	Michael Crichton
Genre:	Killer robots
Starring:	Tom Selleck, Cynthia Rhodes, Gene Simmons
Rating:	4/5
IMDB link:	http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088024/
Tagline:	It Is The Future. He fought the horror of robots programmed to kill.
Favourite line:	"Congratulations, guys, you just staked out a roll of toilet paper."

Tom Selleck stars in this futuristic thriller, and just about manages to get away with it.

The plot:
In the near future, mankind's reliance on robotic technology has become all consuming. every aspect of life is either controlled or assisted by robots, to make the life of the living safer, more comfortable. Problem is, more often than seems normal, the damned things go wrong and, when they do, terrible things can occur. be it a 'bot designed for construction hurling slabs from a building, or a 'bot about the house turning kill crazy and slaughtering an entire family. That's where the special Runaway division of the police come in, to control, handle and, if needs be, take down the errant robots. And, as if all that weren't bad enough, Gene Simmons turns up as an unlikely villain, determined to corrupt the technology even further....

Writer director Crichton has something of a fascination for 'when technology attacks' plotlines, being the mind behind Jurassic Park, Westworld, The Andromeda Strain. Here, handling directorial duties as well, this was clearly perceived as the big budget big hitter of the year, but never quite made the impact expected. Selleck is likeable enough in the lead role, but the movie is hampered somewhat by some shocking design choices - seriously, these robots couldn't have looked cool even in 1984.
With a streak of silliness running through it that I thoroughly enjoyed, this borders on the terrible, but somehow manages to be most entertaining throughout.
Liked it.