Good Runners in Cinema

Matt Damon ran a lot in the Bourne movies, as does Daniel Craig as Bond, and they're both pretty solid in my eyes. Robert Patrick did an excellent, creepily robotic run as the T-1000.

It's a shame they slowed this down because the impressive thing about Kim Bodnia's running in Pusher is that he's running like he's actually being chased. One of the things that always takes me out of movies is when actors are running, but clearly not giving it the full speed the situation would warrant in real life.

Pacino's a great runner (Carlito's Way & Serpico).

Adam West & Shatner are pretty awful runners. They both have that "elbow locked at the sides/forearms flailing" thing going on.

Michael York's a good runner too. That fucker got past Box!

Wasn't there a scene in "Boyz in the Hood" in which someone was running for no real reason and he got arrested? I thought it was one of the most intense running scenes I've ever seen, even though he wasn't actually running from anything.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Naisu Baddi 

Wasn't there a scene in "Boyz in the Hood" in which someone was running for no real reason and he got arrested? I thought it was one of the most intense running scenes I've ever seen, even though he wasn't actually running from anything.

Grand Canyon, dude.

This thread begins and ends with Buster Keaton.  That cat could MOVE.

YES. I knew it was one or the other.  I knew it was a movie that dealt with race. I took a guess and picked the wrong one. Oops. Naturally I guess the one of the two I don't own.  Ugh. Great scene, though, right?

Great call on Robert Patrick in T2. His running in that movie always makes me laugh. Somehow it's simultaneously rather silly-looking and genuinely scary. I love the run at the end of "The 400 Blows" too. That was the one time I was so exhilarated watching someone running in a movie, I just wanted to tell yell, "Yeah, go! Go! Go!" at the screen. The way it ends on the frozen close-up is just breathtaking.

x men and kung fu panda ahd a good run !

Stallone is best at this. His acting ability can be called into question, but he had matchless physicality on film e.g. the Rocky II training session/return to the steps at the Philadelphia Art Museum, that beautifully put together sequence where the crowd is running along with him, then he hits his internal turbo boost and you can see him leaving every last fucker behind in his wake (including the random person who shouts "GO! GO! GO!"), and it's like any second he's literally Gonna Fly.

Mr. Pink knocks out a pretty good 100-yard dash.

Robin Williams, now, there's a man who runs like a little girl in a princess dress.

Best I ever saw was Willem Dafoe in Off Limits.

Shia pulls out that 'holy shit, there's some shit coming at me!' run in almost every single movie. Excepting his Parkour exploits in TF3, of course. But the man seemed to never stop running in Eagle Eye. He has that great manic energy, and can sell it wonderfully.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcnooj82 

I was just thinking about that shot of him hoofing it in the first Rocky movie.

The running scene in the first movie is great of course, the iconic original. But with the sequel, the idea of including other people running next to him for comparison, is a genius way to give that sense of acceleration. Also, the camera is right there on him and his facial contortions, which make any such exertion from him look twice as hard and painful as it would with another actor. The great Rocky training montage debate goes on!

Regarding Cage's running in National Treasure - there's a great capper to one of his terrible runs where it looks like he leaps right into an open grave:

Indiana Jones has a goofy awkward-looking run.  Dunno if this is actually Harrison Ford's real-life running style, or if he puts on this extra cartoony desperate run for the character.  Hoping it's the latter.

Mel Gibson was another great give-it-everything runner back in the day. I'm remembering that bit in Lethal Weapon where Busey takes off in a car and Gibson goes after him ON FOOT like some compact, relentless dynamo. Surprisingly the mullet provides little to no aerodynamic hindrance.

Ooh, I hadn't thought about Jackie Chan. That's a good one, and I agree that while he doesn't have a "cool" or "intense" run style, it suits him well. Jet Li has a pretty good run style too.

There's a hell of a chase scene on foot in "Traffic", but it may not be Don Cheadle and Miguel Ferrer doing some terrific running as much as it's just Soderberg's amazing direction making their running look much cooler than it really was.

"Look upon me! I'll show you the life of the mind! Aaaaah! Aaaaah! Aaaaah! Look upon me! Aaaaah! I'll show you the life of the mind! I'll show you the life of the mind! I'll show you the life of the mind! I will show you the life of the mind!"

Not particularly athletic, but pretty damn iconic.

http://www.collegehumor.com/video/3733695/steven-seagal-runs-like-a-girl

The bad thing is that someone actually told Seagal that he runs like a girl. So he stopped and well... sensai got huge.

The first thing that came to mind was Run Lola Run.  Second thing that immediately came to mind was Mark Wahlberg in "Invincible".

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Myers 

http://www.collegehumor.com/video/3733695/steven-seagal-runs-like-a-girl

 

The bad thing is that someone actually told Seagal that he runs like a girl. So he stopped and well... sensai got huge.

 

 

Yes. Recently watching "Above the Law" for the first time, I was rather startled by how ridiculous Seagal's running was. If there was ever a "bad runners" counterpart to this thread, I'd put Seagal in that film at the top of my list.

Well, it's not quite cinema, but it's quite cinematic. He moves quickly for a guy his size. Who would have guessed he could outrun Johnny Sack? Must have been the smoking.

Wasn't that C.G.I., though? C.G.I running shouldn't count.

Cruise and Gibson come to my mind immediately (especially in a panic). Rocky is another perfect example.

Statham (especially seen in CRANK and occasionally on a TRANSPORTER or 2) knows how to book-it.

Something occurred to me (sorta related) during the previews before CAP AMERICA on Sunday... Most featured some sort of parkour in them. SPIDEY, ABDUCTION, RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (ape parkour!), and of course, MI3, etc. I was amused.

PARKOUR!

Two good runs that should be mentioned that haven't been (I don't think):

Will Smith's run in Bad Boys

Patrick Swayze/Keanu Reeves in Point Break

Quote:

Originally Posted by Naisu Baddi 

 

 

 

YES. I knew it was one or the other.  I knew it was a movie that dealt with race. I took a guess and picked the wrong one. Oops. Naturally I guess the one of the two I don't own.  Ugh. Great scene, though, right?

Well, Boyz N The Hood does feature a brief moment of great, if ultimately futile, running from Morris Chestnut as would-be college running back Ricky.  Sure, he doesn't get very far when his drive-by murderers roll up on him in an alley, but his form as he tries to haul ass is impressive, doubly so as he begins his run from the unconventional  'taking a leak' position rarely glimpsed on Olympic start lines. No wonder USC offered him a scholarship.

John Singleton also coaxes some great running from Omar Epps as a college track star in Higher Learning.

No one has mentioned Monty Python?

How about Jason Patric in NARC? Now there's someone running his heart out.

Ice T does some impressive running at the start of New Jack City, chasing a BMX-riding Chris Rock on foot. Bonus points for negotiating different terrains, jumping a lot and doing it all to the strains of his own 'New Jack Hustler'.

BAD running? The wobbly ear slo-mo BS at the end of Schumacher's monstrosities.

Gotta love the rear projection silliness on the old Adam West version though.