It doesn't quite suffice to call "Runaway Train" an action movie. True, it's got a prison escape and an out-of-control train, but there is actually a plot. After safe cracker Oscar Manheim (Jon Voight) and tag-along Buck (Eric Roberts) escape from an Alaska prison, they jump onto a train whose engineer suddenly dies of a heart attack. More than simply making every scene a "will they?! won't they?!" situation, the movie has character development and never moralizes. Nor does it heroify or vilify anyone. The audience is left to develop their own opinions about each of the characters. I won't tell you what happens, but I will let you know that this is one of the only non-mind-numbing action movies that I know.
Review of Runaway Train
