You’d think Paul Walker was having a pretty good week, with two movies out at the box office: “”Running Scared”” and “”Eight Below.”” That is, until you actually see them.
“”Running Scared”” starts out with a room covered in dead, bloody bodies. Problem is, the dead bodies were not normal crooks killed during a regular crime. They’re actually undercover cops. Once Joey Gazelle (Paul Walker) and his mob buddies blast their way out of there, they realize the gun they just used is a hot item and needs to be disposed of fast.
The movie wouldn’t be very interesting if it just ended there, though. Instead of tossing it in the river like a proper mobster, Gazelle puts it in a plastic bag and stuffs it in a hole in the wall of his house. His son and his son’s Russian friend Oleg (Cameron Bright) from next door spy him putting the gun in the hole. Next thing you know, Oleg steals the gun and shoots his adopted father, who is known for verbally abusing their family, in the chest.
Gazelle has to try to track him down first because he kind of forgot to tell his mob bosses that it’s the same gun they just used in the crime, which he didn’t dispose of the right way. Plus, the mob wants to get the gun back before the cops can trace it. That means getting rid of Oleg and the gun any way possible.
“”Running Scared””Rated: R119 min.New Line Cinema
The dialogue and dialect is supposed to build up the Jersey mobsters as tough men who know how to live on the edge. However, substituting the f-word in at any given point is supposed to make up for a lack of real conversation. “”Running Scared”” uses “”fuck”” in more ways than I even knew was possible. “”Fuck”” is an adverb, noun, adjective – anything you can possibly think of. Even the most touching moments, like when Gazelle’s wife has to rescue Oleg from creepy child molesters, are ruined by “”fuck”” sprinkled around profusely. Any time you start to get into the plot, the word “”fuck”” distracts you from what’s going onscreen.
Some of the technical aspects of the film are pretty cool to watch. They go back and rewind certain scenes so instead of getting shot, the main characters can try an alternative move where instead they get to take out the slightly more villainous side in a different way. It’s a unique idea, but I never understood what the point of this was. It would have worked just as well if they just ran it the right way the first time.
It didn’t do much for moving the story forward or add anything important. The director seems like a boy with a new toy; he couldn’t wait for a chance to show off the new technology he found on his computer, regardless of whether there was a point to it or not.
So if you really want an excuse to look at pretty-boy Paul Walker’s baby blues, just get the movie poster instead of watching the ultimately shitty “”Running Scared.””