I always liked this film, but wondered how great it could have been with someone besides Eric Roberts. His over-the-top screaming of "Man-ny" gets old after the first 20 times he says it. Sometimes it's easy to overlook one weak performance in a film, but not in this case.
shareLOL, I kinda agree with you but, even with him in it, it's still a cool movie.
shareI disagree. I think Eric Roberts is great in this movie and can't imagine anyone else doing as good a job in the role.
shareThis is Eric roberts best performance, he was supposed to be a naive runt hero wanna be thats why people rag on his performance all the time.
But look at that ending scene when he totally changes in to an entirley totally new person character, his performance shows it, and his pleading with Manny Mnheim to not kill himself on the train IS LIKE NO PERFORMANCE MOMENT I'VE SEEN IN ANYONE LET ALONE ERIC ROBERTS.
Hayley Stark says, "people are always talking."
Actually, I think Eric Roberts' best performance was in "Star 80," where he plays Dorothy Stratten's husband/killer. He's an underrated actor, and he's positively chilling in "Star 80." But he's very good in "Runaway Train" also.
share[deleted]
Eric Roberts is one of the best actors working in film today. It's too bad most of his current films go directly to dvd/video. I've been a fan ever since I saw The Pope Of Greenwich Village in 1984.
share
I loved Runaway Train as soon as I saw it. Even though Eric Roberts' role used to annoy the hell out of me. Then a friend said, "well, it's because he's so good; he's supposed to be annoying." I guess I'm willing to buy that.
I'll say this much: He can act circles around his overrated sister.
I was also always impressed by how sexless Rebecca de Mornay is in this film. While being completely the opposite in Risky Business and (the later) God Created Woman.
The thing is, Voight gives such a towering performance in this film, everyone else is in his shadow, even with good performances themselves.
I think two people say *beepin A* equally well: Joe, from the movie "Joe," and Bill Paxton's Hudson character from "Aliens."
ccr1633:
think two people say *beepin A* equally well: Joe, from the movie "Joe," and Bill Paxton's Hudson character from "Aliens."
This.
shareYou are correct, sir. This was the first film I saw Eric Roberts in, and it was several disappointments later before I began refering to the hack as "Julia Roberts' brother." It's like the time when Boorman got an actual days work out of Burt Reynolds in "Deliverance" - you just gotta hand it to the director. Roberts was superb in Runaway Train, though I can certainly forgive anyone familiar with his work for being unable to divorce themselves from his previous hackery. You are a fair-minded critic, sir, and therefore do not deserve a beating. Rare that I find anyone who does not deserve a beating. Count yourself among a blessed minority, for someday I shall acheive my rightful power.
shareHey he did something right.He was nominated for a best supporting actor role at the academy awards and golden globes.He was also fantastic in Star 80,The Pope Of Greenwich Village and I even liked him in the Best Of The Best and The Coca Cola Kid.
shareI also thought it was a very entertaining role. He was a bit ridiculous, but I think that was by design. As far as anyone else doing it better? I think that role could have been written exactly for John Travolta, but point taken that Roberts did it well, in my opinion too.
shareI've seen this a few times..gets better each time.
I disagree with your comment about roberts....the guy is an actor - he was playing a not-too-bright or not-the-sharpest-tool-in-the-shed character and I thought he did it very well.
In fact, your irritation with the character Roberts plays is a compliment to Roberts acting.
Believe me, it's not a compliment. He sucks. The role should have been more understated, instead of competing with Jon Voight, who deserved more recognition for his performance.
shareI guess it'll be boring without Eric's so-called " competing with Jon Voight". A movie simply with only one leading and outstanding role and everyone else is simply supporting that role, is hella lame.
.....And Eric's about to be perfect for he portraited a natural punk
so naturally that most people feel annoyed by him.
"...Jon Voight, who deserved more recognition for his performance."
Voight won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Oscar for his performance.
That pretty good recognition.
i think he wanted more recognition for JV in this thread. haha, i guess he was in the wrong thread, or maybe he just didn't do any homework...
shareThat's correct. Roberts' performance was okay. One has to keep in mind that Voight and Roberts play two a bit retarded prisoners who surpringsly manage to escape.
----------------
They don't give you the leads, they don't give you the support, they don't give you dick. (Dave Moss)
Without Eric Roberts? You gotta be kidding!? He was absolutely fantastic in this role. I loved him and and agree with the above who said he can act better than his sister.
shareI agree with this! Eric Roberts' carachter is supposed to be an annoying punk, an exalted youngster and a wannabe scumbag that's why Roberts ends up resulting annoying: because he does his job in an absolutely perfect way. I never thought of him as a great actor (but at least as a good one), but in this film he is great! Why does people think he was nominated for an Oscar here? Anyway, it's always the same story: I've replied to posts like this to defend Shelly Duvall's performance in Shining, Willem Dafoe's vampire in The Shadow Of The Vampire and so on... the problem is just that some people tend to confuse an annoying acting performance with an annoying carachter.
share"I agree with this! Eric Roberts' carachter is supposed to be an annoying punk, an exalted youngster and a wannabe scumbag that's why Roberts ends up resulting annoying: because he does his job in an absolutely perfect way. I never thought of him as a great actor (but at least as a good one), but in this film he is great! Why does people think he was nominated for an Oscar here? Anyway, it's always the same story: I've replied to posts like this to defend Shelly Duvall's performance in Shining, Willem Dafoe's vampire in The Shadow Of The Vampire and so on... the problem is just that some people tend to confuse an annoying acting performance with an annoying carachter."
I completely agree with where you are coming from... you need opposites and balance in good movies. like Shelley in 'The Shining' -- it's the classic example of a role that is suppose to be annoying but completely necessary for balance and appreciation for the sympathetic or empathic protagonist hero/ anti-hero whatever... it's all about getting the broadest spectrum in characters, it always enhances the ride.
This is something most people don't really examine with films. You need flawed characters in order to oppose the good ones.
Your comment describes my feelings toward "Glory"...a badly mis-cast Matthew Broderick ruined an otherwise great film for me.
I tend to factor this "annoyance" factor into "what to see next" choices...I shy away from Matthew Broderick and in old flicks I really dislike Cary Grant (constantly mugging as if the cameraman were his fraternity brother...I find Cary Grant so non-conducive to empathy...especially v/vis Clark Gable, Gregory Peck, and esp.Burt Lancaster.
Runaway Train is to me easily one of my top-50 "desert island" flics and I enjoy the Jon Voigt/Eric Roberts juxtaposition (along with all the other juxtapos/dicotomies the film weaves together.
[deleted]
I agree, you're not supposed to like Robert's charcter, he is basically a hindrance to Manny, a cocky young wannabe trying to ride on his coat tails.
His annoying mannerisms are deliberate and as the film goes on you can see Manny getting more and more hacked off with him, especially when he starts bragging about what he would do if he had money which leads to Manny's excellent 'If you can do that...' speech.
[deleted]
Eric Roberts character was annoying. Maybe it was done in purpose, well I'm quite sure he was supposed to, but that screaming was still annoying. Not very good performances from others either. Sure Voight's character was a bad ass but somehow nearly comical.
shareTo the person who mentioned Pope of Greenwich Village - are you kidding me? Mickey Rourke was sensational (as he was throughout the 80s) in that film, but it is borderline unwatchable because of Roberts. He is so irritating I wanted to kill him throughout the film - he flat out ruins what could have been a great film.
The Ambulance is a cult classic little film which is very enjoyable, but again Roberts is virtually unwatchable. When he chats up the woman in the street at the start it is painful, and the rest of his gormless, jittering, grating, irritating performance (i.e. just like every film he's in) is only just bearable.
His performance in Runaway Train is just like everything else he's done - 110% hammy over-acting in the most annoying manner possible.
I am not a big Eric Roberts fan, but I think he did a fine job in this underrated classic.
shareI agree with many of the answers that indicate that Roberts played a character with almost zero likeable sides to himself. It s not easy to draw someone like Buck in a sympathetic way. There are no heroes in that story, everyone is just what I would call very human, meaning selfish, ruthless and determined to survive, hence the parallels to animal-like behaviour.
To me, it is a very intense and strong characterization of a poor young fellow who seemed to have missed chances to be or become a "good person".
I agree that it is sometimes a matter of personal taste, whether to like or dislike a character, but then, there are many now famous roles in movie history that were or are not liked by audiences, still they stick to public s mind.
You Eric haters must die.
He's one of the most underrated actors of all time, he's *beep* badass, a great actor.
You think you're tough? Try living in a third-world country.share
How could this movie be better without Eric Roberts? BOTH Eric Roberts AND Jon Voight were nominated for Oscars for this movie!
sharePeople may not think much of Eric Roberts nowadays, but his performance was amazing in this movie. I remember watching it the first time and thinking to myself, this can't be Roberts; he's a horrible actor! He kept me in thrall throughout the movie, and I wish he'd get a chance to shine again.
This world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel.
Well he did something right that the director wanted because he was nominated for an academy award for best supporting actor and a golden globe for the same thing.
shareWithout seeing to much of Roberts work, I say that this is his best performance ever. It's hard to make this characters human, but Roberts managed just that. I couldn't imagine somebody else in the role.
share