Running Scared

Toward the close of this high-tech action movie, the grungy protagonist—a small-time wiseguy scrambling to recover a stolen gun that it was his job to dispose of—is tortured by being held down on an ice rink while a hockey player slams several pucks directly into his forehead. After spending nearly two hours watching the raucous, violent, unsavory Running Scared, you'll know exactly how he feels. Opening with a grotesque shootout, the movie segues into a mad chase involving two sets of hoods, a runaway boy who shot his abusive father (with the missing gun), crooked cops, a hooker and her flashy pimp, and—in a totally extraneous, particularly ugly twist—a couple of creepy child molesters. At the center of the chaos is Paul Walker, looking out of place—like a California surfer dude trying to pass for a member of the Soprano clan—as the low-level gangster trying to get back that troublesome pistol. Presumably writer-director Wayne Kramer's cinematic assault is intended to be a Hitchcockian tale of a man struggling to extricate himself from circumstances spiraling out of his control, but it's all told in the florid and gruesome style of a comic book, relying on visual razzmatazz to camouflage the plot holes. Not recommended. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by writer-director Wayne Kramer, a 19-minute “Through the Looking Glass” making-of featurette, two storyboard comparisons (6 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a so-so extras package for a distasteful film.] (F. Swietek)