StunnaKrypto Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

bcheng93 surreal fairytale taking place in the modern world. devilishly over the top characters...especially the baddies. this movie is 2 hours of freakish fun and it just doesn't let up from beginning to end. totally loved the fact that good triumphs over evil in this movie. haven't watch a movie this enjoyable in a long time and i watch lots of movies. OK...so its not an Oscar worthy film, but boy is it good. some of the action scenes are totally original.....enjoy the action scenes, they are really really well done. lots of action for the action junkies and it doesn't let up as a superb thriller as well. for all you people like me who just happened upon this movie and are not huge Walker fans...boy are you going to be surprised how good this movie is.

davidjanuzbrown This movie is a classic. If you like mob movies it should not be missed. Does it have a lot of "F" Words and violence? Yes. But the 'Mob Lifestyle' is not pretty ( despite how popular culture portrays it.) spoilers ahead: First and Formost it is a Fairy Tale and it is Oleg's ( Cameron Bright) story. The very end credits with the comic strip style road map shows this. The thing about Oleg is despite being a boy is he never smiles. The reason being is he goes through Hell. He has a strung out mother an abusive Step Father who married her just to get in this Country ( he is in the Russian Mob). One of the key scenes is when he is kidnapped by a "Nice Couple" who plan on killing him ( like they have done to other children before ( the wife is worse then the husband). He does not call his mom, he calls his next door neighbor Teresa Gazelle. Teresa ( Vera Farmega), is also in a "Political Marriage" in this case to Joey ( Paul Walker) who is a low level Italian Gangster. The only differences is he is an undercover agent for 12 years ( something she does not know), and they love each other. Something that Joey's mob pals do not like about him. One example is his refusal to cheat on her. Teresa is the movie's moral compass. She kills the child murderers in cold blood by shooting them to death ( you see that Russian mob upbringing when she does that). At the end of the movie the Russian Don wants Oleg's Step Father to shoot him to death, and he finally does a decent thing and refuses and gets murdered for that. It happens in a particularly violent scene in a hockey arena, where both the Russian and Italian Dons ( as well as their foot soldiers shot) die and only Joey and Oleg survive. Joey says to Oleg " I am taking you home." Oleg says "I don't want to go home." What happens is Oleg's mother kills herself by turning on gas and lighting a match., and Joey gets shot., and you see him dying giving his final goodbyes to Teresa and their son Nicky. However, it turned out that his death was faked so he can finally get out of that lifestyle ( he told the Don that "I was almost out, but you had to get involved with the Russians"). Teresa told him "I never want to have to bury you again." Then you finally see Oleg smile ( along with Joey, Teresa and Nicky). Basically his nightmare was over. I have read numerous reviews critical that Joey was an undercover FBI Agent and there is a happy ending. But that was the best way to end this movie. Why? Because the Protagonist was Oleg, and his life was Hell, and he did nothing to create his own situation, he deserves the "Happily Ever After" ending. if someone likes Mob Movies this should be a must see. 10/10 Stars.

moskvausa One of the best movies ever made. Makes Quentin Tarantino films look tame. Great story and great characters. Constantly moving action. Not a single moment boring and not predictable on any level. Great set pieces. Fantastic cinematography. Crooked cops, Russian and Italian mobs, drug dealers and pimps, all covered without being contrived. A real modern fairy tale. A sure neoclassic. Have recommended to all kinds of people, from librarians to white and blue collar professionals - all agreed it was one of the most unique film experiences ever. Put aside your genre preferences and see this unique masterpiece of story telling. You will not regret it.

aj-to It is significant that this movie gets such high ratings. It gives me little hope for humanity, as it signals to me the general 'rate' of people nowadays. How can you indulge so much unworthiness, inhumanity and degradation? Why is it that insisting on elevation and not depravation only meets with loathing and mockery today? For instance, is there no one who gets troubled by the increasing usage in movies of babies amidst violent situations involving screaming and other utterances? These kids have no conscience of the theatrical setting; they themselves aren't actors and will take the violence for real. Why is the monitoring of animals and not of small children normative? No doubt Running Scared is a skillfully made product and it gives your nerves the expected blow. But I get so tired and sick of all the negativeness, aggression, swearing and other subhuman behavior in our modern films. Do you still think this won't have any effect on our growing youths? Don't you see we're judging ourselves this way, bringing affliction to humanity by constantly consuming filth and gloom? I'd like to make an appeal to the movie industry for taking its responsibility in educating people, instead of merely making money out of life's darknesses. Methinks we weren't born to drag each other into the pools of obscurity, but to inspire one another in reaching for the stars.