Runaway Train

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Runaway Train

R,

1986,

1h 51m,

Action

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Watchlist

Watchlist

84%

37 Reviews

Tomatometer

76%

5,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

84%

Tomatometer

37 Reviews

76%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Escaped convicts (Jon Voight, Eric Roberts) and a stowaway girl (Rebecca De Mornay) ride an unmanned diesel speeding out of control through Alaska.

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Critics Consensus

Charging forward with the momentum of a locomotive, Runaway Train makes great use of its adrenaline-fueled premise and star presences of Jon Voight and Eric Roberts.

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Paul Attanasio

Washington Post

Jan 4, 2018

"Runaway Train" isn't just bad -- it's bodaciously bad, grotesquely overblown, lurid in its emotion, big ideas on its brain.

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Variety Staff

Variety

Mar 26, 2009

Wrenchingly intense and brutally powerful, Andrei Konchalovsky's film rates as a most exciting action epic and is fundamentally serious enough to work strongly on numerous levels.

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Geoff Andrew

Time Out

Feb 9, 2006

Somehow one leaves aside the blatant implausibilities, the coincidences, even Eric Roberts, and takes great pleasure in a breakneck ride to the end of the line.

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Frank J. Avella

The Contending

Aug 13, 2026

B+

Oscar-winner Voight (Coming Home) burrows deep into this messy, furious character and Roberts (King of the Gypsies, The Pope of Greenwich Village), still fairly new to the medium, matches him. Both have quite a few hilarious exchanges.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Apr 19, 2026

3/4

Runaway Train is based on an unused screenplay by Akira Kurosawa, which right there gives it no small measure of class and import.

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Nick Rogers

Midwest Film Journal

Apr 6, 2026

4.5/5

Per the Cannon Films way, this still has breakneck pacing and crazy stuntwork. It also grafts a sort of sociological tone poem on the futility of trying to tame the wild using steel, whether in the form of a chassis or a cage.

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Luke W

Mar 13, 2019

Subpar action drama filled with cliches. Overacting, poorly-scripted dialogue, implausible scenarios, unlikable protagonists, and an illogical antagonist.

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Feb 2, 2019

The best thrilling movie ever made!

Draco S

Jan 15, 2019

In my humble opinion one of the most underrated movies ever made in the action genre Runaway Train is a white knuckler. When Runaway Train was produced, the action genre was undergoing a change from character-driven movies to pyrotechnics-based flicks. Of the thrillers developed after this one, only a select few -- Die Hard and perhaps one or two others -- have achieved this level of tautness without compromising the intelligence of the plot. Best of all, in more than a decade since its release, Runaway Train has aged exceptionally well. It is just as compelling today as it was during the winter of 1985-86. Don't miss this great action film for anything.

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Poe R

Sep 15, 2018

An action movie that gets better as it goes and finishes very well. The big thing is the story and suspense, don't expect much in clever dialog. Casting Jon Voight as the protagonist was odd in my opinion when they could have cast a lead guy like Burt Reynolds or Jack Nicholson in their prime. Maybe they turned it down. Voight just doesn't look like a heartless felon to me, although his performance was fine.

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Ron W

May 20, 2018

4/5. Runaway Train boasts some amazing stunts, really fantastic shots, and a great performance from Jon Voight. Eric Roberts is pretty insufferable, but the movie as a whole keeps your eyes glued to the scree,

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Theodore S

Nov 7, 2017

i love this film, its a real brainless guy's movie but it has a cool story about an intense guy who wants to live and die on the edge. he escapes from prison and steals a runaway train, with disasterous results. my favourite part is when he gives these intense motivational speeches. so, break out your vodka on a cold siberian night and watch this trash

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Andrey Konchalovskiy

Director

Jon Voight

Oscar 'Manny' Manheim

Eric Roberts

Buck

Rebecca De Mornay

Sara

Kyle T. Heffner

Frank Barstow

John P. Ryan

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Synopsis

Escaped convicts (Jon Voight, Eric Roberts) and a stowaway girl (Rebecca De Mornay) ride an unmanned diesel speeding out of control through Alaska.

Director: Andrey Konchalovskiy
Producer: Menahem Golan, Yoram Globus
Screenwriter: Djordje Milicevic, Paul Zindel, Edward Bunker
Distributor: MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc.
Production Co: Golan-Globus
Rating: R
Genre: Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 17, 1986, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 30, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $7.2M
Runtime: 1h 51m
Sound Mix: Surround

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