Runaway (1984)

"Hotdogs." - Lois the Nanny-Bot

The police must stop a madman and his killer robots.
Starring: Tom Selleck, Cynthia Rhodes, Gene Simmons, Kirstie Alley, and Stan Shaw

Link to IMDB

In the near future, robots are being used everywhere to help humans with simple tasks in their daily lives. Sometimes they malfunction, so there's a small police unit that's tasked with shutting down any "runaway" robots before they cause damage.
Sgt. Jack Ramsay is one such cop, and with his young partner, Officer Karen Thompson, they stop the common agriculture and office robots that go haywire. A runaway can be quite unpredictable but they usually don't pose a serious threat. However, Ramsay's job gets more complicated when a robot starts killing a family!

Ramsay and Thompson

If you're picturing an android type of robot, forget that now. This killer robot is literally the size and shape of a loaf of bread, with one little claw arm... *crickets chirping*
It's impossible to consider any of the robots as a threat, despite the movie delivering it with total seriousness. Anyways, after Ramsay has an "epic battle" with the tiny bot, he begins to suspect that it was tampered with.

"This isn't a runaway, this is murder." - Marvin

Luther's got a gun

A mysterious computer chip inside the robot leads Ramsay and Thompson to investigate a company named Vectrotron. They're on the right trail because this is where Dr. Luther works, and he's been creating a new type of chip that causes robots to go berserk and kill humans. Luther plans to sell the chips to terrorists for a fortune, and he'll kill anyone that gets in his way!

The action revs up with shoot-outs and high speed chases through the city, as Luther proves impossible to capture. Using advanced weapons and lethal acid-spitting spider-bots, he's always able to escape and remain one step ahead of the police.
With help from one of Luther's colleagues, Sgt. Ramsay and Thompson are relentlessly pursuing Luther before his evil plans come to fruition.

The robot premise and PG-13 rating might have you thinking this is for 10-year old boys, but instead the movie is more like a serious cop drama. It's a weird mix that doesn't really work because it's too tame to be a gritty cop movie and too serious to appeal to youngsters.
Luckily, all the actors do a great job at making the drama work. Selleck takes his role sincerely, and Gene Simmons plays the villain with subtlety. The tense, action packed second half is quite fun, but overall it feels too quaint and family friendly instead of taking any risks.

Be sure not to miss:
- The little robot working the crime scene. It just sniffs the dead body with a wacky hose.
- A cameo from Stephen E. Miller. (from The X-Files and Millennium, etc.)
- RIP Lois the Nanny-Bot. You died a hero.

Internet review:
"I spent the majority of the time wondering if Tom Selleck's eyebrows were actually just extensions of
his mustache." - Dublin

Should I watch it?
It was fun, but not a classic.

Where can I find it?
Vidzi link here.

Runaway gets...