Michael Crichton's writing skills are undeniably gripping, and as a movie director he has occasionally shown a deft sense of pacing; unfortunately for science-fiction fans, Crichton has mainly chosen to waste his craft on piddling, throwaway material like "Runaway", which is so overloaded with mechanical energy that even Crichton's obvious literary talent and underrated film-making skills go nearly unnoticed. Tom Selleck (not bad, but looking unhappy and unsure) plays a cop in the future who hunts down a madman who uses electronics to do his victims in. Some sly gadgetry and a hot supporting performance by Kirstie Alley (working from next-to-nothing) enlivens an otherwise stiff, silly action-thriller. ** from ****
Review of Runaway
