So I reading some reviews and seriously speaking a 7.4 overall is just too low. Now I understand that is pretty high on here. Cause some reason everybody wants to compare every movie to the godfather and gone with the wind. And i love the godfther but lets be real. This was made in 2006 and I'm not sure if you can find another action movie that kept you on the edge of your seat 10 years after it.I can't think of any. And if I could the acting wouldn't be the same. One thing a lot of people forgot to mention in these reviews. You can watch this movie over and over. Heck I even forgot about the ending. And I've seen this like 5 times already. And where a lot of action movies lack is they drift off and its either not too much action or they play out for the audience at the time. This movie brought it. Notice the female character fits no such stereotypes. Thats a win right there. Her character alone was part of the movie and added so much to it. You can just in this movie and wonder what is going to happen. Who is going to get shot, if anybody will get busted. I was once again so impressed with the acting that even the kid who is the main character as well is great at acting. Seems like a natural. Even the ending was great. I must say I hear a lot of talk about fast and the furious. And Paul walker was great in those movies (may he rest in peace). But this movie never gets mentioned and I don't know why. The car as well was an attraction.

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.

Who would have thought that I would ever compare Running Scared to a Quentin Taratino film. Creative dialogue aside, this film displays the style and brutal action that made Taratino famous. Some will say that this makes the Kill Bill films look like weaklings next to this film. In other words, this film earns it's R-rating and there is enough excessive violence and swearing here to keep hardcore action/thriller fans happy.Wayne Kramer's film is about a mob hand named Tommy who is asked to dispose of a gun. But, the kid of his neighbor Oleg happens to find the gun to shoot his abusive father and that set off a chain of events involving both police and the mafia keeping an eye on Tommy and his family.I wish the late Paul Walker starred in more films like this because he was awfully good and he gleefully went over-the-top. I love him in many of his other films, but I would have love to see him go hardcore one more time. Vera Farmiga does a good job here and she has a few key and one very powerful scene as well.Overall, this film is a gritty and intense actioner that will satisfy many action junkies. This film seemed to have gathered an intense cult following after the initial release resulted in poor reviews and terrible box office. This is definitely not one of Walker's mainstream roles and this could be his very best. I rate this film 9/10.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. The acting was top-notch, the action was brutal yet captivating at the same time, and to make such an edge-of-your-seat thriller with such a simple plot is bravo in my book. As soon as the opening scene concludes it leaves you craving for more and the rest of the movie certainly delivers with an ending that satisfies. There's one particular scene in the movie that is definitely going to get under your skin (You'll know when you see it) and it will either make or break the movie. After I saw this scene I was on my feet cheering for the "good guy" wanting more and more. The only thing about the movie that was fairly annoying was the way the movie was being filmed, visually. Awkward camera angles and frizzy camera images left the movie annoying to watch at times, but fortunately id does not take away from the movie. All in all, if you have a solid stomach, crave an intriguing thriller without having to think much, this is your movie. Highly recommended.