“Running Scared”

I usually find shoot ‘em up movies kind of dumb. (Just see my review of “Shoot ‘Em Up.”) But “Running Scared” is different. There are a lot of flying bullets and resulting blood. But there are also enough twists and turns in the plot to keep you interested. It opens with Joey Gazelle (Paul Walker) careening down the street with a blood-covered boy in the passenger seat of his car, then abruptly cuts to a flashback of the events that led up to that moment. To make a long story short (and not give up too much) the boy, Oleg, (Cameron Bright) got his hands on a gun Gazelle, a mob henchman, was supposed to dispose of and used it to shoot his stepfather (Anzor Yugorsky), who just so happens to be the nephew of a Russian mob boss. When Oleg and the gun disappear. Gazelle desperately tries to find the gun in the world of pimps, hookers, pedophiles, crackheads and other assorted creatures of the night while he’s pursued by a crooked cop (Chazz Palminteri), his crew and the Russian mob. It’s a pretty wild ride. My tweet: Running Scared-Mobster Paul Walker’s frantic search for a cop-killer’s gun. A veritable travelogue of NJ’s less savory locales & locals. 7.5 (out of 10)

“Running Scared”

Released: 2006

Rating: R

Length: 122 minutes

Cast: Paul Walker, Cameron Bright, Vera Farmiga, Chazz Palminteri

Director: Wayne Kramer

Genre(s): Drama, Action, Thriller