Runaway is a 1984 American science fiction action film written and directed by Michael Crichton, starring Tom Selleck, Gene Simmons, Cynthia Rhodes and Kirstie Alley. Selleck portrays a police officer assigned to track down dangerous robots, while Simmons is a scientist who hopes to profit from his manipulation of robots. The film was a box office disappointment and received mixed reviews.
Plot
In the near future, robots are commonplacea part of everyday life like any other electrical applianceand are just as prone to malfunctions. When a robot malfunctions, it could pose a threat to people or property. Such robots are known as "runaways". Since they are more dangerous than the average machine, they are handled by a division of the police trained in robotics. The "runaway" squad, however, is treated as an easy and unexciting assignment, and often ridiculed.
Sgt. Jack R. Ramsay is a veteran police officer who joined the runaway squad after an incident in which his fear of heights allowed a criminal to escape, which subsequently resulted in a family's death at the hands of that escaped criminal. After years on the job, Ramsay has found himself one of the division's few real experts. His new partner Karen Thompson is enthusiastic about the job, but he assures her there is little excitement involved, saying that mostly it involves flipping a switch. This changes when they find themselves handling a new threatthe first robotic homicide. Investigating a household robot that murdered a family with a kitchen knife and handgun, Jack discovers strange integrated circuits, which not only override a robot's safety features but also direct it to attack humans. These circuits are not hacked chips, but created from a series of master templates, enabling them to be mass-produced.
Despite being unable to learn anything from uncooperative informants who end up dead, Ramsay refuses to give up and soon discovers the perpetrator is sociopathic genius Dr. Charles Luther. Luther, while working for a defense contractor, developed a program that allows a robot to thermographically identify a human from amidst cover and to even differentiate between humans. Seeing the profit potential, he killed his fellow researchers and tried to sell the technology on the black market. A failed attempt to arrest Luthercomplicated by Ramsay having to remove an explosive shell from Thompson's armresults in the recovery of another of Luther's weapons, a smart bullet: a miniature heat seeking missile capable of locking onto a human target's unique heat signature, pursuing them wherever they run, even around corners.
While investigating another of Luther's partners, Ramsay and Thompson find Jackie Rogers, who was once Luther's lover. She double-crossed him and stole the circuit templates, intending to sell them herself. She is scared because she believes Luther will stop at nothing to kill her. When they create a ruse to transfer Jackie to safety, Luther attacks the police convoy with robotic smart bombs. They discover that the bombs are zeroing in on a bug in Jackie's purse; they throw the bag out the window before a bomb reaches the car.
Ramsay decides to make a public appearance with Jackie at a restaurant to draw Luther out, but instead Luther captures Thompson and wants Ramsay to exchange her for Jackie and the templates. Before making the exchange, Jackie gives some of the templates to Ramsay, for insurance that Luther won't kill her. But Luther kills her anyway, after discovering the templates missing. He then fires his smart bullets into the crowded restaurant and flees.
To retrieve the missing templates, Luther plans to attack Ramsay. He uses the police computers to discover everything about Ramsay's personal life, including his son. Once Ramsay discovers his information has been hacked, he races home to find his household robot damaged and his son Bobby missing. Luther calls to confirm he kidnapped Bobby and wants to exchange him for the missing templates.