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I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a little strange in the things I obsess over. Obsess not in an overly analytical or critical sense, but more in the sense of getting lost in a kinetic visual stream or hitting AB Repeat on the DVD player to get another look at a specific movement of an actor/actress, over and over again.  I’m fascinated by movies and moviemaking, to be sure, but I’m also just a plain old fan of the looks of people. Their balance, their imperfections, their motivation for performing an action in a certain way.  I love the differences between people, probably more so than their similarities.

And then there’s my love of running.  From where this stems, I have no idea. It’s probably something that grew over time, like the best of interests in life.  I grew up with a certain type of kinetic, adventurous filmmaking, and that had something to do with it as well.  I also wasn’t a particularly graceful kid, to start with anyway (although it’s debatable if I ever fully outgrew that), but the one thing I could always do well was run.  I loved running, still do.  It’s something that I can obsess over, not just to lose myself in, but to watch it happening as well. In films, I’ve noticed, there are just those actors that move better than others. Running is a natural occurance.  Sure, there’s something there that you can train to perform differently, perhaps more efficiently, but on the whole it’s inherent in ones body makeup.  Your balance, your intent, your focus, your beauty, everything that physically makes up who you are is there in that moment.  At least that’s the pleasure I take from watching it.  It’s like the purest, most honest version of one’s physical self.

And so, with that introduction I’d now like to present a window into what I find the most beautiful or exciting in the world of filmic foot races.  This is my list of the Top Ten Coolest Runners in movies, a strange list to be sure.  These are the ones that I never tire of watching, their personality is in their gait and their velocity.

Buckle up kids, here we go …

10. Michael J. Fox in “Back To The Future”

Coming up with an order to these runners is a real personal trial.  In Michael’s case, the dude is such a small fry, so not the action hero, that when he kicks into overdrive (as he does in this collection of clips) it’s pretty impressive.  Guy goes from zero to sixty pretty damned quick.  Michael’s always been an impressive physical comedian, so that he can move this quick shouldn’t be too surprising:

9. James McAvoy in “Wanted”

This is a runner in training.  McAvoy came out of nowhere for me, as an action performer.  In fact, between this and the little seen but fantastic “Starter For 10″, I can’t remember the dude doing much leg work on camera.  That being said, he had such a great, firing, low centre of gravity in “Wanted”, and you never sensed that he had any gear lower than full throttle.  Bit of a machine he is:

8. Charlie Cox in “Stardust”

Here we have, perhaps, an unfair case of great costume and hair design assisting in the running stakes.  That and it always helps to have perfectly timed slow motion photography to make those moves sing.  However, I think running on cobblestone, in boots no less, while keeping one hand on the slung, leather case, all while tearing through the countryside at top speed, in perfect form, earns the brother a place on the list:

7. Matthew Broderick in “WarGames” & “Ferris Beuler’s Day Off”

This Matthew is a thing of the past, and I miss him.  That was the great thing about the 80s, you’d get action heroes out of actors who would regularly be cast as the bookish types.  And they almost always excelled.  Matthew had a string of great running roles, the two above and my personal favourite, “Ladyhawke”, included.  These two films I think showcase his naturalism on camera.  It never seemed like he was trying to be cool or alter his movements for the shot.  He had a distinct, open palm swing to his arms, and like the ones that came before him on this list, he never seemed to be able to slow down:

6. Mel Gibson in “Lethal Weapon”

This is Mel running right through the flippin’ screen.  I’m surprised they had a camera car that could keep ahead of the man, in “Lethal Weapon” Mel moved so quickly at times that it often looked like he was running in place.  It’s a really strange phenomenon.  This sequence from the climactic action of the film, showcases him at his absolute zenith.  I don’t think there was an off button with this guy, it’s probably hard for those that didn’t grow up with this film, and this version of Mel, to realize how incredibly athletic he was.  It’s all on display here:

5. Rachel McAdams in “Morning Glory”

Major, dramatic shift in tone and genre here.  This one took me by surprise.  No doubt is Rachel McAdams is beautiful and adorable, that’s been clear to me for a long while now, but she has such a classic poise in this sequence from “Morning Glory”.  Yes, she’s running in heels (and Good Lord, I don’t know how you girls do that and not break several ankles), but look at that perfect posture of hers, and the consistency of her movements.  That and she’s always focused ahead of her, always in the moment.  Yes, the photography is beautiful and classical, but her perfection in movement is the heart of that photography:

4. Kevin Costner in “No Way Out”

Now, here’s some classic running.  Kevin Costner has always had the most distinctive run for me.  Back in the mid-80s Kevin was so lean it sometimes looked like he’d be lucky to not blow over, let alone come even remotely close to playing an action hero.  But that’s when the mechanics of movement mesmerize me, cause Costner had the most distinctive gait of any of the 80s action heroes.  He ran like he was straight out of a comic book, his knees crossing his body and his opposite arm stretched counter to it.  He always had this motor in his movements, that when he got going he seemed to be able to outrun anybody.  These two foot chases from “No Way Out” showcase that:

3. Harrison Ford in “Raiders of the Lost Ark”

And here’s a steamroller.  From the lithe perfection of Costner, Harrison Ford barrels across the landscape like he has a hard time slowing down.  This guy was the powerhouse of running.  Sometimes in the way he was photographed it looked like he was fighting against his own momentum, like he was afraid of running away from himself.  But not in these two sequences from the classic “Raiders of the Lost Ark”.  This is Harrison untethered, you don’t want to get in his way:

2. Sean Astin in “Toy Soldiers”

Okay, so now we get into a weird bit of explanation.  As we all know, this list, as in any list, is subjective in the extreme, and having a gloriously goofy film like “Toy Soldiers” on any of those lists requires a bit of a primer.  Here’s the thing, I remember the athletic Sean Astin.  The one that started in “Goonies” and ended with “Rudy”, and “Toy Soldiers” was the diminutive actor as badass and I love cheering an underdog.  Plus, and I know I’ve said this a lot, this dude can flat out run.  I’m amazed at the speed that some actors, usually the shorter ones, can generate in their short strides.  Astin sells himself as an action hero here, something that may have seemed ridiculous at the time (and may still to some).  He’s got my vote, I wish we’d have gotten more action roles out of him:

1. Elisabeth Shue in “The Saint”

If anyone really knows me then they saw this one coming a mile away.  Elisabeth Shue is my blind spot, my Achilles heel.  When you know more about her, like what a stellar athlete she was before she got into the movie game, then a foot race like this begins to seem more like a long time coming.  Like Rachel McAdams, if you marry beauty with action energy, sorry guys, but you’ve been beat, no contest.  What blew me away with Shue’s run here is her speed, her perfect form (to clarify, girl’s got a muscular, athletic build perfectly in tune with that speed), her peerless beauty, and her focus.  She never loses sight of her character.  She may be sprinting like her world class self, but she’s got the fear in her eyes.  Many may call me on this one, but to my eyes, Shue is the best of the best: