Logan’s Run

Based on a book by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson, Logan’s Run, set in a futuristic society where nobody is allowed to live past the age of 30, follows Michael York’s title character as he and Jenny Agutter’s Jessica begin to question their society’s way of life and eventually embark on a journey outside its secured walls. There’s little doubt that Logan’s Run is at its best in its dated yet entertaining opening stretch, as filmmaker Michael Anderson, working from a screenplay by David Zelag Goodman, does an effective job of establishing the picture’s garish (yet memorable) atmosphere – although it’s equally clear that York’s somewhat bland performance and the muddled storyline immediately prove an impediment to one’s ongoing interest. The watchable vibe persists up until Logan’s Run progresses into its seriously repetitive and aggressively tedious midsection, as the movie, which runs a disastrously overlong 119 minutes, has been suffused with a whole host of padded-out, entirely uninvolving sequences. (This is especially true of a fairly endless interlude involving Peter Ustinov’s Old Man.) And while the conclusion is admittedly rather satisfying, Logan’s Run is, up to that point, such a dull slog that it hardly seems worth the interminable journey it takes to get there – which is too bad, really, given that the film’s production design remains a constant, eye-popping highlight.

*1/2 out of ****