Film Review: The Running Man
Hunt Him Down
INTRODUCTION
This is a quick review of the newly released film The Running Man. Please note that this is just one of the many movies I will have watched each year, and my initial grade for this film may change over time, for better or worse. To stay up to date on my thoughts about other movies and any potential changes in my opinion on this one, follow me on Letterboxd.
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PLOT
Via Letterboxd: Desperate to save his sick daughter, working-class Ben Richards is convinced by The Running Man’s charming but ruthless producer to enter the deadly competition game as a last resort. But Ben’s defiance, instincts, and grit turn him into an unexpected fan favorite - and a threat to the entire system. As ratings skyrocket, so does the danger, and Ben must outwit not just the Hunters, but a nation addicted to watching him fall.
REVIEW
It’s been a year of plenty of dual acting showcases, multiple new Richard Linklater films, a few musicals, horror movies embraced by mainstream audiences, and a wave of Stephen King adaptations. After getting The Monkey, The Life of Chuck, and The Long Walk, all earlier this year, we now get The Running Man; based on one of King’s Richard Bachman novels - written under his pseudonym. This version also serves as a spiritual remake of the 1987 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger (ironically the same year we got the original Predator film, just a week after we got the latest one), a cult classic so iconic that many don’t even realize it was adapted from a novel by the master of horror himself.
At first glance, it might be easy to dismiss this as another nostalgia-driven cash grab. But this project is being directed by Edgar Wright, a filmmaker behind some of my favorite films of their respective years, which immediately caught my attention. Instead of returning to original material, Wright’s decision to tackle an adaptation is intriguing in itself. In place of Arnold, he’s cast Glen Powell in the lead, joined by an impressive ensemble that includes Josh Brolin, Colman Domingo, Michael Cera, Lee Pace, Jayme Lawson, William H. Macy, Emilia Jones, and Katy O’Brian, among others.
First of all, let me address what I think will draw most general audiences to check this out, the action sequences and the promises of moments of levity that give viewers a chance to have fun in the theater. You definitely get more than a handful of that here. The action is top-notch, featuring some of the best stunt work I’ve seen all year. The film also sprinkles in that signature Edgar Wright humor, though it’s clear his touch and personality aren’t as strong as in his previous works; understandably so, given this is a big studio adaptation and not one of his original films.
If you’re coming to see Glenn Powell prove his leading-man chops, he absolutely does. He’s charismatic, confident, and fully capable of carrying a film like this. And if you’re wondering whether this stands on its own compared to the 1987 adaptation, it absolutely does. While there are a few fun Easter eggs sprinkled throughout, this is very much Wright’s own interpretation of the story rather than a straightforward remake of that film.
Where the movie truly shines, though, is in its commentary and themes. Wright successfully crafts a lived-in hellhole of a future that mirrors much of what’s happening in our country and culture today; from authoritarianism and government-controlled media to our obsession with reality TV, the class divide, the broken healthcare system, and late stage capitalism. It’s so on the nose that there’s even a Kardashian reference slipped in between live updates on our protagonist’s attempts to evade both professional and civilian killers eager to claim his bounty.
About an hour in, I genuinely thought I was watching another A-tier Edgar Wright film. I wasn’t feeling the runtime, and I was fully engaged. But things started to go awry once we hit the third act. This is where the film’s messiness, bloat, and narrative flaws start to show. After spending so much time building to a crescendo that seemed ready to make a meaningful statement about fighting back against the system, the movie starts getting in its own way, introducing absurd contrivances that steer the story toward a more crowd-pleasing but less logically satisfying conclusion. It ends up feeling like I was watching several potential endings stacked on top of one another, culminating in what felt like a great film undercutting itself in its final climactic moments.
That said, I still mostly had a blast with this movie, and I think most general audiences will too. It’s just not going to rank among Wright’s best, he’s certainly capable of and has delivered far greater films than this. Still, The Running Man could’ve been truly great with just a few more drafts tightening that final act. I give this film version of this Stephen King tale a softer side of a B+ grade, which is exactly where I stand with the original 1987 adaptation.
“TL;DR”
Pros: Stands as its own versus the 1987 adaptation; Glenn Powell proves once again he has the charisma to be a leading man; Plenty of great action sequences and great levity that creates some fun audience moments; Very strong anti-authoritarian themes that speak to the hell-hole our country and culture is currently in
Cons: The pacing starts to fail it in the second-half, creating lulls and making the plot start to feel like its spinning its wheels; Third act is the messiest part of the movie, playing as if the film started to get away from the kind of crescendo it was seemingly headed towards, and creating a finish that felt like lesser than the movie as a whole
GRADING
