A One Mann’s Movies review of “The Running Man” (2025, 3*, 12A).
I’ve been a fan of Edgar Wright’s style of movie-making for a very long time: “Hot Fuzz” is one of my all-time-favourite comedies; and “Baby Driver” and “Last Night in Soho” both made my Top 10 Films of the Year lists (in 2017 and 2021 respectively). It comes then as a bit of a disappointment that I wasn’t completely sold on his latest adaptation of the Stephen King (or rather, Richard Bachman, as it was released) novel “The Running Man”. This is a remake of the cheesy Arnie Schwarzenegger 1987 original and as for that film we are in a future dystopian state.
Like a curate’s egg, the film is good in places, but decidedly patchy in others.
One Mann’s Movies Rating:
Plot:
In a dystopian future, Ben Richards (Glen Powell) is an anarchist that has been fired from so many jobs for insubordination that he is effectively blacklisted from rehire. Desperate for money to save his sick daughter, and against the advise of his wife Sheila (Jayme Lawson), he signs up for a network TV show which promises riches if players can outrun the “Hunters” for 30 days…. but nobody lives that long.
Certification:
UK: 15; US: R. (From the BBFC web site: “Strong bloody violence, language, brief sex references”.)
Talent:
Starring: Glen Powell, Jayme Lawson, Chris Rogers, Colman Domingo, William H. Macy, Emilia Jones, Josh Brolin, Tim Jansky.
Directed by: Edgar Wright.
Written by: Michael Bacall & Edgar Wright. (Based on the novel by Stephen King.)
Running Time: 2h 13m.
Summary:
Positives:
- A fun futuristic setting.
- The first half of the film is quite fun and engaging as Ben avoids the hunters.
Negatives:
- The second half of the film goes all over the place, particularly after Ben engages with the Kardashian-like Amelia Williams (Emilia Jones).
- It’s about 20 minutes too long.
- Glen Powell’s acting is sometimes ultra-cheesy.
Full Review of “The Running Man”:
The near future in a Trump-fuelled America.
There feels to be more than a slight nod towards the downhill path that the USA is currently on, with the gulf between rich and poor becoming ever-greater and with a medical system for the ‘common people’ that has all but collapsed. Who is the President responsible for all of this? It’s never stated, but (in a neat nod to the original) Arnie’s face is on all of the bank-notes.
In the same way that “Children of Men” and the recent “The Kitchen” managed to do, the film pivots itself into a “near future”, where technology has advanced just enough that if you spin forwards 20 or 30 years in your mind, most of it doesn’t feel too far-fetched. Hats off to the production design team and the crowd management/costumers.
The game.
“The Running Man” TV show also doesn’t feel totally removed from where we might end up if the slide towards authoritarian rule makes the lives of ‘deadbeats and criminals’ seem suitably worthless. (I’ve seen crazier things come out of Trump’s mouth in the last few weeks!) With a portion of society baying for ‘justice’ why not bring back a crowd-pleasing version of the Colosseum?
Playing the role of some murderously ramped-up Simon Cowell is Colman Domingo as Bobby T, with the head of the studio, Dan Killian, being played in over-the-top style by Josh Brolin.
Run baby run.
This initial reel of the film is good fun. We meet the trio of Gladiators: Ben Richards, Jenni Laughlin (the muscular Katy O’Brian from “Love Lies Bleeding“) and the dweeby Martin Herlihy (Tim Jansky) who you know is just there for early meat and the audience to have fun with. Then they start running and we get such delights (for the lovers of fine physique) as Mr Powell scaling the outside of a building while buck-naked. All of this is delivered with energy and verve and the clever visuals that Edgar Wright is known for.
But then the film gets bogged down for me in silliness. The turning point of the film for me is where Ben (purely coincidentally) runs into Amelia Williams (Emilia Jones) who is a participant in a Kardashian-like lifestyle soap that we have seen popping up on the TV previously. I lost interest in the increasingly convoluted plot, leading to us to an airborne finale that I simply didn’t believe in.
Can Glen Powell go solo?
Glen Powell is almost the ‘go-to’ leading man for Hollywood at the moment, with “Twisters” being his (yawn) big summer film from last year and the much better “Anyone But You” (with Sydney Sweeney) from the year before that. In those films he was more a part of an ensemble cast. Here, he needs to carry most of the film himself and I found him really cheesy and unconvincing. Other mainstream stars like Tom Cruise, George Clooney and Brad Pitt can do the action stuff, but they can also really deliver on the dramatic acting when they need to. I don’t think Powell fits in that category: his acting shows some serious flaws imho.
Summary Thoughts:
A downturn for my love of Edgar Wright, but I’m sure he’ll come back with a bang next time!
Where to watch?
Trailer:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KD18ddeFuyM.
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