Josh Reviews The Running Man
Edgar Wright’s The Running Man is an adaptation of the novel by Stephen King (originally published under the pen name Richard Bachman). The book was, of course, previously adapted in the 1987 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. It’s the near future, and much of the population of the United States lives in poverty and squalor, while the rich top one-or-less percent live blissfully unaware. Everyone’s homes contain screens playing “freevee” from “the Network”, which mostly consists of violent game shows designed to keep the masses entertained (and pacified). Ben Richards (Glen Powell) has been blacklisted from work at all the local factories because he spoke up for a fellow worker. Now, his daughter is sick and he and his wife have no way to afford to pay for her medicine. So Ben decides, over his wife’s objections, to try out to compete in the most dangerous game-show of all: The Running Man, in which three contestants try to hide for 30 days and evade the hunters seeking to find and kill them, assisted by every member of the public who can earn money by reporting the contestants to the hunters chasing them. If he can survive for 30 days, he’ll earn a fortune. But no one has ever lasted the full 30 days…
I have a sweet spot in my heart for eighties action movies, especially starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, though the 1987 movie The Running Man was never as high in my estimation as films like Predator or The Terminator. And that film went pretty far afield from Mr. King’s novel. So I thought this was a good choice for a remake. And with Edgar Wright involved, I was excited. (Mr. Wright directed the film and co-wrote the screenplay, along with Michael Bacall, who also co-wrote Mr. Wright’s excellent and under-seen 2010 film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.)
I enjoyed this new version of The Running Man! It’s well-paced, keeping things exciting and zipping along from one sequence to the next. The supporting cast is strong, and there are a number of fun and inventive action sequences. But there’s nothing in the film that elevates it into the category of something special. The characters are all a little thinner than I’d have hoped. There’s no one (including Mr. Powell in the lead role as Ben Richards) who I really grew to like and care about. The action is solid but no sequence is stand-out memorable. Many of Mr. Wright’s previous films contained moments that felt truly inventive and original; while I think this film is well-mounted and well-directed, I missed those special touches. (Compare this with 2017’s Baby Driver, which I felt did have those special touches that made the film stand out for me.)
This second adaptation is far more faithful to Mr. King’s novel, which made me happy, though they did still diverge from the book in quite a number of ways. But they stuck to the basic bones of the story from the novel, which was a great choice. This feels like a far larger movie than the 1987 version. I like that they allowed the story to take place over many days, during which Ben travels to many different cities and locations as he tries to stay one step ahead of the hunters. I wouldn’t say that Mr. King’s novel is super-sophisticated social commentary, but the messages about the ramifications of our destruction of the environment, and the way we allow ourselves to be distracted and controlled by media, feel extraordinarily relevant and important here in 2025, so I’m glad the film embraced those aspects of the original story. (This is a very, very, very different movie than One Battle After Another, but I was intrigued to notice a thread of angry revolutionary sensibility connecting them!) I was curious whether this film would preserve the novel’s 9/11-esque climax. (The 1987 film didn’t, presumably for budgetary reasons. But post-9/11, suddenly the novel’s conclusion had a whole layer of unexpected meaning.) They walked right up to it (which really had me leaning forward in my seat), but ultimately went another direction. Generally I argue for movies to stick to their source material, but I think this was a wise choice. I think they found a good alternate path to take for the story’s conclusion. The novel has a very bleak ending, while the 1987 movie unsurprisingly gives Arnold a happy ending. This movie straddles the two; it works for me.
I was bowled over by Glen Powell in Richard Linklater’s Hit Man from last year. There are moments in this film, when we see Ben try out a variety of disguises in order to stay hidden, that reminded me a lot of Hit Man! Mr. Powell is entertaining to watch here, though I wish he displayed more of the warmth and charm he had in Hit Man. I know Ben is supposed to be a serious and beaten-down dude, but I wish I felt Mr. Powell’s portrayal of him was more layered, less one-note. I wish he was either more fun and charming, or that the performance went the other way and leaned into the anger and hurt of this character, who has been on the losing end of life for years. (At one point, Ben is described as the angriest person a character has ever seen; I wish I felt that more in the film.)
The supporting cast is pretty great, as is usually the case in Edgar Wright’s movies! Josh Brolin is perfect as Dan Killian, the producer behind The Running Man show. Mr. Brolin is brash and charismatic and over-the-top. He’s a great villain. Colman Domingo is also a joy to watch as the Bobby T, the host of The Running Man. (The 1987 film combined these two characters from the novel into one; I’m glad they kept them as two separate characters here.) Mr. Domingo is perfectly oily and suave in the role. William H. Macy is terrific in a brief but important cameo as Molie, a black-market dealer who provides critical help to Ben early in the film. I was pleased to see Katy O’Brian (who was memorable in The Mandalorian and Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning) and Martin Herlihy (SNL, Please Don’t Destroy) as Ben’s two fellow contestants on The Running Man, Jenni & Tim. I wish we’d gotten to know both of them better, but both actors do a great job at making an impact with a very small amount of screen time. Same goes for Jayme Lawson (who played mayoral candidate Bella Reál in The Batman and was magnificent as Pearline in Sinners) as Ben’s wife Sheila. This is a small role (which is inherent in the structure of the original novel), but Ms. Lawson makes the most of her handful of moments on screen. I was happy to see Lee Pace (The Hobbit films, Foundation), who can play an arrogant asshole like nobody’s business, as the lead hunter chasing Ben. Michael Cera pops up briefly mid-movie for a weird but somewhat endearing appearance as an anarchist trying to foment revolution. Daniel Ezra is terrific as Bradley, a young man who also helps out Ben, along with his little brother who is played with great spirit by Angelo Gray. Emilia Jones (who was terrific in CODA) crushes her late-in-the-movie role as Amelia, a civilian who rinds up ensnared in Ben’s chase. I wish we’d gotten a few more scenes between Ben and Amelia, but as with these other great actors, Ms. Jones makes the most out of her limited screen time.
There are a lot of places where I wish the film had given us just a little bit more. I wish we’d been able to spend a little more time with Ben and his wife Sheila, to really nail home their connection. I wish we’d gotten a few more moments in the film’s opening scenes to allow us to truly feel and understand how Ben feels trapped and without any options other than the seemingly suicidal choice to participate in The Running Man. I wish we’d gotten a few more scenes between Ben and Jenni & Tim during the selection process for The Running Man, to see more organically the bond that formed between the threesome, which would then make us care more about what happened to Jenni & Tim once the game begin. I wish we were allowed a few more beats in the car with Ben and Amelia, so we could better feel how she switches from hating and fearing this man who jumped into her car with a gun drawn, to understanding and empathizing with his plight. Maybe those scenes would have slowed down the pace of this rollicking adventure film too much. But I feel like this would have been a stronger film if I cared more about any of the characters.
I don’t get the sense this film was made for a huge budget, so I was impressed by how large-scale the story felt. They do a good job with world-building, especially in the early going, as the contrast between Ben’s slum-like conditions and the gleaming, pristine Network building and its environs was striking.
I loved seeing Arnold Schwarzenegger’s face on the bills used in this world. (I wish they hadn’t spoiled that great joke in the pre-release publicity!)
I feel like I should make note of the (intentionally?) hilarious sequence in which Glen Powell shows off his buff physique wearing just a small towel, which somehow stays wrapped neatly around his waist during an outlandish action scene that involves his hanging outside a building. That towel staying wrapped around his waist might be the most unbelievable part of the film.
This is a solid and enjoyable film. Because of Edgar Wright’s involvement I was expecting more, but this was a fun time in a movie theatre and a fine adaptation of Mr. King’s novel.
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