The Running Man

Stephen King adaptations have been dominating the film industry this year, with The Monkey, The Life of Chuck, and The Long Walk, which now has its counterpart for a double feature with The Running Man. This is a remake/adaptation of the short story by King featuring a bleak dystopian world, where the rich rule and live in luxury, while the working class have to battle it out in toxic work environments, or place their lives on deadly gameshows, bringing about humiliation, and bloodshed for enough cash for medication…. Wow, not too far off from the real world.

The original 1987 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger was a beloved cult classic; it was goofy, over-the-top, and lighter than the novel, but still a lot of fun with plenty of charm and soul. And this adaptation is directed and written by Edgar Wright, of Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim fame.

… and I have thoughts …

Run running man, run!

The Running Man brings us into a world run by corporate greed, healthcare scarcity, and ruthless survivalism, where people have forgotten how to stand with one another… okay, again, we’re not far off. Ben Richards is an everyman working hard jobs to make ends meet and get the healthcare his young daughter needs. After being fired for doing the right thing at his workplace, Richards, failing to see any other option, decides to apply for one of the many TV shows that require you to break a leg, or spine, for some cold, hard cash.

Yet, Richards gets the unlucky short straw and ends up being cast in The Running Man. A show which offers life-changing money, as a potential cost for his life, and more. Richards, with no hope in sight and a daughter on death’s door, decides to take the position and become “The Running Man”.

His fleeing moments are recorded, lies are spread over the US about him, he is public enemy number one, and the worst of the worst hunting him down, will pull apart anyone he knows and loves just to find him. The Running Man is a ruthless exploration of corporate greed and the malice of reality television to such an extreme that it’s easy to see happening in the not-so-distant future.

The plot and setting are fantastic, with the idea of being on a deadly game show being morphed into other variants, such as "Series 7: The Contenders", and Battle Royale. But the original Running Man novel was bleak, heartless, and captured a world gone mad where bloodshed and death were cheered on, rather than giving a helping hand, and the film captures a lot of the book, respectively… And cops out a bit.

I won’t do a lot of comparing to the original film, but there are some things to note. While the 1987 film was corny and cheesy, it was also fun, charming, and had personality. My big problem with the 2025 remake is that I wasn’t rooting for anyone, and while Richards (played very well by Glen Powell) had his moments, I never felt fully invested. It also doesn’t help that side characters usually come in, last 5 minutes and vanish only to provide a push in the plot or feel somewhat generic.

I think Powell, Brolin, and Colman Domingo as Richards, producer Killian, and host Thompson respectively are all excellent, but Brolin gets little air time, and the split between host and producer is a nice touch, but didn’t amount to anything more engaging compared to Richard Dawson 1987 portrayal of Killian, as a vastly menacing host and producer who called all the shots.

While I found the quick pacing getting Richards into the Running Man within 15 minutes a bit laughable, I did like the first 40 minutes of the film, however, and some bits here and there. Where Richards is pulling all the punches to hide from the hunters, the glimpses into his personal life, and the first big action sequence are all cool. I love Richard's donning disguises, but something felt very off after this, as the film may not have known what to do after this, springing in elements that don’t last that long, and it amounts to an ending that feels very rushed and not on par with the bleakness of the book!

There are some good laughs, fun moments, and nice bits from Powell as Richards (including a nice nude scene from him!). But the lack of impactful lines (like the original had dozens of great lines, and we get a handful that are decent), the hunters being somewhat dull compared to the 1987 film, and the horrid editing towards the end just threw me out of the film altogether.

This ain’t so Hot Fuzz, or Baby Driver!

So, those who know the style of Edgar Wright will know he’s fantastic with editing and sound design. While I wasn’t a fan of Baby Driver’s writing, I loved the editing, action, and sound design, and this is felt across all his films… but here, wow.

The Running Man feels like a film potentially made by Wright, but was actually directed, edited and written by the producers. I mentioned the first 30 minutes gripped me, and I saw small touches of Wright’s style, but the rest of the film felt quite formulaic and just off. The pacing was all over the place, the editing was super choppy (nearly on par with that fence scene in Taken 3), and the lack of memorable sound design and music definitely felt like Edgar Wright was not part of this movie.

If you did a double feature of this and Scott Pilgrim verses the World, you would think these were films from two different directors. I get it, this is a bleak, gritty action film, but Wright has done a couple of these already! Hot Fuzz and Baby Driver are gritty, funny, and violent for sure, but still have his style and interesting touches to make them feel anything other than generic.

I honestly believe Wright was a direct hire, or he made his version and it was edited, or something happened where the film became anything but his own…

I was shocked at the lack of call backs to the original film, which I get some people might not like, but there were so many great elements to the 1987 film that could’ve been integrated so well into a modern setting, that it was so clear to include exploding collars, crazed hunters wielding chainsaws, and funny nods to shows like Star Trek. These are things I’m sure Wright would’ve included, and even if he didn’t want to, someone, a producer, surely would’ve advised it!

There is a nice nod to Arnie in this film, which was quite cute… look out for the money! And this just made me confused even more, to have one or two nods in the first act, and nothing else, apart from the end, which was influenced by the book (but doesn’t go all the way with it as the book does), was kind of baffling.

I’ll be back … only on a rerun!

So, I’ve come from this from three angles: A fan of the book, a fan of the 1987 film, and an Edgar Wright fan. If you’re a big part of either of them, then this remake will let you down; however, on its own merit, this is a decent action film to check out.

Like I said, I think Glen Powell was terrific, I liked the world building (even though more shows and situations were needed to flesh it out), the acting overall was pretty good despite some lacking material at times, some of the action sequences were pretty good, and while the editing was choppy towards the end, there was a good sense of pacing, and placement for the most part. The Running Man remake is a solid film, but one if you unravel layer by layer, leaves a lot of questions. It’s fine for a viewing, but will it leave the same impression as the book and original film?

It certainly will for many people, but I don’t believe it stands shoulder to shoulder with the classic Arnie film, nor grips the same level of hopelessness and darkness as the book. Still worth a viewing, though, in my books.

Also, if you want to know. Glen Powell runs 5 times in the film. Just for the nerds like me.