The Running Man Review

If you’re trying to marque a caller adaptation of a Stephen King publication that’s besides a kind-of remake of a cult sci-fi classical from Arnold Schwarzenegger ’80s heyday, you mightiness extremity up a kind-of kid of 2 worlds. Edgar Wright’s mentation of The Running Man aims to bash conscionable that, but the instrumentality with trying to deed the halfway of a Venn diagram is that you mightiness accidentally extremity up successful the mediate of the road.

The Running Man of 2025 is the merchandise of a fewer iterations that came earlier it. Most of its DNA is from the Stephen King caller from his days successful the aboriginal ’80s utilizing the pseudonym Richard Bachman. It was a heady portion of speculative sci-fi that’s acheronian and brooding without a batch of country for hope. But The Running Man is besides an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie from 1987, the glory days of campy one-liner enactment flicks that near astir of the nutrient of their root worldly disconnected the surface (see also, Total Recall) successful favour of a small other flash and sizzle. Now, each of this makes The Running Man primed for a revisiting but it besides makes the latest mentation of the communicative hard to speech astir retired of discourse of the publication and erstwhile film. On 1 manus there’s the overmuch darker root worldly that this movie is trying to grant successful ways Arnold’s ’80s mentation didn’t travel adjacent to, but connected the different manus there’s a amusive enactment movie that needs to hap successful determination somewhere. Balancing these 2 factors is wherever The Running Man doesn’t rather support up.

There is plentifulness successful the movie that works though. For starters, there’s Glen Powell. The feline is 1 of the biggest stars connected the emergence astatine the infinitesimal and his show successful The Running Man isn’t going to alteration anybody’s caput astir that. This is efficaciously his archetypal clip retired arsenic a due starring antheral enactment leader and it suits him for the astir part. He tops disconnected his anger-forward instrumentality connected Ben Richards with conscionable the close magnitude of vulnerability. It’s the happening that Harrison Ford made his full vocation on. Strong and susceptible and each of that, but besides not trying to fell the information that he’s successful implicit his head. I deliberation I similar the cockier-than-he-deserves-to-be mentation of Glen Powell, the 1 from Top Gun: Maverick and Twisters, a small much than this aggravated everyman, but helium inactive does a coagulated job.

But for maine personally, my acquisition watching The Running Man was different acquisition successful coming successful excessively hot. I person been brainsick excited to spot this movie since it was announced. Edgar Wright directing this circumstantial movie astatine this circumstantial clip felt astir excessively specifically perfect. It ticked each my boxes, truthful the movie had a batch to unrecorded up to, just oregon not. And portion his signature is inactive connected parts of this movie, I deliberation it was missing a afloat dose of Edgar Wright.

The rubric series for illustration is afloat of slick shots that precise efficaciously pass a batch of accusation visually. There’s 1 successful the trailer, with Ben walking done the thoroughfare past a enactment of radical waiting for a accidental to bargain medicine. It’s large question and blocking and creation and it tells a communicative each by itself. It’s vintage Edgar Wright. The drone changeable pursuing Ben done the halls of a gathering the hunters person him trapped successful is different 1 similar that. The determination is not for movement’s sake; it’s rooted successful the TV broadcast the movie is portraying and there’s a information to swoop and dive done the halls that’s some chill to look astatine and furthers the story. It’s that benignant of ocular connection that’s made Edgar Wright 1 of my favorites. But it’s besides the benignant of storytelling that lone happens successful fits and spurts passim the film, with Wright’s fingerprints not truly being excessively disposable for astir of the movie.

I volition say, though, the different existent standout successful the formed is Colman Domingo, who is having an implicit blast arsenic Bobby Thompson, the ringmaster to The Running Man’s circus. For each spot of the film’s colour palette that feels a small drab, going from a grey and imposing near-future dystopian metropolis to the brownish and barren countryside, there’s a sparkly overgarment draped implicit Bobby Thompson. Domingo’s a agleam spot to beryllium sure, and serves an important relation for the movie. He’s heartless capable to constitute disconnected the hardships the runners person to endure and the lies that he’s telling astir them to disturbance up the masses with a “hey, that’s showbiz, babe” cockiness. But he’s besides savvy capable to navigate the unsafe waters he’s swimming in. Plus he’s charming arsenic hellhole and looks incredible. He’s a ton of amusive deployed successful precisely the close way.

There are besides a ton of large details successful the accumulation plan that soma retired the world. Little things similar a gender-swapped, pin-up miss mentation “Auntie Sam” connected the screen of a mag and a amusive Easter ovum astir who’s connected the New Dollar bills picture a nine fixed implicit to its baser instincts. They’re a astute marque of throw-away jokes that effort to support the temper airy wherever they can.

But that’s besides the biggest contented with The Running Man of 2025. Thematically, it seems to enactment against itself sometimes. Like I mentioned up top, there’s a information erstwhile you don’t prime a lane that you mightiness extremity up successful the mediate of the road. King’s caller was bleak subject fabrication that went hard, Schwarzenegger’s movie was a campy detonation of satire, and Wright’s mentation is simply a small of some but not afloat either one. My work is that it’s a movie doing 3 things good enough, but not doing immoderate of them arsenic good arsenic it could person had it conscionable focused connected 1 of them.

First of all, it’s not bombastic oregon absurd capable to consciousness similar a proper, biting satire. For sci-fi satire to truly work, you request to make a small spot of region betwixt the enactment and the existent world. The Running Man 2025’s near-future dystopia is simply a small too adjacent to the contiguous to person a batch of amusive with. It’s a satellite of tremendous wealthiness inequality, wellness crises and authoritarian governments that doesn’t conscionable consciousness “dangerously possible” similar it did erstwhile King archetypal wrote astir it 40 years agone truthful overmuch arsenic “uncomfortably familiar.” So the film’s conceit feels a small excessively mundane to formed our existent nine successful a different, much questioning airy similar a genuinely effectual satire should do.

Secondly, connected the other broadside of the coin, it’s not subtle capable to enactment arsenic a thrilling melodrama. Every clip the movie gets heavy, they treble down connected the weight. Like I said, the satellite of Co-Op City connected surface is simply a acheronian one, filled with each benignant of occupation we’re presently facing, from affordable medicine to heavy fakes lying to us. They’re the benignant of problems that merit immoderate weight. When Powell’s Ben Richards goes to an aggravated “this is astir my family” spot of earnestness, however, there’s nary merchandise valve connected it. Michael Cera has a infinitesimal of lightness successful the mediate of everybody’s despair during his little stint successful the movie, but it comes and goes beauteous quickly.

I deliberation you tin spot the thriller portion of this movie not afloat moving successful Josh Brolin’s villain, Dan Killian. As a web enforcement tasked with distracting the masses with a modern gladiator arena with a much open-world flavor, he’s a coagulated lad of a bitch who’s casual to hate, agleam achromatic veneers and all. But by the clip helium has his inevitable come-apart, I didn’t truly bargain it. There wasn’t overmuch of an arch to his villainy that mightiness person been determination had helium been capable to person arsenic overmuch amusive arsenic Colman Domingo was having chewing up immoderate scenery. Either way, had Killian arrived astatine the extremity of his communicative successful a spot much of a believable way, I deliberation the full movie would’ve been classed up a bit.

Thirdly, I don’t deliberation the enactment is inventive capable to marque The Running Man truly sing arsenic an enactment film. There are amusive acceptable pieces for sure, the aforementioned drone changeable for one, and the large span detonation from the trailers is another, but it’s hard retired determination to marque an enactment movie memorably action-forward these days, and I don’t deliberation The Running Man rather gets there. And this successful peculiar is not a overseas thought to Edgar Wright’s work. Take Baby Driver, for example. It was a bully capable excuse to marque unthinkable car chases. I really couldn’t archer you overmuch astir that movie extracurricular of, “Loved the car chases, I stake they had amusive making it.” I don’t deliberation the enactment successful The Running Man has that benignant of staying power.

Ultimately, this is simply a movie that wants to person crisp teeth. The taxable substance deserves them and Glen Powell’s show arsenic an aggravated everyman becoming a reluctant revolutionary icon does arsenic well. The statements Stephen King made much than 4 decades agone astir the fickle quality of information successful the media and wide depletion and unequal organisation of wealthiness are each spot arsenic applicable contiguous arsenic they were backmost then, truthful they ought to beryllium taken seriously. The communicative of The Running Man, successful each of its present 3 iterations, is simply a large portion of sci-fi that I, for one, truly enjoy. I’m gladsome it’s being retold. Edgar Wright’s movie seems to beryllium caught in-between 2 precise antithetic versions of it.