Movie review: ‘The Running Man’

I walked in to watch Edgar Wright’s new adaptation of The Running Man as basically a newbie. I have not read the original Stephen King novel, or seen the Arnold Schwarzenegger film from the 1980s. 

However, I generally adore Edgar Wright’s work, so any project he’s attached to gets an automatic watch for me. I also love science fiction in general, so this movie definitely made my “most anticipated movies” list for the fall.

Overall, I really liked it. It’s a solid movie, and was worth my time to watch in the theater – although it didn’t quite have that over-the-top “wow” factor I was hoping for. 

If you’ve seen the trailer, you already know the premise: Glen Powell plays Ben Richards, a struggling father living in a futuristic dystopian society who is desperate for money to pay for medicine to treat his dangerously ill daughter. Against his better judgement, he auditions for – and then signs a contract to participate in – a reality show called “The Running Man.”

“The Running Man” isn’t like “American Idol,” where you can get voted off the show for hitting a wrong note. Professional hunters and average citizens are authorized to hunt you down and kill you. If you survive, you’ll become insanely rich – but the odds aren’t exactly in your favor. 

The Running Man kept me engaged throughout; there are good action scenes and a continued sense of suspense. I was never bored, and I was really rooting for Richards to beat the odds. Still, it felt like the script and cinematography lacked some of Edgar Wright’s trademark style. It’s a good movie, but it’s not a distinctly Edgar Wright movie, if that makes sense. 

Updating novels can be tricky business, and making changes just for the sake of change is rarely a great idea. However, there were a few slight tweaks I would have liked to see. Reality shows are arguably no longer the pop culture juggernauts they used to be, and tying in this new film to modern pop culture could have helped it feel even more timely. 

I’m definitely NOT advocating the reality show plotline be changed, because I think it’s a foundational part of the story. I just would have liked there to be some additional commentary on the dangers of our current culture’s reliance on the Internet and online communities like social media (Facebook, TikTok, etc.). These digital experiences shape the way we view society and experience empathy towards our fellow humans, and not always in a positive way. 

I definitely have seen some awful examples of humanity on social media, and it’s sobering to think how we could definitely  get to a point where people would be OK with a show like “The Running Man.” The warning posed by this story is, unfortunately, still a relevant one.

[Spoilers ahead!] I’ve also seen some commentary about how the movie’s ending diverges from the book, and I’m curious to hear what others think. I’m actually OK with the movie’s more optimistic conclusion, which allows Ben Richards to survive and become an everyman hero. We live in a world of fear, corruption, and uncertainty, and even though this is just a movie, I was glad to see the story end on a more positive note. While a bleaker ending might have felt more realistic or hard-hitting, I feel we need some reminders of hope right now, and I’m glad Edgar Wright chose to make this change to the ending. 

#TheRunningMan #EdgarWright #GlenPowell #SciFiMovies #DystopianMovies #MovieReview #FilmDiscussion #StephenKingAdaptation #SciFiCinema #FallMovies #NewMovieReleases #FilmCommunity #MovieRecommendations #DystopianFuture #RealityTVCulture #TechAndSociety #OnlineCulture #SocialMediaImpact #PopCultureCommentary #ESONetwork