SPOILER-FREE PLOT SUMMARY
In desperate need of medication for his ailing two-year old daughter, Ben Richards (played by Glen Powell) decides to be a contestant on The Running Man, a reality game show in which everyday Americans help The Hunters track contestants down within 30 days. Hand-picked by Dan Killian (Josh Brolin), the producer of the show, for his fight and drive, Richards is forced to leave his wife and daughter for either the run of show or his death, whichever comes first. Upon signing on the dotted line, he’s thrust on stage in front of a hyped up audience where show host Bobby Thompson (Coleman Domingo) conveys several lies about Richards to the audience, turning The Network into the hero. Richards knows he needs help and immediately heads to see his friend, Molie Jernigan (William H. Macy), a master of covert deception and illegal documentation. After collecting a few different disguises, Richards sets out on his 30-day quest of survival, running into several people who either want to help him or hurt him. But who can he trust?
SPOILER-FREE REVIEW
Based on the original 1987 action movie THE RUNNING MAN (which, in turn, is based on the 1982 Stephen King book of the same name), director Edgar Wright manages to modernize the dystopian premise, making it relatable to the current audience. The updated version is entertaining, fun to watch and visually appealing.
Unfortunately, the script is borderline cheesy and there are far more tropes than necessary. For example, there are a lot of villains needlessly waiting around or monologuing before they take out their prey. Keep in mind that these are people whose entire job is to kill contestants and who are in a hurry to do so for the benefit of The Network. Continuing to waste time in order to allow the hero to escape is something that was annoying, yet acceptable, before the year 1995. But, in 2025, it’s just absurd and takes the audience out of the movie each and every time.
In addition, there’s a scene where Richards is riding in the back of a trunk and the camera stays on him instead of the action happening around the car. A fun POV to be sure but, while we watch him toss around like a rag doll, we hear a pretty amateur hour verbal exchange between the driver and passenger that has the commitment level of two people being handed a script in a recording booth somewhere. And, because those two actors (Angelo Gray and Daniel Ezra) are great everywhere else in the film, it stands out like a sore thumb.
As far as the performances go, Domingo is incredible (as always), Brolin sinks into his “the man” character persona effortlessly and Jayme Lawson plays Richards’ wife with heart, compassion and the perfect amount of emotion. But Powell, who was outstanding in DEVOTION, TOP GUN: MAVERICK and ANYONE BUT YOU seems to phone it in here. It’s almost as if he knew it was going to be a popcorn movie and only brings 80% to it.
I’m not saying he’s bad, by any means. After all, 80% of Powell is better than 100% of most. Matter of fact, as the film goes along, it gets less noticeable. But, early on, the audience can’t help but think he’s just going through the motions to get this “nice payday” over with.
All criticism aside, it’s just a fun 130 minutes. THE RUNNING MAN is so intense that you’ll grip your popcorn bucket tight enough to leave marks in your fingers. Just don’t expect anything ground breaking and you’ll have a great time at the movies.
JKG SCORE: 6.5
Untitled Film Project 