The Running Man is Not a Remake

First off, The Running Man is not a remake of The Running Man from the 1980s that we know and love. Like I said earlier in the video, though saying so earlier in the video made for a smoother transition to the sponsorship segment. Now, this is actually an adaptation of the Stephen King story. Whenever there’s a new version of a classic being made, there’s always that thought of, but why, though? Does it justify its own existence? Edgar Wright was saying he wanted to make a running man movie that was more faithful to the book. So, cool. I mean, in short, no, it still doesn’t really justify but cool.

Ben Richards and the Stakes

So, Glenn Powell plays Ben Richards, a down on his luck husband and father. His daughter’s really sick. They can’t afford medicine or take her to a proper doctor. So, he gets enrolled in the running man competition. In best case scenario, he makes it the full 30 days, he wins, they get a billion dollars, start a new life, or at the very least because they get paid every day he is alive, he lives long enough to net them enough money to again live more comfortably.

A Different Kind of Competition

Now, the running man competition in here is different than the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie. The running man competitors are out in the world for 30 days with social media being social media. Every camera, everyone’s phone, every person out there is looking for Ben Richards. He needs to lay low, not get seen, hopefully make it to the end.

Stephen King Dystopia in 2025

Funny observation, Stephen King’s kind of having a year in 2025, but between The Long Walk and The Running Man, they’re really leaning into that Stephen King dystopian future thing. Feel like it’s the stay calm before the crash pamphlet on airplanes. How close is that crash? Is it coming now?

Glenn Powell as Ben Richards

First off, Glenn Powell’s great in the movie. We’ve seen Hollywood try to make the next big action star a few times before. However, I get it with Glenn Powell. The guy’s likable. He’s good at the job. He can play smarmy yet likable. Smarmy yet damaged. There’s a pattern here. But I liked him as the rough around the edges Ben Richards here.

Josh Brolan and Coleman Domingo Stand Out

Other than Glenn Powell, the next two real standouts in the movie are Josh Brolan and Coleman Domingo. Now Josh Brolan’s Killian this time around, but Killian is not the host. Killian’s the owner of the whole thing. The TV personality, the host, different character entirely, played by Coleman Domingo. And they’re both great. Coleman Domingo has that eccentric charm about him. An absolute mad man in mad times. Really playing up the drama that he knows is because it’s fabricated because hey, we’re talking about the media here. Well, I guess not the media. It’s a game show.
It’s entertainment. So, we’re talking about the media here. I thought he was actually the standout in the movie. Just doesn’t have a lot of screen time. He and Josh Brolan both don’t. Josh Brolan, I feel like this is the easiest buck he’s ever made. He probably filmed all of his scenes in one or two days. Walks on set, gets his you Thanos money, leaves. I mean, bless him. Good for him.

Focus on Ben Richards’ POV

But yeah, most of the movie does revolve around Ben Richards and is in the POV of Ben Richards. However, if this Running Man is the more accurate to the book running man, I can see why changes were made when adapting The Running Man to the big screen the first time around. This movie has pacing issues, man. It’s not the only thing plaguing it. This movie does have some interesting themes it’s going for here, but when you get to the point, you know, it’s going to go to the big super media corporation isn’t forthcoming. They’re really shady, fabricating lies, throwing it out there in the name of controlling the masses. Maybe it feels old because a lot of movies have done that at this point. Maybe it feels old because we’re living through it at this point.

Pacing and Downtime

But this movie had a lot more downtime. I was getting me some restless legs going. The 2025 Running Man is a half an hour longer than the 1987 Running Man. Yet, the 2025 Running Man feels about a half an hour longer than the 2025 Running Man actually is. Because and not to compare it to the original too much, but when the original does have things that stand out as better, it’s kind of hard not to. The original had more colorful characters. This movie just kind of has people coming after him.

Tonal Conflict and Edgar Wright

And the biggest thing that feels like a gut punch is it’s an Edgar Wright film, and I love his films. I always look forward to them. But this movie has tonal conflict. It’s all over the place in terms of humor, action, and drama. And those are things Edgar Wright usually blends really well in his movies. Is one of the things that makes him him. You can usually take to the bank that he’s going to blend those elements well. Not this time.

Feel like for the first time in an Edgar Wright movie, I was sitting there going, “That humor is out of place.” Characters felt like cartoons when the rest of the movie around them didn’t feel like that. Couple moments where a character dies in a way that made me think, was I supposed to laugh or feel something? Feels conflicting because, well, I felt neither of those things.

Feels Like Dollar Store Minority Report

You know what this movie felt like with the execution that’s supposedly more in line with the book? He’s on the run. He has to avoid people. He has to avoid tech coming after him and scanning for him. It feels like Dollar Store Minority Report, a book that was written before the Running Man book was written. But still, sadly, of the Edgar Wright movies I can think of, this is my least favorite Edgar Wright movie.

Action and Sound Design

The action was entertaining. I’m not going to say it’s not. I’m just not going to remember this one in T-minus one day. Yep, already forgot. There was a thing that bothered me, but I don’t know if it was a movie theater thing. So, I’m trying to keep an open mind to it, but if you do watch The Running Man in theaters, let me know. Yeah, that’s the sound design kind of sucked. There were gunshots, explosion, but none of them had impact. There’s a scene with a grenade and the grenade explosions just kind of doesn’t have that punch you want from an explosion. Can’t help but sit there being like, I could have watched this on my TV.

But again, that might have been a movie theater thing. I’ve worked for movie theater companies. Cuz I know how cheap they could be. Which includes letting technical issues just kind of sit for a while.

All right, so the 2025 Running Man, have you seen it? What did you think about it? Or you know what, screw it. What’s your favorite Arnold movie of the 80s? I mean, you know, it’s adjacent. Whatever it is, whatever you think.