Movie Number 42 of 2025
The Movie: The Running Man
The Cinema: Hoyts Victoria Gardens
Runtime: Two hours, fifteen 15 minutes
Stars: 4
As action films go, this is my type of action film - and I don't do action films that often.
Based on the novel by Stephen King, adapted by Michael Bacall and Edgar Wright and a world away from the Arnold Schwarzenegger film from 1987, this is a very cool re-imagining of a book written in the early 1980s, but with a few twists that make this very relevant.
It also has Glen Powell in the role of Ben Richards. Glen Powell is everywhere at the moment. He's also very easy on the eye, very funny and he makes the role his own. I also adore that he happily takes the piss out of himself.
What Edgar Wright and screenwriter Michael Bacall have done is taken Stephen King's novel and modernised it. Set in the not-too-distant future, Ben is one of the have nots, fired again and again for standing up for the rights of the worker and being sacked for it. When his daughter becomes ill, he needs to make money for real medicine - not the stuff you can buy on the streets. So, he decides to go on a game show, of which, in this world there seems to be many humiliating games.
The worst of which is The Running Man, where contestants need to stay staying alive evading capture by the hunters which are sent after him (and the other two chosen contestants).
The Producers, in particular Dan Killian (Josh Brolin) spot the rage in Ben and sign him up for the show. Ben knows that this means almost certain death for him, however, he has his wife and daughter to life for, and thankfully, he's both smart, and a bit lucky.
And the action starts.
There are a few things that stood out to me with this. Firstly, The Running Man is a biting parody on our reality television culture, and modern society in general. A lot of it is masked by the unrelenting action, but it's there. And it's thought provoking. And there's a lot of piss taking around modern television, with a great send up of the Kardashians / Real Housewives franchises, as well as the banality of reality television a whole.
Secondly, Edgar Wright can do no wrong. The writer/director who made Shaun of the Dead twenty years ago hasn't put a foot wrong since. This is his first real blockbuster. Kudos.
Thirdly, the cast is great - and unexpected. Michael Cera, William H Macy, Lee Pace, Emelia Jones, Sean Hayes, to name a few, help bring this to life.
And yes, it's violent and bloody in part, but the violence is short and quick - even if there is a lot of it - amid the unrelenting action. Like the violence in Marvel films, it's watchable without having to cringe or hide your eyes too often.
The Running Man is a great film for blokes. Need a film to get the bloke out of the house? Send him along to this? You don't have to think that much about it, but if you dig a little deeper, you'll reap the rewards. Some may have a special spot for the Arnold Schwarzenegger original - as I've not seen it, I'm pleased to have gone and seen this.
As somebody who doesn't watch many action films this ticked a lot of boxes.
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