“The Running Man” Can’t Outrun Our Current Society
It’s somewhat shocking that perhaps the most famous actor known for his running, Tom Cruise, never got to star in a movie called The Running Man. In 1987, Paul Michael Glaser directed Arnold Schwarzenegger in the first adaptation of Stephen King’s The Running Man. Almost forty years later, and eight years after the Schwarzenegger film takes place, Glen Powell and director Edgar Wright lace up their shoes for a new take on the story.
In some indeterminate time in the future, society has collapsed. The world is split between the haves and the have-nots. Ben (Glen Powell), his wife, Sheila (Jayme Lawson), and their daughter are part of the have-nots. Ben has been fired from a multitude of jobs for what these big companies call insubordination, but in reality, Ben is protecting his coworkers. After begging for another chance at his job fails to yield results, Ben and Sheila grow increasingly desperate for money to pay for their daughter’s medication. Seeing no other option, Ben signs up to compete on a game show hosted by The Network. His anger and anti-establishment language make him the perfect fit for The Running Man. The rules are simple: stay hidden and out of sight for thirty days and win a fortune. Ben joins the race but learns that The Network is stacking the deck in its favor.
Paramount Pictures
When you sign up to see a movie by Wright, you sign up for a dizzying display of camera work that’s married to impeccable stunts. It’s a frenetic energy that’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but for those who enjoy this fast-paced style, Wright offers a lot to love. It’s hard not to find your toes tapping along to Baby Driver’s catchy soundtrack because every move on the screen is choreographed in time to the song. This controlled, practiced mayhem is Wright’s essence, yet it’s almost entirely missing from The Running Man.
Trailers for the film are edited in Wright’s distinct fashion, but all that style has been wiped out in the actual movie. One could argue that this is the exact type of film that begs for Wright’s voice. It’s a place to have fun in a Blade Runner-lite playground with a lead actor who’s more than capable of delivering Wright’s smartass dialogue in a way that endears himself to the audience. Everything about The Running Man, from its premise to its multitude of opportunities to go wild, feels like it should be right up Wright’s alley, but the end result comes across as a muted version of his vision. It’s as though someone is trying to emulate Wright without having his skill. This is a movie that should have allowed Wright to reach heights he hasn’t touched before.
Paramount Pictures
Through no fault of its own, The Running Man happens to be released mere months after another Stephen King adaptation that centers on a physical trial built by a dictator-like overlord that masquerades as a way to escape poverty when it’s merely reality tv fodder for the rich. The Long Walk was released in September and is a far grimmer exploration of the ways people in power want to keep those in poverty fighting amongst themselves rather than recognizing the real enemy. While The Running Man nets out with a similar theme, its means of explaining comes across a little more muddled than The Long Walk. The release of the two films in such quick succession does no favors for The Running Man. It illuminates the fact that it’s not a mindless action movie, nor does it excel in conversations about welfare and the broken system that parallel our current government shutdown. Instead, it trots down a middle path that doesn’t match Ben’s rightful anger or anti-hero smarminess. The Running Man may have felt ahead of its time when King wrote it, blending America’s obsession with violence and the beginnings of reality television, but in the United States of 2025 it’s running a little behind.
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