I might be biased because I saw The Running Man in a packed theater on a really dark day for me, but it was a really magical theatrical experience. I say that about every theatrical experience, but I love movies and movie theaters. Sue me, and it is so crystal clear that Edgar Wright and leading man Glen Powell love movie theaters, too. The Running Man deserves to be seen the big screen.
The Running Man follows a blacklisted working class, family man Ben Richards, played by Glen Powell, as he enlists for the most-popular and deadly game show there is in dystopia America, The Running Man, where competitors race to the death and avoid being caught the network’s assassins for thirty days to win a prize of $1 billion.
Spoilers ahead!
To start, this movie wouldn’t be anything without Powell’s sheer charisma and star power. There’s a little joke on the internet of Powell being Tom Cruise’s son, and The Running Man proves this joke to be true. The thing about Powell is that he is not a Tom Cruise knock-off. Sure, he and Cruise share a lot of similarities, but Powell brings a level of sincerity and youthfulness to his action sequences and emotional scenes that make them that more believable and realistic. Also, Powell loves to dress up in silly, little outfits and costumes, which is the true mark of a theater kid, and this only means that we need to get Glen Powell in a musical. ASAP!
Edgar Wright’s Last Night in Soho got mixed reviews from critics and wasn’t a box office favorite, leading some to believe that Wright had lost his magic, but it’s save to say that Wright is back on the right track with The Running Man. Every scene has a rhythmic and melodic flow to them. The direction and writing of the action sequences feels fresh every time even though the objective tends to be the same: get Richards out of danger, but Wright manages to keep the story engaging and exciting while presenting similar obstacles for Powell’s character in new takes.
If you are not already aware, The Running Man is not technically a remake of the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger film of the same name. This Running Man film is actually based more closely on the 1982 novel The Running Man by Richard Bachman, and if you are not familiar with Bachman and his work, you might be familiar with the person who used Bachman as his pen name, Stephen King. Wright’s Running Man and the novel operate with the same fast paced energy, but the only major divergence between the two mediums of the story is the ending. King’s ending is more definite with Richards dying by crashing a jet into the network building, but Wright takes this ending and has Richards fake his own death and building a revolution against the media controlling government. I think both endings work in their own right, though I do think the ending for this film paves the way for sequels and spin-offs. If that’s the case, which I hope its not, it sort of goes against the film’s message; however, no sequels or spin-offs have been planned or announced yet, so I’m just going to consider and take The Running Man as its own stand alone film.
There’s a lot of things I love about The Running Man. From it’s anti-government and anti-monopoly message, to its very anti-AI plot line that Richards endures the entire movie, what I really love about The Running Man is its ensemble cast. Josh Brolin and and Colman Domingo give outstanding, captivating performances as Dan Killian and Bobby T, respectively, and Jayme Lawson is flawless as Richards’s wife, Shelia. Lee Pace is absolutely terrifying and charming as lead assassin McCone. Besides this fantastic core crew, The Running Man is secretly a roadtrip comedy with Richards encountering a whole slew of characters along his journey, either helping him or getting in his way. The cross-country journey that Richards embarks on really brings the heart and underdog story together.
The Running Man is fun, action-packed, thought-provoking, and heartfelt, and if you have a chance, go see it in a cinema and support a movie theater.
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