The movie is definitely not a disaster. You're not sitting there thinking "wow, what a trainwreck." The action hits, a few set pieces are genuinely exciting, and technically the movie is solid. But by the time the credits roll, it all feels surprisingly generic, especially considering who directed it.
Edgar Wright is usually a guy with a really recognizable style; very sharp editing, playful visual flair, a real sense of personality. But here it honestly feels like the studio sanded most of that off. The whole thing comes across weirdly safe and standard, like a "we don't want to scare anyone" studio project. If his name wasn't on it, I'm not sure you'd even guess it was him. It feels more like work-for-hire than something he was burning to make.
The good stuff first:
when the movie goes into full action mode, it works. The chases and fights are shot clearly, you can tell what's going on, there's some good impact, and it's rarely boring while bullets are flying. The other big positive is Glenn Powell as Ben Richards. He really carries the film. He sells that mix of desperate dad who just wants to save his family and slightly unhinged guy who actually stands a chance in this rigged death game. You do end up wanting him to make it through and at the same time enjoy watching him tear into the hunters and this messed-up system.
The world itself is also cool in theory: a dystopian future where a media mega-corporation basically runs the country, a show called 'The Running Man' where three contestants are turned into public enemies through AI-generated videos and propaganda so the whole world hates them and wants them dead, and they're hunted by both regular citizens and professional killers. If they survive a month, they get a billion dollars and a new life. Ben signs up because his daughter is sick, he got blacklisted from every job for trying to do the right thing, and now he can't even afford basic medicine. The media/propaganda angle is not subtle at all - it's very on-the-nose; but that's fine, the concept can handle being blunt.
On top of that, the tone is all over the place. The world they're showing here really calls for a more serious, heavier approach: poverty, desperation, public executions as entertainment, a father throwing himself into a death show to save his kid... it's dark stuff. But the movie keeps dropping in jokes and light banter. It's not full-on Marvel quip spam, but it's enough to keep undercutting the seriousness. And the problem is, most of the jokes aren't even that funny.
You can also feel the strain of trying to stay closer to the Stephen King book. On paper that's a smart move and it definitely has nothing to do with the cheesy 80s Schwarzenegger version beyond the basic premise. But on screen it sometimes plays like they tried to cram in as many book elements as possible without giving them enough time to breathe. That leads to some bloat, weird pacing, and a general sense of "there's a better, tighter version of this story hiding in here somewhere."
As a straightforward action movie, it's watchable and even pretty fun in parts. You get good action, a strong lead performance, and an interesting world that's at least engaging on a surface level. But if you walk in expecting a new Edgar Wright classic, you're almost guaranteed to walk out disappointed. As a random action flick, it's "okay to good." As an Edgar Wright movie, it's firmly on the weaker end of his filmography. For me, it is entertaining enough for one viewing, but nowhere near as good as it could've been.
