The Running Man

The Running Man had everything it needed to become an unforgettable remake for a new era: a superb director with an enviable track record in Edgar Wright, a unique premise based on a Stephen King novel, an iconic 80s adaptation starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, a huge budget, and a charismatic lead in Glen Powell.

Yet somehow, it ended up becoming the most generic, bland-looking adaptation imaginable-something that could easily pass for yet another forgettable Netflix action movie.

Despite its premise being more relevant than ever in today's society, the film squanders every opportunity. Instead of leaning into its unsettling themes, it delivers a shallow, almost childish message. The story steadily loses steam scene by scene, drifting into randomness and culminating in a terrible third act that strips away any real stakes or emotional resonance, all in favor of a cliché happy ending clearly aiming to set up a sequel that will never happen.

The visuals and action sequences are equally uninspired. They're entertaining, sure, but they have none of the flair, wit, or creativity that define Edgar Wright's style. Ironically, the film's entertainment value rests almost entirely on Glen Powell's shoulders-he brings energy and charisma despite a script that gives him little to work with.

In the end, The Running Man is an entertaining enough popcorn flick, but it leaves absolutely no impact. It's a painfully wasted opportunity that could-and should-have been so much more.

People might say that it's a good popcorn movie, but I gotta say that a good popcorn movie is still a good movie. Glen has done a great job on acting.

As you know, the story is from Stephen King so it has some sort of guarantee that the plot wasn't gonna be that bad. In fact, i view that it is quite good even though there is a lack of depth in some part. Still, for a two hour movie, it has done a pretty great job on capturing the story. Although in some scenes, it's quite prolonging.

This movie is surely fulfilling the criteria of whatever action movie should have. There's an excitement as it will make you rooting for the runners. Some scenes may be predictable, but it is not easy as it seems. So just go watch it, it won't disappoint you.

Remake of 1987 film and adapted from Stephen King novel, The Running Man sees Ben Richards (Glenn Powell) entering a dangerous game with higher stakes for the sake of his family.

The major reason why this movie had me interested was because of Edgar Wright, who has given amazing flicks year-after-year.

With regards to narrative, it was simple yet was weak in construction. While the first half had some intriguing elements, the second half was sluggish, stretched and lost it's steam, even before reaching the final act. The cast did a decent job in terms of performances. Glen Powell was charismatic and Josh Brolin was evil in his own ways.

Edgar Wright's kinetic flavour isn't quite as present here as it has been on Baby Driver. There are certainly some finely crafted action sequences, however it stretches on for too long. The humour jokes didn't land, in most of the cases. The camera work and strong background score was missing, as we have seen in other movies from the director.

The world felt quite two-dimensional. It was on the precipice of making an interesting point but settled in a elementary commentary. This was a disappointment in terms of leaving an impact.

Overall, The Running Man is an underwhelming flick, given the director's strong filmography, although it has some cool moments.

My Rating : 6/10.

Absolutely baffling that Edgar Wright gets hold of a Stephen King novel and it comes out like his most studio-approved movie yet. Where is the edge? The style? The wit is filtered, the action diluted. Don't get me started on the ending - be bold you cowards!

A few of the sequences save the movie from being completely dull. Cursed Home Alone and the hotel stuff give the movie some of its life, the rest supplied by the actors in top form. Powell, Brolin, Domingo, Cera, and Brother Day (Pace) are excellent here.

It needed a tighter script, clever editing and any idiosyncrasies. Basically, it needed an Edgar Wright who still had things to prove. Maybe he was scared of another Ant-Man scenario? Who can say.

Perhaps it's unfair to judge the film with Hot Fuzz seared into the synapses, but an inherent injustice is thematically appropriate, and I am feeling mighty wronged.

This is, for 90% of the film, entertaining stuff, but without spoilers, why oh why do so many films feel the need to make endings so poor? I appreciate that for a lot of viewers good v bad is a pure binary, and that an ending has to be clear - but it makes for poor story telling. I think I am part of the target audience for this film, but I wish the film makers would credit us with being able to deal with nuance and ambiguity. The ending felt ridiculously contrived and, almost, abbreviated - for me it undermined what was a rollicking, fun, action film.

Having said all of that, it worth saying I'd still recommend this movie, Glen Powell clearly has fun in the title role. I saw the original when it came out in the late 80's - and this version is nothing like the original, other than very superficially. This film does, however, have a number of references to the first version - not least the picture of Arnold on the currency.

This is well Directed, if somewhat predictable and cliched. The action is unrelenting, and enjoyable. The script doesn't get in the way. Inevitably, one can look at the current state of politics and transpose this dystopian story onto current events - there did appear to be a deliberate slant in this film.

An entertaining movie - mostly.