Running Time: 133 minutes
This feature from Paramount Pictures will open exclusively in theaters and on IMAX screens November 11th.
It has been a prolific time at the cinema for Stephen King adaptations. In the past year, we’ve seen The Monkey, The Life of Chuck and The Long Walk (based on a grim and dystopian book released under the pen name Richard Bachman). This week sees another title based on a work created under the Bachman pseudonym. The Running Man was also previously transformed in 1987 as an Arnold Schwarzenegger action vehicle. It was a loose translation but one that did make a lasting impression on audiences of the era. This edition of the story generally stays closer in tone and plot to the book, but not without its own set of changes.
In a near-future time, the one-percent live in luxury, while the rest of the country struggles to provide the basic necessities of life. A frustrated Ben Richards (Glen Powell) has lost several jobs for insubordination, which includes trying to help others on the job. When his infant daughter gets sick, he and wife Sheila (Jayne Lawson) have no way to pay for medicine. Desperate, he decides to audition for any game show in which he can earn fast cash. He and fellow tryouts Laughlin (Katy O’Brian) and Jansky (Martin Herlihy) are chosen by producer Dan Killian (Josh Brolin) to appear on The Running Man, the most popular show in America. Hosted by Bobby Thompson (Colman Domingo), contestants are pursued by heavily armed hunters and drones. If they can avoid being killed for 30 days, they win $1 billion dollars. As you might have already guessed, the seemingly impossible task becomes even harder when it’s revealed that the public get bonuses for snitching on the runners, and the network isn’t playing fair.
Director/co-writer Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Baby Driver) certainly knows how to shoot action as well as insert some clever moments of satire within the dread-inducing scenario. Early on, all sorts of inane programs and humiliating game shows are depicted to an adoring and uneducated and manipulated audience. They are so addicted to the show, misspellings in signs and messages around the city are rampant. The film also depicts how the show uses AI to alter events and make viewers actively hate Richards, who is consistently infuriated by his depiction. These observations and set-design eccentricities are remarkably bleak, but delivered in a darkly humorous fashion.
And there are actually a few fun moments as the protagonist attempts to adopt some very exaggerated disguises to hide himself, including that of an Irish priest (which does stand out as odd in such a distressed environment) as well as deal with potential reports by those around him. The action scenes are also extremely well-shot and dynamic. There’s a thrilling chase through a dilapidated hotel which finds the lead venturing outside, racing through hallways while avoiding gunfire, and diving down some unusual spaces to avoid being shot by villains. Powell handles the action well, and always appears like he is on the ropes.
There’s a lot of excellent stuff in the movie, but it does have some problems as it progresses. The movie does go out of its way to explicitly state its themes after Richards hijacks a car driven by an upper-class socialite (Emilia Jones). While the message is important, it’s hurried into an argument and delivered in an on-the-nose manner. The finale is also a letdown, especially to those who have read the source material.
The film does a good job of balancing action and humor with a deeper message early on, but it pulls its punches during the climax. Several characters very quickly come to understand what’s occurring around them and turn a corner, with events being tied up neatly. One of the titles from earlier in the year with a similarly grim tone and did not offer easy solutions to the scenario depicted and leaves a lasting impression. This picture closes on a note that isn’t nearly as convincing and almost feels like a last-minute rewrite.
The Running Man is certainly meaner than the original film and does feel timely. The cast is fine, the action is well-delivered, and some of the satirical elements work effectively. But there are awkward moments, as well as an overly clean denouement that appears to want to make you feel something different from the tone established early on. This lessens the film’s overall impact. In the end, these missteps are what keeps this decent action film from being exceptional.
