The Running Man

Director: Edgar Wright

Ben Richards (Glen Powell) is out of work and blacklisted. With a sick daughter, and Richards wife(Emilia Jones) working long hours in a club, he’s also desperate. Opportunity is limited, but one out, is the endless stream of violent TV game shows. The most violent of these is The Running Man. A show where competitors must survive 30 days on the streets evading the shows viewers and being captured and killed by the show’s Hunters. But survival on means a life changing sum of money. So when Richards finds himself on the show, it not only starts a battle to survive and get back to his family, but gives him a chance to change the world.

I’ve not read the King story nor  remember the Schwarzenegger film, so I went into Edgar Wright’s adaptation with a clean slate. Which while enjoyable in parts, it wasn’t wholly successful.

What works? The action scenes are fast and thrilling, with plenty of nail biting moments. Wright’s famous needle drops are there for all to hear, with a great soundtrack.

Colman Domingo steals the show with his brash TV presenter. Josh Brolin brings plenty of bad guy as the Network President. There’s also a fun Micheal Cera cameo as part of a rebel network looking to help Richards survive.

But it doesn’t all work as well. The film’s premise is good and has things to say on poverty, media influence and how reality TV creates stars and victims in equal measure. But its main issue for me was it never really earns the investment it wants you to make in the story, best summed up in its final act.

But perhaps Powell is its biggest issue. He’s not terrible, But I struggled to believe him as a desperate man. He’s almost too clean and charming and never really carries the weight of the role.

The Running Man gets some things right. Great action, a fabulous soundtrack and some fun performances. But it is also flawed, especially in a story, that never really earns the investments it’s asking you to make, making it feel a little “so what” when asking its big questions. Fun enough, but could have delivered much more.