In the future, the most popular show on TV is The Running Man.
For ordinary people, it is an escape from the economic depression and environmental devastation of everyday life. For Ben Richards (Glen Powell), it is an escape route - if he can survive the game long enough…
As the world grapples with the rise of fascism, and the radicalising influence of social media, The Running Man is finally back on screen.
The parallels between the 1987 picture and contemporary American politics were covered in 2017 when Trump was elected the first time: the film being set in the same year, the president having an agent, a reality TV star as the most powerful man in the state…
In 2025 the parallels are stronger. A few years ago I saw promos for a new TV show called Hunted - it was about ordinary people going on the run out in the world while ex-soldiers and anti-terrorism experts attempt to track them down.
That show premise is only a few steps away from the show in The Running Man novel - minus the audience participation element and the whole murder aspect.
After two years of live-streamed genocide, a TV show about sanctioned murder seems somewhat redundant.
I cannot remember when I first became aware of The Running Man (1982). I was definitely more aware of the movie, but I only ended up watching it after reading the book.
It is the kind of thriller I love - minimal set up, all forward momentum.
King's evocation of a hopeless world and the smug sociopathy of the gameshow are key. Richards is not so much an action hero as a human crash dummy, gradually broken down as the stakes rise around him.
The most interesting (and enduring) element of the film is the complicity of the in-world audience: they get cash prizes for spotting runners. This is the strongest launching pad for satire, and why remaking the film in 2025 makes sense.
Having read the Bachmann book beforehand, The Running Man (1987) came off as something of a disappointment as an adaptation. Watching it after Total Recall and RoboCop also did it no favours.
Having rewatched it more recently, The Running Man is solid.
While it might not have the barbed duality of Verhoeven's satire, there is a meanness to the film's evocation of eighties game shows that carries its own punch.
The cast of Richard Dawson is the film's trump card, giving the film a meta-textual edge as the one-time Family Feud host ups the egotism and unsavoury aspects of his persona (he was famous for kissing female contestants on the lips) to create one of Ah-nuld's most memorable antagonists.
The film's production was famously chaotic, with future Fugitive helmer Andrew Davis fired about a week into shooting, replaced by David Starsky himself, Paul Michael Glaser.
While one can wonder what the Davis version would have looked like, Glaser's no-frills approach gives the film a chilly bluntness which works for the show-within-a-film's crassness.
And now to the new runner…
I am not the biggest fan of Edgar Wright. Maybe I was too hyped up by reading about his work, but I have never been able to really lock in. He can be funny, but I find his attempts at deeper dramatic themes and character development a little wanting.
Sadly, that absence persists.
I watched the movie and felt nothing. Nothing about this movie sticks out - even on the basic level of good, bad or unique.
I am not the biggest fan of the Ah-nuld version, but there are things I take away from it: with this one? Nada.
Glen Powell should be a movie star. Here it feels like he is wearing a suit that is a few sizes too big.
The movie is trying to tee up his character as a man filled with rage - a righteous fury, we are quickly told - but still.
Unlike Schwarzenegger, his personality is what is supposed to be his selling point as the new star of the titular show.
Anger is not something I equate with Glen Powell - funny, charming, with a sense of decency.
Frankly the actor who fits Ben’s description is the one playing the villain, Josh Brolin.
In the early sections, the film plays like pastiche - it wants to set up emotional stakes but it is so familiar in its building blocks: a hard-working man trying to fight for his family.
There is something off about the look and tone of the movie. It is trying to be earnest but it does not commit to the hopelessness of the world.
And if you did not know Edgar Wright directed it, the movie would not give you any clues. He seems to be working with a hand tied behind his back - there is no sense of wit, or feel for the genre conventions.
The movie is pretty close to the book, in terms of its narrative - but there is nothing behind it. There is no sense of an angle on the role of media, or any reflection on the real-life horrors of the 2020s. Not that the movie could have predicted how 2025 would pan out, but this movie has nothing on its mind.
The final film is a generic action movie. Nothing more. A shame.
