Glen Powell stars as Ben Richards, a desperate man who signs up to compete in the deadly game show The Running Man.
Eight years ago, writer-director Edgar Wright declared on Twitter that he would love to remake The Running Man. And his wish has now come true!
Based on Stephen King’s novel of the same name, this dystopian action movie is set in an America that is an authoritarian police state run by the Network media conglomerate. Most people live in poverty with little access to healthcare, and they often sign up for Network’s violent game shows when they’re in need of cash.
Ben Richards (Glen Powell) is an unemployed father who desperately needs money to treat his sick daughter. He heads to the Network to try out for their shows and is assigned The Running Man, the most dangerous and popular of them all.
In the game show, which is hosted by Bobby T (Colman Domingo), contestants must last outside in the wild for 30 days in order to win the $1 billion jackpot.
The only issue: Nobody has ever won the prize because the runners are tracked down and killed by the Network’s official Hunters, the general public is incentivised to report a runner’s location, and there are also civilian vigilantes on the prowl, looking for a payday.
King’s book was previously turned into a movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1987. That film was fun, camp and took many liberties with the source material, with the game playing out in an arena rather than the real world.
Wright’s film is not a remake of that project, but rather a more faithful adaptation of the novel. It sticks to King’s story very closely until the final act, where it forges a new path. Unfortunately, the film suffers when it tries to do its own thing, resulting in a confusing, underwhelming ending that lets down what was otherwise a solid action movie.
Those who are fans of Wright’s films – like Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead and Baby Driver – might also feel disappointed that this doesn’t feel like a Wright film.
With the exception of a fun booby-trapped house sequence and a couple of needle-drops, this feels like it could have been made by anybody, which is a shame because Wright has such a distinctive storytelling style and visual flair. Perhaps his usual flourishes got swallowed up by the scale of the production.
Powell, who is slowly proving why he deserves to be the next Tom Cruise, doesn’t fully convince as the angry Ben – he seems too nice – but there’s no denying that he throws himself into the action sequences and does as much as of them as possible.
Elsewhere, Domingo is an inspired choice for the charismatic host Bobby T, Katy O’Brian is good fun as a fellow runner, Josh Brolin is smooth as the evil Network boss Dan Killian, and Michael Cera stands out as a quirky rebel named Elton.
The Running Man is an entertaining movie with some exciting action setpieces and a committed lead performance from Powell, so it’s a shame that the baffling ending lets it down.
In cinemas from Friday 14th November.
By Hannah Wales.
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