Featuring Glen Powell, The Running Man fires on all cylinders, offering nonstop entertainment and showcasing some of Wright’s most crowd-pleasing filmmaking in ages
- Cast: Josh Brolin, Colman Domingo, Michael Cera, Lee Pace, William H. Macy, and Glen Powell
- Director: Edgar Wright
- Rating: 4 Stars****
Edgar Wright ventures into dystopian territory with his exceptional remake of Running Man, tapping into the world Stephen King originally imagined. The story later reimagined in the year 1987 as an extravagantly camp Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle
It further shows how Glen Powell takes center stage this time, backed by Edgar Wright’s vibrant pop sheen and a 2025 world that feels eerily plausible today.
After facing unemployment for speaking up about safety violations—and facing urgent medical bills for his daughter, he finally decides to opt into the spectacle known as “the biggest show on Earth.”
It’s known to be the brutal televised contest that turns the struggle to stay alive into crowd-pleasing entertainment. The challenge seems to be quite simple: make it through 30 days with state-authorized hunters on your trail.
The prize is a billion dollars. The price of failure? Becoming another body for the world to watch
What’s Good About the Film?
You can feel Ed’s relentless drive right from the start. Every sequence goes with that sugar-rush beat: frenetic cuts, slick needle-drops, and momentum that never lets up.
The retrofuturist styling feels simultaneously throwback and strikingly deliberate. It’s basically a kind of illustration of how fragile truth is when images can be distorted and weaponized so easily
It further shows how Glen Powell brings raw physical commitment, tapping into a Cruise-esque relentlessness as Ben stays a step ahead of Hunters, government messaging, and old wounds
The film comes alive whenever its satire kicks in which happens right from the chaotic studio crowds to the absurd contestant profiles and the Resistance’s pirate-broadcast pop-ins.
What’s Bad About the Film?
The film struggles to deliver the visceral weight expected from one of King’s most prophetically sharp premises. Edgar’s humor jars against the bleakness of a world defined by inequality, medical failure, and state scrutiny
As the film drifts through its middle, the side characters barely resonate. Glen’s earnestness can’t fully compensate for a protagonist who feels more drafted than developed.
The verdict
The Running Man goes with all the precision, displaying clear craftsmanship. But behind the high-octane rush is a story that never quite confronts its own bleak reality.
Wright moves with control rather than full intensity. It finally crafts a tough ride which is consistently enjoyable yet just misses the satirical sharpness it’s chasing.
Also Read: Now You See Me: Now You Don’t Movie Review: A Spirited, Magnetic & Undeniably Watchable Return
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