It is fine? But for being an Edgar Wright film, just “fine” feels wrong.

In a dystopian America, jobless father Ben Richards signs up to the televised death game The Running Man to support his family. Can he survive the game with everyone out to kill him?

The Running Man is yet another 2025 movie adaptation of a Stephen King story. Following from The Life of Chuck and The Long Walk. Published in 1982, the book was first adapted for the big screen in 1987, directed by Paul Michael Glaser and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. While King didn’t approve of Schwarzenegger’s casting, the film was a cult hit. It added to the megastar’s ongoing fame in the 1980s and into the 1990s.
Amusingly, that film was set in the heady future of 2017. The book was set in 2025. Now we have director Edgar Wright (Baby Driver, Scott Pilgrim Vs the World) releasing a remake… in 2025. Starring Glen Powell, (Twisters) Josh Brolin, (Weapons) Jayme Lawson, (Sinners) and Lee Pace, does it stack up?

The story follows Ben Richards, a man too noble for the dystopian reality he lives in. He’s been fired for insubordination from several jobs, simply because he wanted to help. Now, without anywhere to turn and an ill daughter to care for, he signs up for The Running Man. While aware that people can die, Ben is unaware that the show twists the truth. When the show starts, everyone thinks he is a wanted criminal. With Hunters chasing him, the public searching for him, can he go the distance for his family? Can he survive to see them again?

The Running Man mythos is quite tantalizing in 2025. A future where television is full of lies; where people are tricked and gaslit to believe whatever they are told. To the point of condemning innocent people. Gee, seems plausible. In fact, the 1987 movie already captures this idea quite well. Despite it being silly and has an Arnie one-liner every minute, it also had the same scarily accurate foresight. It even had deepfake technology.
So, the idea of Edgar Wright reinvigorating this bonkers, yet plausible, story was very appealing. So why is it that The Running Man (2025) feels so very… uninteresting?

Wright’s previous projects have a certain flair about them. Be it the visual dazzle of Scott Pilgrim, or the use of audio and music in Baby Driver. There’s always something to keep you engaged with the movie. The 1987 movie certainly has a lot of colour and 80s silliness. But somehow, the 2025 film lacks any real flair despite its director’s modus operandi.

Certainly, this new film is more grounded and less absurd. It is probably more accurate to the source as well. 1987 was a Schwarzenegger vanity project at heart. Its characterisation was all over the place, and its “romance” was utterly absurd. Powell’s Ben Richards is more human; his background and his agency are clear, while the pacing of the story is solid. The villains (Hunters, not the 1987 “Stalkers”) are thugs. Pure and simple. The action takes place in run-down urban settings and not so much spandex gladiator arenas.

Also, shout-out to Colman Domingo, playing The Running Man’s host Bobby T. Perhaps because he has the most charisma on screen, he seems to be having a blast here and steals every scene.

If this all sounds very gritty and grey, it should. This film is very grey. The cinematography and music aren’t especially interesting, despite everything literally being a televised death game. Wright does show some cynical commentary on real life with Verhoeven-esque TV shows. But again, they aren’t memorable, or especially cutting. A running gag of a Kardashians-style show is shrug-worthy. I certainly wouldn’t buy it for a dollar. Plus, a lot of the run time sees Richards hiding out in hotel rooms. Granted, that sounds perfectly reasonable. But it wasn’t particularly interesting.
Josh Brolin fills out the antagonist role as Dan Killian. Again, his role is more defined than in the 1987 movie, and yet… not as compelling. He is corrupt and two-faced, yes, but Richard Dawson’s turn as the character is quite chilling today. He has a particularly… Trumpian vibe to his performance now.

So when I say 2025’s The Running Man is fine, I mean it is just that. Fine. It isn’t especially memorable in its scenes or action (unless you are here for Powell’s deep V) and Wright’s direction isn’t that engaging. There’s a certain weightlessness to it; perhaps I am desensitized to real life lies on television, that a fictional villain known for lying might not be telling the truth?

The 2025 movie does not deliver the same vibe as the 1987 movie. If you haven’t seen the original, or perhaps are looking for a closer-to-the-source adaptation, then you should get something more out of it.

Additional Marshmallows: Admittedly, the trailer is very good.