The Running Man was one of those movie that I went into fully aware of the mixed reviews people had to say about it, but still, I got in decided to watched myself because I genuinely wanted to know what people were saying so I watched it before I believed anyone else views. The setting is a near future America where life is a game of survival, There is Ben Richards, played by Glen Powell, a working class guy with a problem, who is down on his luck, in debt and even worse when his daughter becomes ill. He is desperate for money and gets sucked into the biggest show on television at the time, The Running Man, a deadly game show in which Runners, a group of participants who are basically hunted for their own amusement, have to survive for a month while professional hunters are trying to take them out.
Ben is convinced to join by the charming but ruthless producer of the show, Dan Killian (Josh Brolin) and the show's host, Bobby Thompson (Colman Domingo) is hyping the whole show up for the cameras. It's a journey that begins with Ben's last resort, winning money to save his daughter, and then takes an unexpected turn in which his instincts, his defiant nature, and his determination not to play the game the way the show wants him to which made him an unexpected favourite. That is then very dangerous because the more the public starts cheering for him, the greater the threat to the whole system that created this show in the first place.
Now here's my honest twist on this one, because a lot of people are reviewing it purely on "is it as good as the original 1987 version" and I think that’s not the right question at all, I found it to be how they exploited Ben's popularity against the system itself. It's not simply "man survives hunters", it's "man survives hunters and suddenly reveals the fragility of the whole entertainment machine, the audience starts sympathizing with the wrong person." That's a more interesting idea than just another dystopian chase movie, and when the film leans into that, it works
But it falters and this is where its not good the pacing, and I won't sugarcoat it, it's not good , It lasts over two hours, and there are parts of it that feel like it is dragging its feet, with the appearance of side characters who make one or two scenes, and leave with nothing added. That screen time could have been used in tightening the main chase and creating more tension rather than that. For a director with a keen, kinetic style, some parts of the movie actually sound less dynamic than they should, and it sought to combine satire, emotion and action, but in a way that made it fall short rather than really hitting any one
of them.
The problem is, Glen Powell is bringing this with pure charisma even when the script isn't giving him the best. Josh Brolin and Colman Domingo are obviously playing two shades of the same manipulative evil, while Lee Pace as one of the hunters brings a nice amount of tension when he is onscreen.
Where I stood on this one then, hehe. Not a flawless movie, some characters surely needed more space to develop, the pacing is definitely not OK, But the underlying concept that a man's popularity is his own enemy is sound enough for the weaker elements to withstand, And for a director known for sharp, kinetic energy, some parts genuinely feel lower energy than you'd expect, like the film wanted to balance satire, emotion, and action all at once and ended up softening all three instead of nailing any one of them fully.
If you come in with the expectation of an flawless action masterpiece, you may leave disappointed, but if you come in hoping for something solid, thought provoking, and with a great lead man, The Running Man will be worth your while.
Rating: 80/100