The Running Man (2025) Review

The Running Man is the fourth and final adaptation of a Stephen King story. This time, it’s a big-budget dystopian film with Edgar Wright directing.

In the near future, The Network controls America. They have run down safety regulations, attempts to unionise are crushed, and the masses are fed a diet of brutal game shows. Ben Richards (Glen Powell) is a blacklisted worker with a sick daughter. In desperation, Richards tries out to appear in one of the shows and ends up getting selected for “The Running Man,” the deadliest game show. Richards has to survive 30 days with all of America hunting him.

The new version of The Running Man has been in the works for a long time. Wright stated in 2017 that he wanted to adapt The Running Man and was hired by Paramount in 2021. Considering Wright’s reputation, The Running Man is an eagerly anticipated film. He reteamed with Michael Bacall, his Scott Pilgrim vs. the World co-writer.

The Running Man was adapted back in 1987, and it has a cult following. It’s seen as a decent mid-tier, Arnold Schwarzenegger film. The new version was radically different and closer to the source material, although the filmmaker did make some references to the original for fans. For a film set in an advanced future, there was a lot of retro technology being used.

The idea of televised death contests is nothing new. Before the original The Running Man, there were films like Rollerball and Death Race 2000, whilst post-2000 films have included The Hunger Games series and The Condemned. The competition in The Running Man was like a deadly version of Channel 4’s Hunted. The competitors weren’t in an arena, but they had to stay in towns and cities. People were incentivised to report The Running Man competitors for cash rewards, adding to the danger for Richards and the others.

Wright has become a more serious filmmaker as he has aged. He started his career with the low-budget comedy Western A Fistful of Fingers and cult TV series Spaced, and his most popular films are arguably Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz (Hot Fuzz is my favourite film of his). Wright’s previous film, Last Night in Soho, was a #MeToo-influenced horror film, and it has been his most serious film. The Running Man ended up being Wright’s most political film since he used it to show America’s privatised healthcare system, the growth of tech companies and billionaires, and how the media is manipulated and used to control the masses. It played like a Black Mirror episode if it were directed by Paul Verhoeven.

Whilst The Running Man was a political film, it was still an entertaining film. It was similar to Baby Driver, which was a fun heist that had action, colourful characters, and comedy, but wasn’t a full-blown comedy. It was fast and energetic, even with a long runtime. There was a lot of Wright’s style in the film, especially during the action scenes: I wanted more. There was a lot of wit throughout that lightened the dark subject matter. The game show setup gave the version of The Running Man its Verhoeven, like the commercials in Robocop and propaganda pieces in Starship Troopers. The Network’s symbol was designed to resemble a swastika slightly. The actors gave the film their all, especially Josh Brolin, who was perfectly hateable. Glen Powell has a growing reputation thanks to roles in Anyone but You and Twisters because of his leading man looks. His version of Ben Richards can be described as Judge Dredd: too angry to die.

The Running Man can be compared to The Long Walk and The Hunger Games series. The Long Walk was the other Stephen King dystopian film, and they had a similar setup and theme where people are forced to participate in a deadly competition, which can be the only way for people to change their lives. Richards ended up becoming a Katniss-like figure, an inadvertent symbol of resistance. The longer he competed, the more the oppressed working classes supported him, even though Richards’ motivations were more personal. The phrase ‘Richards Lives’ became a rallying cry to the people.

The Running Man was an entertaining twist on the death competition sub-genre. It was filled with Wright’s trademark flair, and it can give people a dystopian fix. It was more enjoyable and weightier than The Long Walk.