Based on the novel by Richard Bachman, aka Stephen King, The Running Man (2025) is directed by Edgar Wright, who also penned the screenplay alongside Michael Bacall. The film stars Glen Powell, Josh Brolin, Colman Domingo, Lee Pace, Jayme Lawson, William H. Macy, Michael Cera, Emilia Jones, Daniel Ezra, David Zayas, Katy O’Brian, Martin Herlihy, and Sean Hayes. The film follows Ben Richards (Powell), a good-hearted man living in a dystopian future that actively prioritizes predatory, individualist consumerism over simply doing the right thing. Desperate to raise money for his daughter’s life-saving medications after being fired from his blue-collar job, Ben auditions for one of the many over-the-top game shows that dominate television. Much to his dismay, the slick but morally corrupt producer Dan Killian (Brolin) chooses Ben to be a contestant on ‘The Running Man’–the nation’s most popular, but deadly, competition. Along with two other contestants, Ben is forced to go on the run for 30 days while being hunted by droves of “hunters” whose only goal is to kill the contestants before the clock runs out. When Ben eventually learns that the game may be unfairly weighted against him, he decides that the only way to win is to take the fight straight to Dan Killian, as well as the many others who’ve made a living turning humanity’s darkest impulses into sick forms of cheap, cynical “entertainment.” 

          Despite the film’s handful of issues, Glen Powell and Josh Brolin both deliver kinetic lead performances. In his first effort as a traditional action-hero lead, Powell gives Ben a satisfying level of earnestness. He’s the most serious person in a world of almost cartoonish absurdity, which easily allows him to connect with the viewer. The majority of people in the film’s world don’t even seem to notice the insidious nature of their reality, which makes the one person who’s aware of it immediately likable. That said, Powell also displays an occasional fun-loving zaniness that keeps him from simply feeling like someone unnaturally transported from our reality. Existing in such a crazy reality has informed his behavior in radical ways that a more grounded, secure world never would. 

As for Brolin, his portrayal of Dan Killian is a pleasant surprise. Nothing about the character in the film’s marketing hinted that he would be such an enjoyable element. Still, he nevertheless portrays Killian as someone who’s always smiling and treating everyone as a friend, but in a way that’s so forced, it’s disingenuous and cold. Like so many real-life figures, his corrupt morals are communicated through his ability to deny wrongdoing, or at least put an illogical positive spin on it. He’s evil in the sense that he doesn’t consider any specific action to be particularly morally unacceptable. In terms of modern relevance, Killian is an uncommonly strong villain. 

Edgar Wright’s trademark energetic, quirky storytelling is present here, but is noticeably diluted compared to his previous efforts. Other than a handful of key creative flourishes, there’s little that separates the experience from a more studio-controlled action blockbuster. It feels like a boardroom voted to implement certain aspects of the experience, which is strange considering Wright’s history of condemning studios for trying to influence/control directors’ creative visions. Most famously, Wright quit as the director of Marvel’s Ant-Man (2015) after the studio commissioned a rewrite of his script without even asking him. I actually think this is more likely a case of the studio rushing Wright’s writing process, the most compelling evidence being the third act, which feels undercooked and directionless. It implements so many different ideas that it struggles to explore any single one in a way that’s nuanced enough to stick.

Overall, this is a perfectly serviceable blockbuster featuring creatively executed, over-the-top action, colorful visual effects, two great lead performances, and an overarching sense of absurdist fun. Unfortunately, the experience is ultimately forgettable. It falls into the large category of films that try to include so much that they end up failing to explore any one idea sufficiently. It’s an exciting, well-made film on a technical level, just a surprisingly forgettable one. B-