Director Edgar Wright teaming up with A-list stars like Glen Powell and Josh Brolin to adapt a Stephen King action novel sounds like a dream come true for movie lovers, but instead, “The Running Man” more closely resembles a nightmare.
The story follows working-class man Ben Richards, played by Powell, as he enters the deadly competition show, “The Running Man,” in order to pay for his sick daughter’s treatment. He must evade a group of hunters trying to track him down, while the entire nation wants to see him killed.
Similar to the cast and crew brought on to adapt it, the concept itself sounds like a phenomenal idea. For a portion of the runtime, that’s true. The action-packed hysteria of a nation trying its hardest to hunt down one man makes for a riveting watch. However, the disappointment lies in the fact that in a two-hour film, that interesting dynamic only takes up about half of it.
The first act takes far too long to get going, as the actual competition doesn’t begin until well over 30 minutes into the film. The opening scenes are spent establishing Ben’s relationship with his family, as well as the dystopian America setting, both things that feel almost inconsequential to the rest of the story.
When the competition does begin and the action starts, however, the movie finds its footing. Powell proves that he has the star power to lead a film like this, and the dynamic of Ben looking for allies in a country trying to kill him is as interesting as it sounds.
The problem lies in how little time the movie spends with each character that Ben meets. It almost feels like a series of cameos instead of actual side characters, with actors such as Michael Cera, William H. Macy and Emilia Jones getting minimal screen time.
While Ben is an entirely one-dimensional character — an angry man who wants to get back to his family — all of the side characters provide an interesting contrast to him, but when the viewer only gets small doses of each of them, the story starts to become dull.
Although the story itself struggles to stay engaging, the film comes close to being saved by its action sequences. Having directed movies like “Baby Driver” and “Hot Fuzz,” Wright is no stranger to elaborate action, but “The Running Man” takes that to another level.
Whether it’s car chases or exploding buildings, when the sloppy characters start to lose the audience, Wright reels it back in with a phenomenal action scene.
The most unfortunate part of “The Running Man” is how disappointing its ending is. Even though the story actually managed to build up a bit of momentum going into the third act, Wright loses sight of the finish line and thus, the film sputters out.
The result is one of the more cliche and predictable endings of the year, full of boring tropes and low-hanging fruit that sucks all life out of the movie at the moment it needed it most.
Overall, there are certainly some things in the film that audiences will enjoy. Powell is great and the action delivers, but that’s about it. Wright’s story is messy and dull, ultimately making “The Running Man” one of the bigger disappointments of 2025 thus far.
