Stephen King's brutal vision of survival returns in a faithful yet uneven remake that never quite hits full speed.
From 1977 to 1985, author Stephen King (The Shining) wrote four of his novels under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. One of these works, titled The Running Man, followed the character of Ben Richards, who lived in a dystopian United States in the year 2025. According to King, he wrote the book in one week and described it as "a book written by a young man who was angry, energetic, and infatuated with the art and the craft of writing." Five years after the book was published, it was adapted in 1987 into a full-length feature film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Terminator franchise). Fans can revisit the original adaptation here: The Running Man (1987). This month, a new adaptation starring Glen Powell (Top Gun: Maverick) will hit theaters.
Ben Richards (Powell) is an out-of-work father whose daughter is very ill. Unfortunately, with only his wife's income, they can't afford to take the child to a doctor or get proper medicine for her. When all other options for employment fail, Ben turns to becoming a contestant on one of the many shows run by the Games Network to try and win some money. After a series of tests, Ben is chosen for The Running Man, the most dangerous and financially rewarding of the shows.
The contestants on The Running Man are depicted as enemies of the State and are given a 12-hour head start before the hunters come looking for them. The longer the contestants stay alive, the more money they win. If they can live for 30 days, they win one billion "new" dollars. If they kill any of the hunters, they get a bonus. However, they are made out to be the worst of society, and there are monetary incentives for members of the public who turn the contestants in by disclosing the contestants' locations. With the odds stacked against them, most of the contestants typically die within the first week of the show.
Powell is well cast as a family man trying to get enough money to be able to seek medical treatment for his daughter, as well as to set his wife and daughter up "for life". Since he is Hollywood's current "it" guy, he will also draw audiences to the theaters. Josh Brolin (Avengers: Endgame) plays the corrupt head of the Games Network who pulls all the strings, and Colman Domingo (Fear the Walking Dead) is the game show host Bobby Thompson, previously made famous by the late Richard Dawson (Family Feud) in the 1987 version. Jayme Lawson (Sinners) is cast as Ben's wife. Besides Powell, Domingo commands much of the spotlight, and Brolin once again portrays the villain, a role we have seen from him before.
Since the original movie is almost 40 years old, there is no comparison with the CGI effects from then to now. The sets are very well done, and the effects with the gunshots and the blood splatter will satisfy fans who love that sort of thing. The drone cameras are fun, and the fight sequences are decent, but nothing innovative.
Director Edgar Wright (Baby Driver) might be the biggest problem this remake has. His pacing is slow, so the audience never truly gets into the thrill of the "hunt". There are 10 minutes of excitement followed by 15-20 minutes of dialogue, so the viewer is constantly getting wound up only to take a nice long rest in between action sequences.
The best thing the film has going for it is how closely it remains true to King's original novel. The 1987 version strayed away from the source material, and King's fans were not pleased. This go around, Wright and Michael Bacall (21 Jump Street) took that criticism to heart and followed the book more closely. Despite that adjustment, the film doesn't thrill and is only mildly entertaining.
Grade: C
