The Running Man (2025) Review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsmiRIozzvw

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

When the world is against you, that will never mean to give up.


PLOT


2025’s The Running Man is a rebooted adaptation of the ‘82 Stephen King novel that is more accurate to the material compared to the 1987 original. The story is set in a dystopia where an authoritarian media network simply dubbed ‘The Network’ has ruled the United States placating the masses with its over the top entertainment programs. Unable to afford medicine for his infant daughter Cathy after past actions of union activism, blue collar worker Ben Richards decides to try out for a less dangerous show, only to be chosen for the most dangerous, ‘The Running Man’, hosted by Bobby Thompson aka Bobby T. He is chosen to be a runner alongside Jenni Laughlin & Tim Jansky (Katy O’Brian & Martin Herlihy) where one can win $1 billion by surviving 30 days being hunted by professional hunters or ordinary citizens led by Evan McCone. The only rule for runners to comply to is to film themselves every day or the earnings will be forfeited. Executive producer Dan Killian is able to convince him to join when promising to give him an advance, as well as keep his family in a safe house for their protection. In the beginning of the game show’s season, Ben is able to get a head-start whereas Tim is quickly killed for not putting an effort in hiding. Ben gets costumes and a fake ID from one of his friends, Molie Jernigan, and hides in a hostel in Boston for more than a day until McCone kills Molie to narrow down his location. Ben would keep moving once found, to the point of taking sanctuary of Anti Network activist Bradley Thompson, who hopes to expose the Network’s propaganda. Inspired, Ben does try to do the same by sending a video that denounces their action only for it to be replaced by a deepfake produced version that makes him foul mouthed. Bradley is able to send him to Derry, Maine, where fellow activist Elton Parrakis gives him shelter. His elderly mother almost calls authorities on him, but he chooses to let them in anyway so he can avenge his father by dispatching them with booby traps all over his home. He leaves with Ben in a buggy, only for the former to be killed by McCone. Richards keeps moving after killing another hunter by crashing into him and escaping into a nearby river. As he hides, the report of Jenny being killed too makes him the sole survivor of the competition. When traveling north, he evades drones and holds hostage a wealthy woman named Amelia Williams. With him, she sees firsthand that the Network uses deepfake technology as propaganda and agrees to help him win. Richards is able to negotiate with Killian a jet to Canada where hunters will be guarding him. Killian however also gives him the option to be a new hunter if he can kill every hunter on the jet including McCone, who used to be a runner and was offered the same position after nearly winning the series’ first season. Ben is pushed to do it when being shown a video of his family being slaughtered, unsure of it being real or not. After he does so, he gives Amelia a parachute for her to escape safely and turns down another offer from Killian, pleading viewers to go against the Network. Killian quickly responds by posting another deepfake where it’s presumed Richards intends to crash into studio headquarters, but the plane is shot down before that can happen. With no body found of the last running man, Bradley is able to post a black box recording that had the actual conversations of Killian trying to manipulate Richards and that the latter did survive the crash via auto eject. His survival makes him the face of the revolution that would get louder in being against the Network to the point of Bobby T not wanting to host anymore. By the time Richards reunites with his family, whose deaths were confirmed to be staged by the Network, the film ends with him shooting Killian in the middle of a riot.

THOUGHTS

I was totally game to see what was next for Edgar Wright having seen all his movies, and getting to adapt a Stephen King book he likes had to have been the dream job. Everything that was done here had the right amount of elevation to be more exciting. The editing by Paul Machliss & cinematography by Chung Chung-hook are so impressive together that it makes each chase and each fight scene stand out from one another. Apart from detailed production design by Marcus Rowland, It’s even a cool Easter egg for the original 80s star Arnold Schwarzenegger to be the face a $100 bill. Apart from that, this movie stands out because it does maintain the mythos from before on calling out media manipulation & corporate greed. Some can fall for the elaborate charisma Colman Domingo brings as Bobby T, as does Sean Hayes when he portrays Spin the Wheel host Gary Greenbacks, or you see through the deceit Josh Brolin is all about as Killian who relishes manipulating everything he sees knowing he can profit off of anything he sets his mind to. With an exploitative mindset that kind of mindset, he’s the kind of antagonist that can’t be forgiven. Thankfully, we still have a protagonist that reminds audiences that resistance over authoritarian control will always be better than the dominance of dehumanization. If we keep letting people control how to be seen, then that just becomes a miserable society. Glen Powell captures that as Ben Richards and compared to Arnie, he’s got a much stronger motive. In the past, the latter just wanted to prove his innocence while the former is all about providing for his family before it comes fighting for more than that. His decision to use defiance for the greater good is what makes him stand out because it makes him more assertive than anyone else that has ever played the game and each person he meets along the way enhances his motivation apart from his his family being a top priority. Apart from Jayme Lawson standing out for portraying his wife Sheila as a devoted wife who had her own resilience being able to work bartending jobs she didn’t like, Daniel Ezra caught my eye because as Bradley aka The Apostle, he has this enthusiasm as an intellectual who uses technology to spread the word on what has to change for a better tomorrow. Michael Cera was also interesting as Elton because despite losing his father to the Network making him a bit unhinged, his head is still in the right place when helping Ben. They choose to go out of their way because they’re seeing firsthand how strong willed he is and believe his survival can bring back free will that’s missing. Even William H Macy makes enough of a good impression as Molie because having known Ben in advance, he knows he’s got the drive to provide us what makes him want to survive. While Ben encounters other people that are good hearted people, it was looking in a mirror that truly solidified what he had to do. Lee Pace was stunning as McCone because with and without a mask, he knows what to give what the audience wants to the point where his actions don’t bother him anymore. As much as he wished to win the whole thing in the first season, he knew he’d make more as a seasoned hunter and by the time it came to seeing Ben, he sure saw himself in him thus resenting how far he came to the point where he made the mistake of taking his time with him. This movie could’ve stuck with the book’s ending of Ben actually going through the tower to avenge his family dying for real, but the 9/11/01 terrorist attack obviously prevents anything of the reminder in contemporary filmmaking. So compromising with Ben faking his death to get the last laugh was a smart way to give the optimistic approach that freedom of speech can still live on as long as you fight for it and with Richard’s being able to do this before reuniting with his family, it proves good things can come to those who deserve it. There are a lot of things that make this version better, but then there are still a few other moments where people would disagree. Like from the top, I don’t believe Bobby T in saying the mail for the runners’ video messages can’t be tracked because if drones have to pick it up to wherever it’s dropped off, that means they got to be. I then think aloud how we don’t see Sheila watch the show. It would’ve been more interesting to see her reactions on every update involving her husband, whether or not she knew which was real/fake. I then have a hard time believing Molie was gonna recruit Ben eventually because if that were true, he would’ve done it the moment he got fired from the last job. And if he wasn’t ready to bring him onboard, he could’ve at least given him some money for his kid’s medicine. Also, isn’t it a little crazy that Jenni went to a strip club and nobody snitched on her since it took a few more days for her to bite the dust. On top of that, I do think Ben gave Amelia a hard time to believe him of his innocence considering he was validly ballistic after holding her at gunpoint before giving her the gun temporarily. Ben shouldn’t even be believing Killian about killing his family since he spent the majority of the season lying to him at that point. And if Killian wanted to keep controlling the narrative, he could've given a ten second delay before another deepfake. Lastly, it’s goddamn crazy how the protestor was able to sneak in with a molotov cocktail. Considering how advanced headquarters is for the Network, that should’ve not ever been possible. If you can ignore these flaws however, then you can still identify 2025’s The Running Man as a provocative action flick that has the right amount of enhancements to get the message across. Whether you are a fan of the book or the Arnie gem, I can assure you this remake is worthwhile.