Stephen King has created some of the most iconic horror characters within his books, but he’s also written some very good short stories and novellas as well. The Running Man falls into the latter category. There was a previous version of The Running Man that came out in 1987 and starred Arnold Schwarzenegger and Richard Dawson, the popular game show host of the era. That version of the story was more comedic and over the top as 80s films usually were. The new version, directed by Edgar Wright and starring Glen Powell, Josh Brolin, and Colman Domingo, is much more serious in nature and falls more in line with the short story than the original film did. 

In the near future, people tend to struggle to live and take care of their families. One example is a man named Ben Richards (Glen Powell). He has a wife and a daughter who is very sick. He’s struggling to find a job after losing multiple jobs because of his personality and attitude. In a last ditch effort to try and get money for his wife so she can buy medicine for their sick child, he goes to the “Network” to try out for one of their various game shows. In the process of going through various tests and so forth he catches the attention of the man in charge of “The Running Man”, the producer Dan Killian (Josh Brolin), who wants him to be a contestant on the life or death show. He falls for the man’s pitch because of his need. When this man defies the odds and becomes a fan favorite, this becomes a major problem for the show’s establishment. When you’re in a life or death situation, it’ll take everything you have to survive and bring respect to the lower class of this society.

This remake of “The Running Man” has a different vibe from the previous iteration. It is closer to the original text by Stephen King. It also creates a vibe of a similar situation that is going on in the country as a whole. This is the third or fourth movie that I’ve seen this year that has taken events that are going on in the country and twisted them into a narrative of a film. With Edgar Wright at the helm, it makes sense that he would turn this futuristic story into something relatable for the audience to get behind. No matter what side of the proverbial political aisle you stand on, I’m sure some of the events in this movie will be interesting to you. I definitely found the film’s narrative to be quite interesting from a news perspective and from the point of view of a poor man trying to survive on a daily basis. This picture hit the notes I needed to get me on board. Leave it to Wright to give people something to think about when adapting a popular IP from the past.

The most obvious thing you have to think about when watching a movie that is a remake of a widely popular film is the main actor playing the role in both versions.  The original had one of the biggest action stars of his generation and maybe arguably of all time in Arnold Schwartzegger, and this one has an actor still making a name for himself respectfully speaking. There were some classic lines in the 1987 version like “I’ll Be Back” with the reply of “Only In A Rerun” and “Killian, Now Here Is Subzero, Now A Plain Zero”. These were priceless lines from Schwarzenegger in the original movie. Powell doesn’t have phenomenal lines like that, but he does embody Ben Richards, the character quite a bit because of what he stands for and why he’s doing this show. They are two entirely different portrayals of the same character, neither is bad, but one is more campier than the other is. That’s the main difference between the 2  performances. I liked Powell quite a bit in this role. He’s very realistic as this man in this situation. 

After the starring performance, you have a few supporting character performances that stood out to me. First and foremost is Colman Domingo. He absolutely owned the role of Bobby Thompson. He had the Richard Dawson performance to go off based on the short story, but he made this character his own.The character he plays wasn’t in the original film but it was the character that Josh Brolin played. Wright split this character into two distinct characters, which I think did a better service to the picture. It gave both Domingo and Brolin space to do their own thing. They both were fantastic in their respective roles. I tend to gravitate toward the Domingo performance because it reminded me of the over the top nature of what Dawson did. Domingo was having a blast it seemed like to me while he was playing this character. The flamboyant wildness of his character seemed to me to be more in his wheelhouse as an actor and in his actual personality.  This may be one of the closest characters to who Domingo actually is as a man. I loved every scene he was on screen. Brolin was good as well.

Something I noticed about this version of “The Running Man” was the set design and  production design and so forth. A big portion of the movie was filmed on a backlot or soundstage to look like the futuristic city it takes place in. I know it’s supposed to look like the near future, but it still looked a little wonky to me. I could tell in certain scenes that this looked a little to fake for me. In other scenes in a hotel, old home, or plane, things looked more realistic. There was a distinct difference in some of the scenes. That being said, the cinematography in all the scenes looked great. The way the scenes throughout the movie were lit by Chung-Hoon Chung was very creative and made that aspect of the movie very good. It was just some of the sets and production design that didn’t jive with me while watching the picture. The soundtrack was also pretty amazing. It was filled with classic rock songs from the past.

“The Running Man” is another in a long line of remakes and reboots in recent months. It seems like every week, lately, another remake or reboot is coming out in theaters. Most of them have been pretty good because the various filmmakers and screenwriters have taken the remakes in a different direction while also trying to stay faithful to the original film that came out decades before the new one. That’s the case here as well. Wright kept the essence of the original movie and made an entirely new picture, adding a geo-political agenda to it and giving a whole new look. Also, the cast of actors he chose did a fantastic job in their respective roles. With Powell and Domingo as the standouts. I love when directors take old films and put a new spin on them, especially when they’re done as well as this one was. I had a blast watching this movie, but it also gave me a lot to think about regarding the country I live in. 

4 stars

Dan Skip Allen