The Running Man

The Running Man (2025)

Image From IMDB

I was a little skeptical when I first heard they were remaking the Running Man, but then heard Edgar Wright was helming so knew I'd enjoy it. Having then read the book, it was clear there was plenty of room to tell this story as the Arnie version had absolutely nothing in common with the source material outside of the concept of the game, and the name Ben Richards.

The Running Man follows the story of Ben Richards (Glen Powell) who signs up for the barbaric Running Man show in order to pay for his daughter’s medication. Within the show, he has thirty days to survive, earning money for every hour he lives. While the odds aren’t in his favour of making it past the first day or two, let alone a month, Ben’s not one to give up easily.

While a big fan of the book, I knew plenty of compromises would have to be made given the modern world’s inability to handle anything a little aggressive, but I think Edgar managed to get a decent balance. The Ben Richards characters falls somewhere in between the other two incarnations. He’s not as heroic as Arnie, but is less of an asshole than King’s version. He’s a bit of a dick in the film, and they describe him as angry, but he’s definitely toned down.

Glen Powell plays the part well, coming across as his normal charming self, while having some fun with Ben’s more arrogant and anti-establishment personality. The scenes between him and Killian (Josh Brolin) are particularly great. Michael Cera also has an interesting cameo playing the much changed Elton (one of the changes that probably did have to be made)

The action is fast paced, and the chase pretty unrelenting. Like the Arnie movie this version angles more towards some kind of hopeful rebellion than the bleakness of the book, and that leads to a different ending for this film. The third act does however feel rushed, which was a little disappointing, but that’s what happens when you stick to things pretty closely but then have to change the entire end of the story.

Overall, I really enjoyed it, but I was always going too. I love Edgar’s work, so maybe this review is slightly biased. It doesn’t have his normal style about it, but nor should it. I like the way it presented more as a TV show, because it should be. The changes he made to the source material largely work, and make sense. Often they added a bit more action and pace, given the story a more cinematic approach rather than the internal thinking of the book.

Anyone expecting a remake of the Arnie film, this isn’t it. The Running Man (2025) is its own movie. There are nods to the Arnie film, but it isn’t the same story, characters, or plot. So basically means you now have three cool Running Man stories, which I can’t say I'm disappointed about.