The Freaking Film Fanatic with Nathan Unck
The Running Man Rated: R for Violence and Language
Movies that are based on books by Stephen King kind of tend to be a hit or miss, there is hardly any middle ground. I have to admit, growing up I wasn't allowed to watch R rated movies until I was 17, and during that time, I would see movie posters and trailers for those movies, which were usually based on his horror films. However, I did see the TV version of It when it came out in the 1990s, and not only did I watch the TV version for The Stand, but it was filmed on the Main Street of the town I live in and drive past it almost daily.
Those old horror movies didn't do so well with critics, but there were a few good ones, like The Shining. After I turned 17 and was allowed to watch R rated films, I watched The Shawshank Redemption, and not only did I love, it's in my top ten favorite films. I didn't know it at the time, but it was based on a Stephen King short story. A few years later I saw The Green Mile, which is also a favorite of mine, and even though it was a Stephen King story, it was an allegory for Jesus Christ and his ministry and crucifixion. True it was rated R, but if you have seen the film, it's easy to notice the story being similar to the first few books in the New Testament.
Then there some of the action films that were Stephen King stories, and the one I am focusing on here is The Running Man. The Running Man was an Arnold Schwarzenegger action film that is actually pretty terrible, unless you are a huge Arnie fan. After seeing this new updated retelling of the story, I watched a bunch of clips from the 1987 version, and this 2025 "upgrade" does a great job of taking a bad movie and retelling it to make it better and will probably have a longer shelf life since the action and near future special effects that are great. So, what is it about in a nutshell?
There are some twists and turns in the film, so I will tell you the bare minimum. A man named Ben Roberts has a very sick daughter who needs medical attention, but his family is poor and needs to make money to take care of his family. In this near future time, there is a very popular reality show called "The Running Man". They chose three contestants and they are hunted down by professional hunters and regular people. If they survive, they win a billion dollars. Basically, they try to stay alive for 30 days for the money. If not, then a smaller amount will be given to their families. However, the show also pays people for information if they see the contestants, and get a bigger payday if it leads the hunters to kill the contestants. That's all I will talk about.
The film was directed by Edger Wright, who is an awesome director. He as made a lot of films I love like Shawn of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. He was a great sense of what moods each film, and which scenes need to have to work just right. He's one of my favorites.
I had my wife, Lindsey, with me, and we really enjoyed this one. It's exciting, it has some great humor sprinkled into it, and the characters are fun and easy to like. Actor Glen Powell plays Ben Richards and is a lot of fun. There are other actors in the film that are familiar from TV or maybe another film, but not a lot that stood out. Although the premise seems kind of original, well, original for a remake of a movie based on a book by a popular author, but there were a few things and took away from the original factor.
The film has a lot of elements that are just like The Hunger Games, a TV show that everyone watches where contestants fight to be the last standing. Minority Report, the main character is running from everything and everyone and is spotted from here to there and has to fight to escape. Then it also feels almost like a Mission: Impossible movie with lots of stunts and a lot of the main character running a lot. Even though the movie feels familiar, it's actually still very entertaining. The movie is rated R for violence, and there is R rated language. It wasn't constant like in another Stephen King story film that came out two months ago, The Long Walk.
I feel the need to say this; movie theaters are raising prices on their tickets and concessions. Ever since the pandemic, not as many people are going out to theaters to see movies. They like to stay at home and stream them, which I feel goes against film as an art form. I feel movies were meant to be exhibited in theaters, but because they aren't getting as many people buying tickets, they are raising prices to try and make up for the gap, but it's also a dumb idea. I think more people would go out to the movies more often if they weren't so expensive. I am lucky to have a job as a film critic, but when I want to take my family of six to the movies, and we buy popcorn to share and drinks, it costs us at least $110. I feel that is a joke, and I can't blame people for not wanting to go the theaters, even when the films are really good and entertaining.
I feel the urge to invite people back to movie theaters because there isn't another experience for a film to be seen, but I get the prices. So, with that in mind, I just want to say, this film is a fun popcorn action flick with some humor that is legitimately funny, so leave the kiddos at home and go on an adult date night. It isn't exactly original, but it's fun and entertaining enough.
The Running Man is rated: R for violence and language.
