The Running Man (2025): Movie Review

The Running Man starts with a man named Ben Richards (Glen Powell) begging for his old job back after he was let go. He is in a desperate financial situation because his daughter is very sick and he and his wife need to get her medicine. He decides to go to the Network building and try out for a game show on television so he can win some money. He ends up qualifying to be a runner on The Running Man, a position he really didn't want as it puts his life on the line for 30 days. The head of the Network, Dan Killian (Josh Brolin) convinces him to compete and The Running Man gameshow starts. Ben has various disguises and stays in various places trying to evade the Hunters for 30 days. In one instance, he is in a run-down hotel where the Hunters are able to find him. The Hunters try to kill him, but Ben manages to escape by blowing up the hotel and going through the sewers. His ability to evade the Hunters prompts people around the country to back Ben by spreading the saying, "Richards Lives." As he runs for his life, he runs into Elton Parrakis (Michael Cera), who looks at Ben as a spark to ignite a revolution amongst the common people against the Network. While Ben just wants the money for his family, Elton pushes him to realize that he can stand for something greater. The Hunters figure out where Ben and Elton are, and as they escape, they kill Elton. Ben blows up a bridge, escaping the Hunters again, and starts to make his way towards a highway. Here is when the movie slows down quite a bit. Ben breaks into a car and holds a girl hostage as Killian is trying to strike a deal with him. Ben bluffs that he is holding an explosive and demands to be given a jet and a flight to the Canadian border. Killian tells Ben that they know he's bluffing and that if he essentially wants to come out alive, he needs to kill the 5 Hunters on board the jet, allowing him to become a Hunter for the Network on the next season of The Running Man. To get Ben to do this, Killian shows him doctored footage of the Hunters killing his family, throwing Ben into a rage. Ben kills the Hunters onboard, but still refuses to take the offer. Killian directs the jet into the Network building, showcasing Ben as a type of terrorist, and blows it up before it can actually reach, showcasing the Network as the good guys. It is found out that Ben actually escaped, reunited with his family, and stoked the flames of a revolution. The end scene is a riot breaking out in the Network building as the new season of The Running Man is starting, with Ben coming out of the crowd and shooting Killian.

The intro to the movie, from him begging to his job to getting a spot on The Running Man takes all of about 20 minutes of a 2 hour and 13 minute movie. It speeds through the intro setting up the main characters and motivations so the audience can get to the fun part of him participating in The Running Man, which I was very happy about. It keeps the energy up all the way until the highway scene where the movie slows down really hard. A lot of the ending only happened because the Network is all powerful and can just control everything. They are constantly giving Ben the illusion of a choice, only to say that it doesn't matter because this is what's going to happen anyway. Another issue with the ending is the movie sets up a big reveal of who the mysterious Evan McCone (Lee Pace), but nothing is set up for the reveal. Throughout the movie, he's just a masked Hunter, seemingly the leader of the group. The movie makes a big point at the end to take off the mask as if it's showcasing a character that we had seen or knew of, but it just falls short. Instead, I was left wondering if I was missing something, only for it to be later revealed that this person is the man who survived 29 days in the very first season of The Running Man. This person is mentioned a couple of times throughout the movie, but nothing is hinting at connecting the two until it is outright explained. Because of this, shaving about 15-20 minutes from the movie and tightening the ending would have gone a long way in making this movie better.

I would have rather had a movie where the entire point is just to survive the game. The highway scene and onward makes Ben stand for more than just his family, which is overall fine, but it takes away from the fun and fast-paced action that had occurred. I would have rather Ben just win in a final fight of some sorts with the Hunters so he can claim victory after the 30 days are up, essentially beating the Network anyway. I have not read the book by Stephen King, so this may be the ending of the book too, but the movie just took the fun out of it for me for the last 35 or so minutes.

I'm not too familiar with Glen Powell, but he was entertaining and held my attention, along with his supporting cast Michael Cera and Josh Brolin. Michael Cera as Elton was hilarious and it was really fun seeing him go through his booby traps when evading the police and Hunters.

Cinematically, the movie is very fast paced. The sequence where he kills the five Hunters at the end on the jet is shot well and gives the audience more of what they want to see regardless of the problems overall with the final act.

Overall, I'd say this movie is about a 7/10. The movie didn't have to be as long as it was and could have been a more succinct 2 hour movie. The ending, too, drags it down along with some questionable character setups and filming choices. (like the "big reveal" of who McCone was). Even though it's not one of Edgar Wright's strongest movies, it was still a fun action movie to go see and enjoy some popcorn.