It is with a heavy heart I write this review of “The Running Man,” a highly anticipated remake/adaption from a filmmaker I generally enjoy and star power I have big stock in. It’s a film that has all of the right ingredients – a strong visual director with a flare for bombastic action, a movie star leading man oozing with magnetic charisma, an over the top knockout cast all doing great things, and a basic framework story built for crowd pleasing entertainment – and somehow manages to mix them together into an inedible charcuterie of disconnected ideas. “The Running Man” should be a no holds barred blast, packed to the brim with action and silly satirical overtones. Instead, it unfolds at a snail’s pace with jarring disconnected tissue and a desperate attempt at political relevancy. It’s Edgar Wright getting lost in the sauce that somehow isn’t even his own, and becomes a major misfire on an otherwise spotless record.
It’s hard to really pinpoint what went wrong with “The Running Man,” as it has so much promise baked into source material and a few moments of fun that mildly entertain. I guess for starters, the film is way too long, stretching out the adapted work far beyond its narrative sustainability. The film feels serialized but without anything glue to connect one piece to the other. It constantly starts and stops with new characters, new ideas, and new plot points that all eventually fizzle out or are outright abandoned as quickly as they’re introduced. It opts to zero in on all of Stephen King‘s worst coke induced tendencies, filling the frame with his worst ideas rather than building on them to be better.
This film has no idea what it wants to be, which is such a bizarre way to approach something so simple and straight forward. Wright is typically adept to big casts with multiple narratives running concurrently, and usually injects his unique visual style ala “Scott Pilgrim vs The World” that bring adaptive works to life.
This film is so concerned with its unrealized ideas that it completely forgets its own world building, dropping us into a dystopian future without any kind of observation or explanation. Sure, we get the gist – class disparity, fascist regime, and corporate exploitation – but those are painted with the broadest of strokes and we are never fully clued in to what kind of world we’re suppose to exist in. Even the kooky, coked out deeply unserious 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger “Running Man” gave more of an established world to operate in, and its so strange to see someone usually dialed into that aspect like Wright to get it all so wrong. I don’t even want a remake, and I think I see the attempt to blend silly satire with serious critical analysis, but Wright’s gets the measurements wrong. The humor is forced, the satire mostly buried, the action is dull and somehow few and far between, and the more serious messaging is so on the nose it feels eye roll inducing.
This is a case where all of the actors are innocent, having a blast and doing everything they can to elevate a bad script and mid execution. Glen Powell is a true movie star, his charisma undeniable and through sheer will power of his own kinetic energy almost forces the film to be watchable. He’s so naturally made for this that you don’t mind spending time with him even when the film seems like its actively trying to dull it all down. He’s never been hotter, and that’s saying a lot considering how hot Powell is. And while Wright struggles to capture nearly everything else here, Powell simply can’t be contained.
Likewise, unhinged Coleman Domingo is always welcomed and Katy O’Brian once again proves she can be the best part of anything with nothing more than a glorified cameo. Josh Brolin is solid as the villain even though he could do the role in his sleep, and despite wearing a mask almost the entire film Lee Pace gives way more than he needs to for a largely thankless role.
There’s plenty of other recognizable faces that randomly appear, including Michael Cera, Emilia Jones, Daniel Ezra, Jayme Lawson, blink and you miss him Sean Hayes and for some inexplicable reason William H. Macy. There’s simply way too much going on for anything to matter, and the film is shockingly light on all the things something like this should deliver. It’s not even a high octane thriller let alone pulse pounding action, everything dialed down to nearly muted levels but thinking of itself as more.
I’ve said it before, but people being hot isn’t enough to make a good movie, and Wright is better than what he delivers here. The spark feels like its died inside of a usually bright filmmaker, and it’s so strange to see him fumble something so solidly in his wheelhouse. You can absolutely be relevant without being insufferable, and somehow Wright doesn’t know the difference. I’m all for dystopian futures that feel eerily present – which “The Running Man” does have in there somewhere – but it has to be a focused blunt instrument instead of a sprawling, disjointed attempt without identity.
With so much going for it – star power, great source material, playful tone and balls to the wall action – it’s disheartening to see it all squandered away. Any momentum is stifled by inexplicable choices and a really messy script. This should honestly be better, and somehow misses the mark at every turn, transforming an otherwise exciting action thriller into a dull, painfully long misfire. Also, the irony of this being a satire of media conglomerates manipulating the public and wielding unchecked power by aligning with fascism being released under the Ellison Paramount/Skydance era is not lost on me and is sadly the funniest joke “The Running Man” has to offer.
I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 Stars
“The Running Man” is in theaters Nov 14th. You can watch the trailer below.
