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The Running Man (2025)

It’s been four years since I last had the joy of watching a new Edgar Wright film at the cinema. The last being 2021’s Last Night in Soho which was my film of the year. This is the fourth Wright film seen at the cinema in the last seven days having enjoyed the Cornetto Trilogy. Technically this is a remake of the book and not the 1987 version so it would be unfair to compare the two. The set-up is that Ben Richards (now played by Glen Powell) goes on The Running Man show to get money to treat his sick daughter. He has to survive 30 days without being caught to win a life changing amount of money and he does the smart thing at first by hiding in a fancy hotel until he is found out.

I haven't read the novel so I don't know what both versions of the film have added or removed but there are plenty of nods to the 1987 version. I liked the Arnie money which features a couple of times and then there is the manipulating TV footage to fool the public which happens just once in the 1987 version but happens multiple times in this version. There is also the scene in the airplane cockpit which felt like a nod.

Glen Powell was very good and it was easy to root for him. Every so often it seems like Hollywood tries to push someone who is the next big thing and Powell is the latest attempt. What will help him is his charisma and the fact that he can act. Unless it turns out he is a MAGA supporter then things will only go up from here. Josh Brolin was a very good Killian. He didn’t quite have the vibe that Richard Dawson had as Damon Killan did in the original but in the context of this film it worked. It seemed like that 1987 version was split into two (maybe as it is in the novel) but it works because Brolin gets to play the soulless TV executive. Colman Domingo was good as Bobby T although I would have liked to see more of him. He does the theatrics that Damon Killan showed in the 1987 version and it's always good to see Domingo in pretty much anything. Katy O’Brian is very good as Laughlin although she deserves more screentime. I have been a fan of hers since seeing her in Love Lies Bleeding and it seems like she is having fun.

The film took a while to get going but I was never bored. Once he is on the run then things do seem to move along. Famous faces pop up to do their thing to aid the plot and Ben. William H Macey plays Bradley who helps give Ben his costumes and then rats him out when he is interrogated. Michael Cera pops up again as Elton and whilst this was never going to be on the level of Scott Pilgrim he does have some good stuff to do. I did chuckle with the idea that they went upstairs just so that they could go down again via the fireman’s pole. Sandra Dickinson pops up as Victoria (Elton’s mother) and has some good moments and this portion of the film was really good because it had comedy and some good action moments. 

I did like the YouTube inspired videos which were there basically to give us exposition but they were quite amusing. That felt like it was an Edgar Wright idea because it feels like it has his energy and style. The thing about the 1987 version is that it did a better job of showing the world not being a nice place, this version seems a bit stylised and doesn’t quite do as good a job of showing the society injustices. We get repeated speeches from Powell showing this but things look too clean except for the scenes where Ben is at home cause that area looks like a dump.

It didn’t feel like an Edgar Wright film. There were some great song choices which made it feel like one of his films and I will buy the soundtrack when it comes out but it didn’t have the flow that something like Hot Fuzz or Baby Driver had. It’s the most un-Edgar Wright film he has ever made. It’s not bad by any stretch of the imagination as I dont think that Edgar Wright could do a terrible film or a badly made film but it’s not one of his best. If you were judging this film on its own merits then it will be enjoyed by most people but if like me you are comparing it to other Edgar Wright films then you will struggle to not be slightly disappointed with it.

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