Review: ‘The Running Man’ is Unfortunately Timely

The first line of the plot section of the Wikipedia article on The Running Man novel states, “In 2025, the world’s economy is in shambles, and America has become a totalitarian dystopia.” So, you know, nothing like what’s going on in current times at all.

Published in 1982 under Stephen King’s pseudonym Richard Bachman, it was likely a reaction to game shows like The Gong Show, Truth or Consequences, and Beat the Clock combined with the fallout from the Watergate scandal and the onset of Reaganomics.

It was turned into a movie in 1987, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Richard Dawson (best known as the host of Family Feud from 1976 – 1985), which … was not a big hit with audiences or critics. (Although Dawson, IMHO, steals the damn movie.) It has a 51% on Rotten Tomatoes (61% from the audience), and I have to wonder how much of that is due to nostalgia. My wife, who is a fan of the novel, definitely has Thoughts ™ about it.

So, when Paramount announced that there would be a remake, there was definite hesitation from many people. (Although to be fair, I like the idea of trying to remake not-so-great films rather than redoing classics.) The selling point for me was that, as a fan of The Cornetto Trilogy, it was co-written and directed by Edgar Wright.

It starts out with Ben Richards (Glenn Powell) dealing with his baby being deathly sick from the flu. He lives in the slums, and his wife Sheila (Jayme Lawson) works triple shifts as a hostess. He can’t get a job due to being blacklisted for various reasons.

In an attempt to raise some cash, Richards goes to the network to try out to be on one of the many, MANY humiliating game shows that are broadcast. (I’m actually a little surprised there wasn’t a nod to Idiocracy’s ‘Ow, My Balls’.) I’m sure people who have been on shows like Survivor, The Challenge, and Game Changer can relate to how low a person is willing to go for money and fame. Despite promising his wife (and himself) he won’t go on The Running Man, it is the only show offered to him.

The rest of the movie, for the most part, is watching Richards try to escape being killed by either the official hunters or by fellow citizens, ‘aided’ in part by the game’s host Bobby T (Colman Domingo) and the network head Dan Killian (Josh Brolin) – who will do pretty much anything to make sure the game gets ratings, including falsifying videos that show what’s really going on.

Additionally, the network pretty much owns everything (again, totally not like today’s world), and so he has few choices for places to go and people to trust.

The movie is action-packed with a breakneck pace. There is barely breathing room in Powell’s performance, with the quiet breaks from running getting shorter as the movie continues. Richards is a reluctant hero who isn’t exactly likable. He’s angry and stubborn, mad at the world and that he has to exist in it. Powell does a great job of teetering from intensity to exhaustion, and you can’t help but root for him.

The novel and movie aren’t just a critique of society’s structure, but a commentary on humankind overall. As Richards’ run starts, outside of initial support from his black market contact Molie (played with warmth by William H. Macy), no one he runs into is willing to help and are more likely to turn him in for the reward. It shows that when people are scared, tired, and poor, their morals tend to become extremely flexible.

There are some Easter eggs: the money shown has Schwarzenegger on it (made even more ironic considering his dive into politics), and at one point, Richards goes to Derry, Maine (making me wonder if that means it’s canonically in the same universe as IT). I admit I was a bit surprised that King himself didn’t get a cameo, as he seems to really enjoy doing that in movies based on his works.

My only major complaint is a typical one for me. Wright is another director who apparently needs to be introduced to the Bechdel-Wallace test. The movie has five women with speaking parts (a few more, if you count the two seconds where he buys train tickets and the various showings of The Americano, a very obvious nod to The Kardashians), and their total dialogue amounts to maybe 10 minutes (and most of it is Emilia Jones’ Amelia Williams). They also tend to fall into the three female character tropes: moms, wives/girlfriends, and the plucky girl.

The movie flew past for me, not feeling at all the 2 hours, 13 minutes IMDb puts it at. There were many times I did the ‘yes’ fist bump at Richards’ actions, and for the most part, his choices (and the choices of the other characters) made sense and didn’t make me want to tear my hair out in frustration. I also have to give a shout-out to Michael Cera, an actor I don’t particularly care for, becoming my favorite side character. And whoever came up with having Sandra Dickenson in this movie deserves a big fat kiss.

If you like action and rooting for the underdog, it’s worth tuning in. And if you get any ideas from it, even better. The Running Man opened this weekend and is playing at a theatre near you. For more information, visit the official website.

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Author: Angie Fiedler Sutton

Angie Fiedler Sutton is a writer, podcaster, and all-round fangirl geek. She has been published in Den of Geek, Stage Directions, LA Weekly, The Mary Sue, and others. She also produces her own podcast, Contents May Vary, where she interviews geeky people about geeky things. You can see all her work (and social media channels) at angiefsutton.com.

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