The Running Man
November 10th, 2025
MOVIE: THE RUNNING MAN
STARRING: GLEN POWELL, LEE PACE, COLEMAN DOMINGO, JOSH BROLIN
DIRECTED BY: EDGAR WRIGHT
AMovieGuy.com’s RATING: 2 STARS (Out of 4)
RATED: R
RUN TIME: 133 MINUTES
The Running Man begins at the peak of action-movie spectacle before tumbling all the way down. Edgar Wright’s latest project—the newest from the filmmaker behind Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and Baby Driver—embraces the showmanship of Stephen King’s novel and adds a sleek, modern sheen. Unfortunately, the initial thrill quickly collapses into a bleak, dystopian muddle, in a film that wants to say plenty but never finds the courage to commit. The Running Man never comes close to crossing the finish line.
Wright and Michael Becall’s screenplay drops us into a distant future where surveillance is constant, jobs are scarce, and the most popular entertainment is televised murder. Our protagonist, Ben Richards (Glen Powell), is an out-of-work father doing everything he can to keep his family afloat. With his daughter feverish and his wife Sheila (Jayme Lawson) working endless overtime, Richards makes a desperate decision: he volunteers as a contestant on The Running Man, a global game show hosted by the electrifying Bobby T (Colman Domingo, clearly having fun) and engineered by the sinister Dan Killian (Josh Brolin). Survive 30 days of nonstop assassination attempts, and you walk away a billionaire…assuming you walk away at all.
The film’s priority is action, and occasionally Wright delivers- explosions, vehicular chaos, and gunfights give the movie flashes of life. But the sequences are too short and strangely timid, as if the film is afraid of its own punches. That hesitation becomes its biggest flaw. Performance-wise, Powell’s natural charm works against him. Tasked with playing a volatile “girl-dad” with a simmering anger issue, he accomplishes neither. He comes across as a kind, almost breezy presence trying to mimic rage, managing only an uncomfortable half-smile.
For Wright, it’s an especially disappointing outing. Last Night in Soho showcased his knack for blending genres- mixing 1960s Britpop, horror, and dreamlike mania into something distinct. The Running Man, with its talk-to-camera framing and NBC-esque game show aesthetic, hints at influences like Sam Raimi. But those inspirations are buried beneath a rushed, choppy third act that feels assembled in a panic.
Despite its stylish sheen, the film never settles on what it wants to say. The Hunger Games–meets–reality-TV premise is clear enough, and the bloodthirsty audience commentary is familiar territory, but Powell’s Richards is too polished and too mild to believably challenge the system. The film becomes a contradiction, torn between satire and sincerity, between comedy and a critique of capitalism. The tones never cohere. In the end, The Running Man isn’t just uneven; it feels like two films wrestling for control. And neither one wins.
2 STARS
THE RUNNING MAN IS IN THEATERS FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14TH, 2025.
Written by: Leo Brady
