A man joins a game show where contestants, allowed to go anywhere in the world, are pursued by "hunters" hired to kill them.
Posted: December 13, 2025
Let me start by saying that I enjoyed The Running Man a lot more than I did Predator: Badlands, which you can read about in my last review. While they’re two very different movies, they’re both sci-fi action films and both are worth checking out. That said, if you’re trying to decide which one to watch first, I’d recommend starting with The Running Man.
If you’ve seen the original The Running Man starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, this new version may be a bit disappointing. A lot of what made the original great has either been changed or removed entirely. This 2025 version once again centers on Ben Richards, now played by Glen Powell, who needs money to help pay for his daughter’s illness. He decides to compete on a game show, and instead of choosing one of the safer options he originally wanted, he’s talked into joining The Running Man, where the grand prize is a billion “New Dollars” – however much that’s supposed to be worth.
While I did like this version for what it was, I feel it dropped the ball in a few areas. The biggest issue for me was the hunters. In the original film, the hunters were actual characters with their own personalities and unique talents. You had Dynamo, Fireball, Buzzsaw, Captain Freedom, and others, each with their own distinct way of killing contestants. In this new version, there are hunters, but they all look the same and nothing really separates them from one another. They’re bland and forgettable, which is disappointing. This was easily the biggest point deduction for me, as those characters were one of the highlights of the original movie.
The second major misstep, in my opinion, was casting Glen Powell as Ben Richards. While I usually enjoy him as an actor, I don’t think he was the right fit for an angry, temperamental character. He comes across as too smiley and too “man-pretty” to convincingly sell that kind of rage. You can tell he’s trying hard, but it just doesn’t fully work. I think someone like Jason Statham, who already has that natural bad-ass vibe, would have been a better choice. Even Michael B. Jordan could have worked well, and considering Richards’ wife was Black, Jordan may have been an even stronger fit.
I also can’t help but comment on Hollywood’s ongoing obsession with making sure every movie includes interracial couples, gays, lesbians, and every other race, ethnicity, or gender imaginable. It’s getting old fast. Just cast the actors who best serve the story and stop worrying so much about checking boxes or catering to audience feelings.
One thing I did really like about this new version is that the story takes place across the entire country instead of being confined to the actual game show set. It makes the movie feel much more open and allows for a wider variety of scenarios. However, the open-world game show concept does introduce a few logical issues. If Ben simply needs to survive for 30 days, it’s hard to believe there aren’t plenty of places he could hide and never be found, even with the requirement to submit a videotape daily to a mailbox. I get it, the Network cheats and uses certain tech to find people, but I’m still convinced there are ways to hide.
That brings me to probably my favorite character in the movie: Elton, played by Michael Cera. He’s supposed to help Ben hide out in an old bunker for the remainder of the show, but due to a gripe he has with the network, things take a very different turn. I won’t spoil what happens, but that entire scene was easily my favorite part of the film – not to mention I think Cera is hilarious in his own quirky way.
I also appreciated that the movie was fairly well-paced. I never felt bored, as there was plenty of action throughout. Some of it is definitely far-fetched and cheesy, but that’s pretty much expected these days. There’s also a towel scene that was clearly included for the women watching. In a real situation like this, there’s no way in hell that someone fighting for their life would let their guard down long enough to take a shower while being hunted. Even if they did, you’d hope they’d at least keep their clothes nearby instead of leaving them in another room down a hallway. It was ridiculous – but sure, why not. At least the women got something out of it. Right?
I’ll wrap this up by saying that I did enjoy The Running Man and I would recommend watching it. This is one of those movies I could ramble on about for quite a while, breaking down all the ups and downs, but I’ll leave it at this. It’s a fun, action-packed sci-fi film, I just wish it followed the original a little more closely.
Overall Verdict: Fun film to watch but don't expect it to follow the 1987 version. A lot of what made the original The Running Man so great was removed or changed, but there are still plenty of similarities.
Posted: January 4, 2026
I will admit I never saw the first Running Man movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger nor did I read the Steven King novel it was based off of. As a result, I didn’t have anything to compare this version to, whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing. I went into it with fresh eyes and a hope that Edgar Wright would direct a good remake.
The story centers around Ben Richards (played by Glen Powell) who reluctantly joins a game show where each contestant has to survive being hunted for 30 days to win a billion “New Dollars.” He decides to compete in order to earn money to buy the medicine needed to help his sick daughter.
Right off the bat I was annoyed with this movie. It opens up with Richards going to his job site to confront his old boss about being fired. He admittedly brings his daughter with him as a deterrent from smashing his boss’s face into the table. Give me a break. For one, Glen Powell is not the type of guy that can pull off this sort of good-guy-with-anger issues sort of personality. It almost felt like they were trying to make him an Adam Sandler character (Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore) but it didn’t work. Also, maybe this is the exact reason he was fired. He never bothered to consider that.
After a discussion with his wife, he decides to go try out for a game show to win money to help pay for his daughters medicine so that his wife doesn’t have to work so much. He more or less promises her he will only audition for one of the less dangerous games and will not audition for The Running Man. However, after about a two minute conversation with the creator of the game show (played by Josh Brolin) he signs on to the Running Man after all. What happened to the other games? Were those no longer an option? The whole set-up just seemed very forced to me when it really didn’t need to. Fortunately, the movie started to get better once the action started.
Once the games begin and he is on the run, the action starts and never really lets up. The movie does a pretty good job of pacing and keeping things moving along, especially considering its run time of 2 hours and 13 minutes. It never really feels like it gets boring, even though the ending left much to be desired.
There were a few things I couldn’t quite figure out, such as why did they have a three person “team” when they each went their own separate ways from the start. Not once did they ever work together to evade capture, and not once do I recall seeing any of the other “teams” in the game. Additionally, it seemed like most of the other contestants were completely clueless as to what this game was, or what the consequences were. They seemed to be there for fun or to party or whatever else. I just think if they realized death was the consequence of losing, none of these other players would have been involved. At one point I think they tried to explain that one of the characters didn’t think it was real until he was already in it which made sense, but what about the other ones? Also, how come some of the flying orbs were only there to film while other orbs had both cameras and machine guns? Seemed very convenient that the machine gun orbs weren’t around all the time.
I agree with Flickman’s review that the highlight of the movie were the scenes with Michael Cera’s character. He added some humor to the situation and when it is revealed he has his entire house booby-trapped Home Alone style, it makes it all the more fun.
Overall I think the biggest issue I had with this movie is that it didn’t quite know what it wanted to be. It has a dark sci-fi thriller premise and they keep it R-rated by having the characters curse a lot, but then they also try to make it light and playful at the same time. I wish they wouldn’t have made it such a Netflix-style colorful action thriller and kept it on the darker side throughout. On the flip side, I did appreciate the parallels to real life with references to AI, masked ICE agents, and big government. Seemed relevant in today’s world despite the story taking place in a future world.
While there is a lot to knock about this movie, it is entertaining nonetheless. If you are just looking for a fun sc-fi action movie, this will satisfy your desire. However, don’t expect anything that will demand a rewatch or stay with you longer than while you watch it. It does have a good cast – special shoutouts to David Zayas and William H. Macy who have small roles but it’s always good to see them on screen.
Overall Verdict: This one borders on an approval score but it just falls a little flat. I would recommend it if you’re looking for a fun action movie but not if you are looking something with a little more depth.
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