THE RUNNING MAN
2025 was the year of Stephen King adaptations with IT: Welcome to Derry, The Monkey, The Life of Chuck, The Long Walk, and The Running Man from writer director Edgar Wright. You better believe I had to add it to my collection as King is my favorite author. Paramount Home Entertainment and Alliance Entertainment have released it on a new 4K, Blu-Ray edition as well as a Blu-Ray and 4K SteelBook for collectors.
Stephen King published The Running Man in 1982 under his pseudonym Richard Bachman. The story was originally set in 2025 and felt like a dystopian futuristic outlook on the desperation of man in the name of survival. The new film doesn’t claim to be set in 2025, but it now feels all too realistic compared to how it must have felt in 1982. Glen Powell stars as Ben Richards who is unemployed and desperate to bring more money into his home to provide for his wife and sick daughter. He signs up to compete in a reality competition game show called “The Running Man.” It’s the hardest, deadliest game on the network, but the prize is $1 Billion dollars. There are different rules and penalties along the way that he must abide by. There are camera drones and hunters tracking him down, but if he survives, he will win the prize money. Colman Domingo stars as Bobby T, the flashy host of the show, and Josh Brolin plays Dan Killian, the TV exec at the station calling all the shots.
Edgar Wright did an admirable job of bringing Stephen King’s story to life making it feel urgent and relevant to the 2025 of today. He’s a massive Stephen King fan, so there’s an element of sticking truthfully to the source material as best as possible given the shift in medium. One of the main reasons why this film works is Glen Powell. He makes for a great “everyman” that is relatable and knows how to be of service to the story. He’s great donning disguises and can easily handle the action sequences. There are plenty given the nature of “The Running Man” and Wright keeps this a high energy, fast paced ride. It does become longing than needed at 2 hours and 15 minutes, but that’s a minor squabble.
SPECIAL FEATURES
-Commentary by Writer/Director Edgar Wright, Glen Powell, and writer Michael Bacall
-The Hunt Begins
-The Hunters And the Hunted
-Welcome to The Running Man: Designing the World
-Surviving The Game: Shooting The Running Man
–The Running Man Commercials
–The Running Man Show
-The Runners – Self Tapes
AND MUCH MUCH MORE!
Here’s a video I made for TIkTok
Here’s my original review
