Last night I watched a film about someone from a destitute family, living in a dystopian, authoritarian future, going on a game show where people are killed for sport, in order to help their family. They win the hearts of the common population and ultimately incite a revolution. No, I did not watch The Hunger Games, although I might as well have. I watched Edgar Wright’s latest film, The Running Man, inspired by the 1982 Stephen King novel of the same name. It was a disappointing experience. 

The basic concept of the film is that within this authoritarian world, the one TV station, who basically run the country, have a TV show called The Running Man. On this TV show you go on the run for 30 days, being hunted by everyone, the public, the police and even the shows’ own set of hunters. You win more money the longer you live, and for every hunter you kill. Once you reach 30 days, you win a billion ‘new dollars’ (the currency in the film’s world). 

It is a solid concept that had the potential to bring about a fun movie with some cool action scenes and set pieces. Unfortunately, it fails to be a thrilling experience. They do make up for this slightly, by grounding its protagonist Ben Richards’ (Glen Powell) motivations as fairly realistic and heartwarming. But this is not in line with the marketing, the best stunts and action scenes being shown in the trailer once again. For someone who is being built up as the next Tom Cruise, Powell does not get many heroic stunt feats. 

Up until the ending, it was an enjoyable enough film. Powell offers a good performance of a desperate and angry man who had an honourable streak in a selfish world. Josh Brolin was once again getting under your skin as the villain, this time as he plays an antagonistic TV producer, Dan Killian. And the first couple of rotations of side characters are a good blend of likeable, comedic, and human.

Richards did feel like a fairly passive protagonist, though, not really actively making any decisions, just stumbling through the game, and doing what other people tell him to. Whilst this maybe makes sense at first, as he is overwhelmed with the task at hand, it drags on for too long and gets especially comical. To the point where he stands still whilst being shot at, and miraculously does not get hit. 

It was also disappointing as an Edgar Wright movie. The film lacks his unique style, which it definitely would benefit from. It only emphasises the disappointment, as it is not what you expect from a film with his name attached. It would have allowed for the film to cover a large amount of time without feeling like it skipped over days at a time, which is what ends up happening. It also makes the film feel very generic, and having more of Wright’s famous style could have helped give the film some much needed individual flair and personality. It would also add a more intense and kinetic feeling that would make the film feel more action packed than it is, like Wright does in Hot Fuzz.

Overall, once again, Hollywood has disappointed us with another bland and uninspiring blockbuster. Considering the frequency with which this is happening, it is perhaps our expectations which are too high for the film industry in the present day. Because this is not the first disappointment recently, and it will not be the last. For if a concept like this cannot be executed well, I wonder whether many others can. I have spent too much time thinking “if only” about this film. If you want to know whether to watch The Running Man? Watch The Hunger Games instead. It is much more developed, which hits pretty much all the beats this film does and then some, without feeling rushed or shallow. 

Rating: 2.5/5

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