A Geeky Guy's Guide To The Running Man (2025)
I have mentioned before that I am not exactly an avid reader. However, back in college I worked in a shoe store in a mall that was completely dead. I think I might have gotten one customer per night. If I didn't know better, I would have been convinced it were a drug front. But no IT was just a Dead Zone. Sometimes I would combat my Rage and boredom by hanging out with my friends Christine and Carrie. To fight off my Misery, I would read. I'd also read if I were suffering from Insomnia. One of my favorite things to read back then was anything by Stephen King... or Richard Bachman. Oh wait. that is the same person. Maybe one is the Dark Half.
Although I loved just about everything I read by King, the Bachman books always had a special place in my heart. I felt I was so cool that I knew these books were actually written by Stephen King. My two favorite stories out of the four story compilation were The Long Walk and The Running Man. When the Running Man movie came out in 1987, I rushed out to see it. Although I was extremely disappointed that it was nothing like the book, I enjoyed it for the silly action movie that it was. It didn't hurt that a techno band called Messiah used a bunch of samples from the movie in a few of their songs. But I was always a bit bummed that I would never get to see a version that was more true to the book. Then I read The Hunger Games. Although I thoroughly enjoyed The Hunger Games, it was a flat out ripoff of the Running Man and the Chinese movie Battle Royale. When they made the Hunger Games movies, I was sure I'd never see the real Running Man as everyone would just argue it was a ripoff of Hunger Games (even though I knew it was the other way around).
So when I saw an preview for an actual Running Man movie, I was psyched. When I saw it was being made by Edgar Wright, I flat out lost my mind. I could not wait to see it.
Although I did enjoy my movie going experience, I didn't love this version either. While it did stay more true to the book with it taking place over multiple days across a large city, it seemed to stray too much from the source material. For the first, 90 minutes, I was thoroughly entertained. There was action, humor, and Wright's signature use of music to helps tell the story. We got to meet some fun characters and really started to root for Ben Richards played by Glen Powell. They never let us forget why Richards had risked his life to be on this futuristic game show. If it had just kept on this fun path, I really would have enjoyed it.
But in the third act, the movie kind of lost its way. It got a little too convoluted. It is almost as if they weren't sure how they wanted to end the movie. Should they just play out the game show to its conclusion? Should they make Richards fight a bigger battle against society? They decided to do both... and neither. They also introduced some new characters at the end of the movie that did not seem to fit. Perhaps there were some scenes with them cut from the movie. Or perhaps they just rushed it. Either way, that part wasn't great.
Overall, the movie was incredibly entertaining. I got to see some action sequences that I had never seen before. That is very hard to do as I have seen a ton of action movies. Some will say it is not as good as the original movie. Some may like it more. But for me, I just liked it... differently.
My absolute favorite part of the movie was the Easter egg hunt that takes place throughout the film/. There are TONS of references to Stephen King books and movies. If you are a King fan, pay attention to the names of characters, contestants, stores and locations. I assure you that you won't mind this Revival.
Your “I just liked it… differently” line is so relatable . There are movies I didn’t love or hate, but they still stayed in my mind in a unique way , and I appreciate them for that.
Yeah well historically movies out of books always disappoint the book readers 😄 how how good it might be it always changes stuff compared to original story... War of the worlds is an other example... I recently watched 'the electric state', it was a good movie for me, but critics killed it because too different than book (I didn't read the book)
Another good review I do like light hearted action movies. Especially ones that Stephen king has written. One of my favourite movies from his books is the shawkshank redemption. I will certainly give the running man a try.
I loved The Shawshank Redemption, one of very few movies I kept when I closed my video store. The Green Mile, Steel Magnolias, Fried Green Tomatoes didn't make the sell list.
Hey sorry to hear about your video store. Yeah the shawshank redemption is in my top 10 movies.
I have never seen the other movies you mentioned. I think I may start with The Green Mile and give it a try.
Wow, I had no idea Stephen King wrote The Running Man. I recently rewatched the 80s one with Arnold, and enjoyed it despite it being cheesy. I would have never guessed it was based on a Stephen King novel though, as I did not know he wrote any sci-fi stories. I am curious to check this one out just to see what kind of movie it is, despite the flaws you pointed out. The story seems interesting enough for me to want to at least give it a chance.
I've actually never read a single Stephen King book in my life. I have seen a couple of the movies, but I guess since I am not a huge reader they just never appealed to me. I remember the first movie sort of. It's funny because that is on that they don't continuously play on cable TV like some of his other ones. Commando doesn't get as much love as it should either. What I would really love to see on TV again are the old Missing in Action and Delta Force movies with Chuck Norris. Those were so good :) Needless to say, I had no idea Running Man was a King creation. I am curious about the book now that you brought it up. My wife had me read the Hunger Games books and I didn't hate those.
I just watched Delta Force again this summer. Saw that one in the theater. I am not a big reader either but Kings style really clicked with me.
Did it age well or were there some parts that were kind of cringe? I think Chuck was always pretty wholesome, but the 80's were a much different time!
Oh man there were some serious cringe parts. It was also a lot longer than I remembered.
I guess that doesn't surprise me.
I haven't seen the first one, but this one looks great. Thanks for sharing.
I agree completely with you. I noticed the references too, names of places and towns, etc. But it was just okay for me, I wished it was better.
The original one is so iconic.
I'm kinda skeptic about this new one. However, I'm going to watch it anyway.
I can understand why the changes from the original story feel a bit strange, but it’s good to hear that the action and Stephen King Easter eggs still made it fun to watch. Sounds like an entertaining film even with its flaws.
Let's just say I'm not a huge fan of reading or film in general, but if you, being a passionate viewer, really enjoy these movies, they're an excellent reference point. So, as time allows, I'll surely be able to enjoy what you share in your post.