Director: Edgar Wright
Starring: Glen Powell, William H. Macy, Lee Pace, Michael Cera, Emilia Jones, Daniel Ezra, Jayme Lawson, Sean Hayes, Colman Domingo, and Josh Brolin
Movie Length: 2 hours 13 minutes
What Michael thought: Running Man foregoes subtlety and finesse and instead wields an unyielding sledgehammer, pummeling its audience with many examples of social commentary. The government is the oppressor and media is simply an extension
of their agenda of suppression and total control.
Lead actor Glen Powell exhibits a single note throughout the film, intensity. He
could easily be swapped with someone like Jason Statham and experience would
not be impacted whatsoever. The plot involves Ben Richards, a family man who has
consistently done the right thing by helping his fellow man, only to have it backfire
on his employability. Backed into a financial corner, he opts to try his lot at a
gameshow, assuring his wife that he will not be involving himself in ‘The Running
Man,’ a life-or-death gameshow that is all the rage.
Of course Richards goes in for testing and is off the charts, prompting the film’s
villain, Josh Brolin to coax our hero into joining ‘The Running Man,” leveraging the
man’s family as a catalyst. Unfortunately, Brolin is as one note as Powell (sleazy),
and he chews the scenery as one might expect.
What we’re really missing is the adept hand of director Edgar Wright. His last foray
into the cinema, Last Night in Soho was a stylish, nuanced thriller. If this movie is
missing anything in spades, it’s nuance. Instead, it’s an over-the-top action romp
rife with dark parody (in the same vein as RoboCop.).
While audiences generally side with the network in its criminalization of the show’s
contestants, video footage and Richards’ ability to stay alive begin to sway positive
attention in his direction. There’s something different about him and everyone
wants a piece.
Michael’s rating: 6.5/10. Unfortunately, the flimsy characterization and unbelievable circumstances that our hero conquers makes it difficult to take the film seriously. It’s almost impossible to feel truly vested in Richards as he navigates his way through the maze of
adversaries.
The Running Man is now in theaters.
Are you going to see the movie? Have you already? Feel free to leave a comment below or chat with us on Threads at @theconventioncollective, or Bluesky at @theconcollective.bsky.social
We’re always looking for new writers that are truly passionate about stuff – we give you the review materials, the platform and the support to say what you feel from the heart. If you’d like to write opinion pieces about pop culture topics or reviews, reach out to us using the contact us form.
