The Running Man (2025)

In a fractured future gripped by media tyrants, everyman Ben Richards (Glen Powell) dives into the lethal lottery of “The Running Man,” chasing a fortune amid an endless and deadly pursuit. Shadows of deceit and desperate pacts ignite a chase that shatters illusions, hurtling toward chaos and uprising.

The Running Man Mini-Review

The Running Man (2025) is a rare example in which toning down the source material’s socio-political commentary in the hopes of pleasing everyone ends up pleasing no one. Painfully generic, with little to say and less to show, Glenn Powell’s version lacks the personality of Schwarzenegger’s campfest or the intended poignancy of Stephen King’s original.

                   

“Soulless” is the epithet that’s been chasing 2025’s it across the Twittersphere since its release last week. However, that’s not an entirely fair assessment. Yes, it lacks a strong central ethos, and its (literally) faceless, interchangeable, and utterly mundane villains are underwhelming, but Glen Powell’s charisma and clear passion for the project, as well as the occasional glimpses of Edgar Wright’s style are just barely sufficient to cobble together enough entertaining moments to get you through to the end feeling, maybe not satisfied, but minimally entertained. It’s not a theater-worthy flick, or even worth renting, but once The Running Man hits your preferred streaming service in a couple of months, it’s probably worth a lazy Saturday afternoon watch.

Running Man 2025 is no different than the Total Recall and Robocop remakes, soulless. Which is disappointing because I love Edgar Wright’s earlier work. He was simply a hired gun on this. It only had brief moments of his style.
Yes, it’s closer to the book than Arnold’s Running… pic.twitter.com/CR0XvfLzk7

— Nerdrotic (@Nerdrotics) November 14, 2025

As the film is rather empty otherwise, Glen Powell deserves most of what praise can be laid upon The Running Man. His Ben Richards might only be a grumpy character sketch, but Powell is one of a handful of actors working today who have the X-factor that would have launched him into superstardom just a few decades ago. Unfortunately, there just don’t seem to be those behind the camera or in the writing room who have what it takes to craft fun and thoughtful action-adventure anymore. So, Powell keeps missing the mark by inches.

The Running Man is a moderately well-paced, tragically underdeveloped stock action flick that doesn’t know what its overall message is, or what it wants to be when it grows up.

WOKE REPORT

Too Messy For Messaging

• Stephen King’s original novel may have been a scathing social critique, but despite sharing many of its broad themes, Edgar Wright’s film lacks the depth for any commentary to truly land. The media manipulation and corporate-run government elements, etc., feel perfunctory rather than poignant—needed elements to carry an action film rather than pregnant with meaning. As a result, while some of the following progressive touches might normally push our Woke-O-Meter score higher, here they carry little to no real weight.

Target Commercial Family

• In the original book, both the lead character and his wife are white, as is their daughter. However, both the wife and the daughter were portrayed as black in this film. It’s worthy of little more than an eye roll, as their race has nothing to do with the narrative.
  • It is noteworthy that the film is very pro-family, with Glen Powell’s character portrayed as a loving and brave husband and father, and his wife as supportive and encouraging.

Other DEI

• In the original, the blackness of the family that helps the main character, the Bradley family, is meant as social commentary on real-life disparity. However, it’s far less prominent in the film, and there’s nothing notable about the racial makeup of the impoverished.
  • If memory serves, the few times the wealthiest elite are shown en masse, they are primarily, if not exclusively, white, but it had so little impact that I can’t even recall for certain.
  • Also, one of the film’s main scumbags is black. Though you could argue that he’s portrayed slightly more favorably at the end than his white counterpart. However, I think you’d really have to be trying hard to do so.

Cocktail Lesbian

• Hollywood’s new favorite token butch lesbian, Katy O’Brian, plays a very tiny, very masculine role—just enough to satisfy the filmmakers’ desire to congratulate themselves on their progressiveness and to roll your eyes around your head once or twice. At least they use the proper gendered pronouns (she/her) to refer to her.