Here we are again… I’m reviewing a film I recently had the pleasure of watching with my wife. While I don’t consider myself to be a film critic in the traditional sense, I tend to review certain films that have a connection to me in some way. Either a reboot or remake of something that triggers nostalgia, or that rewrites a story that has long sat as a classic… This brings me to today’s review, although I don’t know if I would classify the original as a “classic,” per se. But I certainly remember enjoying it when it came out. I’m talking about The Running Man. The original movie, which was released in 1987, is a dystopian action film that’s based on a book written by Stephen King. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, it follows the story of a wrongfully-convicted police officer who gets convicted and is offered a chance at freedom by starring in a reality show where convicts are hunted by killers. The show in question is, of course, called “The Running Man.”
The original boasted the kind of cheesy, pre-1990’s action that one would expect to see, and is slightly different from the kind of action film that’s Schwarzenegger would star in, with the likes of Commando, Predator and Raw Deal, all of which came out around the same time. But the action was sound and the kill scenes quite prominent. Although my memory is a touch hazy (considering I was 9 years old at the time and haven’t watched the film since then), I remember enjoying it and thinking it was a good movie. I remember how, at the time, my father told me I couldn’t watch it because it was too violent and not suited for my age. But once everyone was asleep and my father was alone in the living room, I may or may not have gotten up to watch with him on the a simple promise of “don’t tell your mother.” Ah, the 80’s… How I miss you…
But moving on to the modern, remade version. Released in 2025 and just recently on streaming platforms, I had the pleasure of watching this remake with my wife last weekend. Much like the original, the movie’s protagonist is named Ben Richards. No big change there. The premise still includes Ben being on a show called The Running Man and hunted by vicious and merciless hunters. This version stars Glen Powell as the main character, who appears to have significant anger issues (call back to yesterday’s post), which often gets him in trouble. Unemployed and despondent, he “volunteers” to be on The Running Man in order to win the prize money to help save his daughter, who is ill and requires treatment. The differences between the two versions is that Ben is able to travel essentially anywhere on the globe to escape, where the original was contained within the television show’s arena. The original involved convicts being hunted by killers, where the remake sees down on their luck citizens volunteering and being hunted by what has effectively become the country’s federal militant law enforcement.
The film provides some solid action scenes, some comic relief and a solid story line. I especially enjoyed seeing Michael Cera playing something other than an awkward, nerdy teenager who doesn’t get the girl. Although, being the grown anarchist still living with his mom may not be much better. But it was funny nonetheless. Throughout the film, various tactics are used by the protagonist that I don’t seeing in the previous version, such as hiding out in bunkers, using disguises and alternate identities and some cunning and planning. It’s a clear attempt at trying to modernize the concept for an age where people dissect and analyze every detail of a movie, instead of just watching it and enjoying the ride. Which is fine. Although I did indicate spoilers in this post, I won’t ruin the ending for anyone planning on watching the film but I enjoyed it quite a bit. Since I usually spend a fair bit of my time binge-watching series, a good action movie is a welcome change every once in a while. If you’re looking for some mindless action and gratuitous violence mixed in, The Running Man may just be a good weekend watch for you. ☯️
The Blogging Buddhist 