Lights, camera, action – The Running Man is perhaps going to be the first TV show to win an Oscar. Directed by Edgar Wright and based on the 1982 novel by Stephen King, it follows Ben Richards, played by Glen Powell, as he becomes a contestant for the reality TV show, The Running Man. As someone who grew up with The Hunger Games, watched Squid Game before it went viral, and enjoyed 2019’s Alita: Battle Angel, The Running Man intensifies the action up to 11, keeping you on the edge of your seat like you’re actually watching the show.
The Running Man takes place in a dystopian America, where Ben Richards couldn’t find work to get his daughter medicine because he was blacklisted. Out of options, he decides to try out for any Game TV show the Network broadcasts, but is chosen to compete in The Running Man, a reality TV show where you need to survie 30 days without getting caught by hunters. Once you’re caught, you’re dead. The Executive Producer, Dan Killan (Josh Brolin), encourages Ben to participate, saying that each day he survives, he can provide money for his wife, Sheila (Jayme Lawson), and his daughter.
The monent the show begins, Ben Richards immediately gets villianized. The show’s host, Bobby (Colman Domingo) would describe him and his wife in a vile way to the point where it’s far from the truth. In reality, they’re just working class people trying to make ends meet. As the show progresses, the backstory of this corrupt society begins to unravel, revealing how far the Network is willing to edit, lie, and manipulate just for views and to hide the truth. It is insane how advanced the voice/dialogue editing technology is in this universe because they can make you say anything and change your facial expressions, and there is no hint that it was AI-generated or edited. They can even create promo ads without you being in the same room when they film. It’s just automatically ready at the network’s disposal.
Eventually, Ben’s progress in The Running Man slowly turns him into a symbol of hope as he begins to gain allies and change people’s minds. But at the same time, his popularity becomes a double-edged sword for the Network. His constant wins increase viewership and ratings, but Ben is also a wildcard they need to try to control.
What’s great about The Running Man is that, despite its development since 2017 and its 2021 greenlight, the story feels relevant to what’s going on today. Media manipulation, class divide, corrupt government, how easy it is to villainise someone, the whole story is something that needs to be addressed in this climate. You’d think whatever is going on in The Running Man and how the reality TV show is manipulated might be exaggerated, but it happens in real life. It also happens on YouTube, like when Rosanna Pansino called out MrBeast for editing her out in the Creator Games.
The details and creative design in The Running Man are also mindblowing, from the music, props, and location to the character design. It felt familiar to that Black Mirror episode, “Fifteen Million Merits,” and to the themes in The Hunger Games: The Sunrise on the Reaping. But since The Running Man book came out first, it feels like Stephen King was the brainchild of what makes these reality TV dystopian stories great. Out of all the characters in the movie, Colman Domingo’s performance as Bobby T has to be my favourite. He’s more charismatic when compared to other MCs and Game Masters and I wish I’d see that in real life Reality TV, not just in the movies.
While The Running Man was a great film, the ending felt rushed. But the film needed a final ending to tie up loose ends. I wish it had been executed better, especially since the scene before it felt like information and explanation were being spoonfed to the audience rather than having them think or theorise how it was possible. Everything else is very emotional, really gets you thinking.
The Running Man is a film worth watching, especially if you’re into dystopian stories set in a corrupt reality TV show. It’s a must-watch, as while many love The Hunger Games, Squid Game, Black Mirror, etc., the book this film is based on predates all of them. It’s a life-and-death reality TV show that will keep you on the edge of your seat, wanting to know what happens next, and make you question whether big network companies have the power to manipulate people or whether the people can decide who they want to be influenced by.
Rating: 4/5
The Running Man is very action packed and makes you appreciate the Reality TV dystopias that have come after it since the Stephen King novel was first released. While the ending felt rushed, everything else has you sitting at the edge of your seat as you watch an every day man become a symbol of hope.
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