The Running Man

2025

Action / Adventure / Sci-Fi / Thriller

89
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Certified Fresh 62% · 295 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 78% · 2.5K ratings
IMDb Rating 6.4/10 10 80301 80.3K

based on novel or book affectation dark comedy survival on the run biting

Director

Edgar Wright Photo
Edgar Wright

Top cast

Josh Brolin Photo
Josh Brolin as Dan Killian
Glen Powell Photo
Glen Powell as Ben Richards
Henry Miller Photo
Henry Miller as YVA Patron
William H. Macy Photo
William H. Macy as Molie
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB 1080p.WEB.x265 2160p.WEB.x265
1.22 GB
1280*534
English 2.0
R
Subtitles us  cz  dk  de  es  fi  fr  in  hu  it  nn  pt  ro  sv  
23.976 fps
2 hr 16 min
Seeds 100+
2.52 GB
1920*800
English 5.1
R
Subtitles us  cz  dk  de  es  fi  fr  in  hu  it  nn  pt  ro  sv  
23.976 fps
2 hr 16 min
Seeds 100+
2.28 GB
1920*800
English 5.1
R
Subtitles us  cz  dk  de  es  fi  fr  in  hu  it  nn  pt  ro  sv  
23.976 fps
2 hr 16 min
Seeds ...
6.09 GB
3840*1600
English 5.1
R
Subtitles us  cz  dk  de  es  fi  fr  in  hu  it  nn  pt  ro  sv  
23.976 fps
2 hr 16 min
Seeds 100+

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by Blimplarg 6 / 10

Entertaining - but with a lazy, irritating end

This is, for 90% of the film, entertaining stuff, but without spoilers, why oh why do so many films feel the need to make endings so poor? I appreciate that for a lot of viewers good v bad is a pure binary, and that an ending has to be clear - but it makes for poor story telling. I think I am part of the target audience for this film, but I wish the film makers would credit us with being able to deal with nuance and ambiguity. The ending felt ridiculously contrived and, almost, abbreviated - for me it undermined what was a rollicking, fun, action film.Having said all of that, it worth saying I'd still recommend this movie, Glen Powell clearly has fun in the title role. I saw the original when it came out in the late 80's - and this version is nothing like the original, other than very superficially. This film does, however, have a number of references to the first version - not least the picture of Arnold on the currency.This is well Directed, if somewhat predictable and cliched. The action is unrelenting, and enjoyable. The script doesn't get in the way. Inevitably, one can look at the current state of politics and transpose this dystopian story onto current events - there did appear to be a deliberate slant in this film.An entertaining movie - mostly.
Reviewed by fabiolpinheiro1993 5 / 10

It's a painfully wasted opportunity that could-and should-have been so much more.

The Running Man had everything it needed to become an unforgettable remake for a new era: a superb director with an enviable track record in Edgar Wright, a unique premise based on a Stephen King novel, an iconic 80s adaptation starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, a huge budget, and a charismatic lead in Glen Powell.Yet somehow, it ended up becoming the most generic, bland-looking adaptation imaginable-something that could easily pass for yet another forgettable Netflix action movie.Despite its premise being more relevant than ever in today's society, the film squanders every opportunity. Instead of leaning into its unsettling themes, it delivers a shallow, almost childish message. The story steadily loses steam scene by scene, drifting into randomness and culminating in a terrible third act that strips away any real stakes or emotional resonance, all in favor of a cliché happy ending clearly aiming to set up a sequel that will never happen.The visuals and action sequences are equally uninspired. They're entertaining, sure, but they have none of the flair, wit, or creativity that define Edgar Wright's style. Ironically, the film's entertainment value rests almost entirely on Glen Powell's shoulders-he brings energy and charisma despite a script that gives him little to work with.In the end, The Running Man is an entertaining enough popcorn flick, but it leaves absolutely no impact. It's a painfully wasted opportunity that could-and should-have been so much more.
Reviewed by jansrw 6 / 10

Solid, but surprisingly average...

The movie is definitely not a disaster. You're not sitting there thinking "wow, what a trainwreck." The action hits, a few set pieces are genuinely exciting, and technically the movie is solid. But by the time the credits roll, it all feels surprisingly generic, especially considering who directed it.Edgar Wright is usually a guy with a really recognizable style; very sharp editing, playful visual flair, a real sense of personality. But here it honestly feels like the studio sanded most of that off. The whole thing comes across weirdly safe and standard, like a "we don't want to scare anyone" studio project. If his name wasn't on it, I'm not sure you'd even guess it was him. It feels more like work-for-hire than something he was burning to make.The good stuff first: when the movie goes into full action mode, it works. The chases and fights are shot clearly, you can tell what's going on, there's some good impact, and it's rarely boring while bullets are flying. The other big positive is Glenn Powell as Ben Richards. He really carries the film. He sells that mix of desperate dad who just wants to save his family and slightly unhinged guy who actually stands a chance in this rigged death game. You do end up wanting him to make it through and at the same time enjoy watching him tear into the hunters and this messed-up system.The world itself is also cool in theory: a dystopian future where a media mega-corporation basically runs the country, a show called 'The Running Man' where three contestants are turned into public enemies through AI-generated videos and propaganda so the whole world hates them and wants them dead, and they're hunted by both regular citizens and professional killers. If they survive a month, they get a billion dollars and a new life. Ben signs up because his daughter is sick, he got blacklisted from every job for trying to do the right thing, and now he can't even afford basic medicine. The media/propaganda angle is not subtle at all - it's very on-the-nose; but that's fine, the concept can handle being blunt.On top of that, the tone is all over the place. The world they're showing here really calls for a more serious, heavier approach: poverty, desperation, public executions as entertainment, a father throwing himself into a death show to save his kid... it's dark stuff. But the movie keeps dropping in jokes and light banter. It's not full-on Marvel quip spam, but it's enough to keep undercutting the seriousness. And the problem is, most of the jokes aren't even that funny.You can also feel the strain of trying to stay closer to the Stephen King book. On paper that's a smart move and it definitely has nothing to do with the cheesy 80s Schwarzenegger version beyond the basic premise. But on screen it sometimes plays like they tried to cram in as many book elements as possible without giving them enough time to breathe. That leads to some bloat, weird pacing, and a general sense of "there's a better, tighter version of this story hiding in here somewhere."As a straightforward action movie, it's watchable and even pretty fun in parts. You get good action, a strong lead performance, and an interesting world that's at least engaging on a surface level. But if you walk in expecting a new Edgar Wright classic, you're almost guaranteed to walk out disappointed. As a random action flick, it's "okay to good." As an Edgar Wright movie, it's firmly on the weaker end of his filmography. For me, it is entertaining enough for one viewing, but nowhere near as good as it could've been.
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