Shadows on the Wall | The Running Man

The Running Man

dir Edgar Wright
scr Michael Bacall, Edgar Wright
prd Simon Kinberg, Edgar Wright, Nira Park
with Glen Powell, Josh Brolin, Colman Domingo, Emilia Jones, Lee Pace, Michael Cera, Jayme Lawson, William H Macy, Katy O'Brian, Martin Herlihy, Karl Glusman, Daniel Ezra, Angelo Gray
release US/UK 14.Nov.25
25/UK Paramount 2h13

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Edgar Wright packs witty gags, knowing references and gung-ho mayhem throughout this propulsive action-romp remake. Thankfully, this keeps the pace from dragging, even with the epic running time and anecdotal structure. But as entertaining as the movie is, there's not much to it, aside from simplistic family-values emotional kicks and the generic political issues inherent in a story set in a future dystopia controlled by a ratings-hungry media.

In an America ruled by trash television, Ben (Powell) struggles to support his wife (Lawson) and daughter, so he auditions for several game shows. He lands a spot in The Running Man, hosted by the charismatic Bobby (Domingo), in which he must simply survive for 30 days while being chased by ruthless hunters who are assisted by the general populace. As Ben runs, he's helped by an old-style tech guru (Macy), rebel activist (Cera) and others, then teams up with Amelia (Jones) when he hijacks her car. But producer Dan (Brolin) is pulling the strings.

Enjoyably whizzy visual flourishes replace novelist Stephen King's character detail, as everything is explained with movie shorthand to make room for more mayhem. And Ben barely catches breath before the brutal lead hunter McCone (Pace) catches up with him. All of this is expertly staged with clever location shoots (mainly London and Glasgow), action choreography and effects work, plus Wright's mischievously inventive nuttiness, which continually elicits gasps and laughter.

Powell adds his considerable full-bodied magnetism as a guy who does everything by the seat of his pants. At one point he's scaling a building wearing just a towel (or less) before plunging through an explosion into a sewer. And of course there's a lot of running too. Brolin brings a grinning steeliness to Dan that's properly terrifying, Jones is a standout as the terrified but determined Amelia, and Domingo is wonderfully scene-stealing as the grandstanding presenter.

Ironically, this film is as manipulative as the media empire it satirises, highlighting heroes and villains or tugging on heartstrings. Ben's family issues never feel much more than cursory, although they do carry a punchy kick in the context of what's happening in present-day America. And the way the film plays with deep-fake videos is both gratuitous and more than a little prescient, as viewers have no way of knowing what's true or not. If these ideas were more than mere side references, this film might have been able to grab hold of us a bit more firmly.

themes, language, violence 6.Nov.25

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