Having been an avid fan of Edgar Wright’s, my curiosity peaked with his adaptation of The Running Man. Having only seen the 1987 version and enjoyed it well enough, I was keen to see how this film would turn out. But as the release date grew closer my interest began to drop, the main reason being Ben Richards’ motivation. In the 80s version Richards was escaping a labour camp and wanted to clear his name of crimes he didn’t commit, but the latest Richards has a sick child and family to look after. I find this motivation a dull over used cop out. Longing for the days the reason a so called hero does something is save his own skin and everyone else’s by accident. But this is my own issue and moving that aside I delved into the film.
Needing to take care of his family, blacklisted labourer Ben Richards signed up to take part in the deadliest TV show on the Network, The Running Man, where contestants have to last 30 days on the street, while hunters and members of the public, hunt them down. The winner is awarded a hell of large sum of money if they last the full 30 days. Taking the chance, Richards meets people along the way that help him hide and outwit the ruthless hunters, as well as discovering just how manipulative the Network is, changing his whole personality to fit in with the show.
Overall, this was as entertaining as the 1987 film. There were plenty of fight sequences to shock and awe as well as some very kooky side characters that stole the film almost, in particular Michael Cera’s rebel Elton who has been trying to get the truth about the Network out. Colman Domingo makes an impression too (as always) as the show’s enigmatic host and again, Lee Pace proves he can do more to steal a scene while wearing a mask for most of the film than Glen Powell does the whole film. Not to say Powell doesn’t do a good job as the ‘good guy’, its pretty much a one note character and he does well. And yet, Powell doesn’t feel like an action star. He has a style that worked so well in Hitman and Set It Up, but this really didn’t feel like the right fit for him. Along those same lines, this did not feel, look or sound like an Edgar Wright film in any shape or form, which was probably the most shocking part of the whole film experience. The film had a great cast, great elements but didn’t quite hit the heights of a great film.