When I think of the filmmakers who have shaped my personal taste in movies, Edgar Wright is one of those names at the top of the list. In my eyes, he has not had a single miss across his filmography, from his signature Cornetto Trilogy (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World’s End), to the dazzling adaptation of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, to the adrenaline-fueled Baby Driver, to the Anya Taylor-Joy and Thomasin McKenzie two-hander Last Night in Soho. And let’s not forget the stellar music documentary The Sparks, chronicling the history of your favorite band’s favorite band. Wright’s latest film sees him taking on source material from Stephen King with the second cinematic iteration of The Running Man. Arnold Schwarzenegger played the title role in 1987, but this time it’s Glen Powell’s turn to take the reins and prove himself as a bona-fide movie star – a test he passes with flying colors. If there was any doubt remaining that Powell was Hollywood’s next golden boy, he has laid that to rest with a performance that oscillates between righteous anger, folk hero charisma, and such an exhaustion with a cruel world that sometimes the only viable path is maniacal laughter.
The film is set in a fascistic United States sometime in the future. Well, at least, that was how King originally wrote it back in 1982. It just so happens that this future takes place in the year 2025. In The Running Man, America is a full-blown surveillance state with a penchant for barbarism. Just to afford medicine for his young daughter slowly dying of the flu, Glen Powell’s character of Ben Richards pursues alternative routes of financial compensation after being released from his blue-collar job for blowing the whistle on workers’ health violations by his employer. Though initially quite reluctant, Richards accepts an offer to join the most perilous and potentially lucrative game show in the country – “The Running Man.” It’s a fixed game that nobody has ever won, except for the sadistic gamesmen in charge of the operation. Nothing but certain death awaits Richards – at least, that’s show producer Dan Killian’s (Josh Brolin) plan. But those in a position of such power always grow too comfortable, too satisfied, and too inebriated by their notions of invincibility. Under these circumstances, a Ben Richards is bound to show up sooner or later to crash the party.
Wright’s film hits its stride when it embraces the opportunity to be a Glen Powell vehicle. On the heels of Richard Linklater’s Hit Man in 2024, Powell continues to funnel his energy into projects that expand his oeuvre and push him into new territory as an actor. He’s probably been capable of tackling these kinds of roles for the past decade, but he had to wait his turn and pay his dues as a supporting actor before getting the keys to the kingdom. Other standouts from The Running Man cast who may be following in Powell’s footsteps in their respective career trajectories include the undeniable Katy O’Brian and scene-stealer Daniel Ezra. Wright has a knack for assembling casts that uniquely blend well-known stars from generations past and present, legendary “that guy/gal” character actors whose names you can never remember but faces you never forget, and up-and-comers who are well on their way to a meteoric rise. The Running Man finds Wright at the peak of his powers in this regard.
It’s true that history repeats itself, and the art that is created over the generations reflects that. The Running Man is a prime example of this phenomenon, with Wright’s unmistakable voice leaving his mark on this story. That voice might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I’m impressed by his commitment to a sense of optimism, even when nihilism would be a fully understandable (and even more realistic) path. While this may be to the film’s detriment in a third act that overextends itself by trying to have its cake and eat it too, it is consistent with Wright’s worldview which has steadily revealed itself throughout his career. He’s a big ol’ softie who desperately seeks the joys of cinema and the beleaguered world in which that cinema is created. That is precisely what draws me to his films and why I am confident in saying that Edgar Wright is still batting a thousand after The Running Man.
Photo Credit: ROSS FERGUSON/Ross Ferguson – © 2025 PARAMOUNT PICTURES