The Mosley Review: The Running Man

This has been a year for legendary author Stephen King hasn't it? The Long Walk was an amazing and success film and HBO has the prequel series IT: Welcome to Derry that's getting a positive response. Its pretty much an overstatement that Mr. King has a variety of stories that have been adapted to screen and television, but does this year end with him having 3 out 3 successes? Well, unfortunately no. The Running Man is one of those stories that is continuosly reimagined, referenced and now has a current remake. Sure the 1987 version was a cult classic, but I was wondering if this new version was gonna lean more into the social commentary aspect without beating you over the head with the "capitalism is wrong" and "promoting death is evil" messages. I wanted to see something akin to the Hunger Games with a bit more dramatic tension involved with the healthy amount of action spread out. We got that for the first half of the film, but somewhere along the way, the film lost all sense of tension and story momentum. Alot of things just happen and toward the finale of the film, two important plot devices were introduced and then quickly forgotten about. At least the cast was decent enough to keep me engaged.

Glen Powell continues to build his leading man status and as Ben Richards, he carries the film gracefully. From the beginning, I loved the family man angle of the character as you can relate to a man that is desperate to help his sick daughter and to relieve the stress at home. I loved the edge the character had as his rage kept him focused and alert. I did enjoy his intelligence as the many disguises he had worked for a while, but I wish he would try and stay calm more. Jayme Lawson was great as his hardworking wife, Sheila. The two of them may not have had much time together, but their chemistry was good. Josh Brolin brings his devilish charm and cavalier attitude as The Running Man show producer, Dan Killian. There was an earnest feel to him even with his almost souless eyes. I loved the favortism he showed toward Ben and the classic "every man vs corporate overlord" tension that was happening between them. Colman Domingo was on cloud 9 as the host of the show, Bobby "Bobby T" Thompson. He was the perfect showman that lived for the thrill of the program and the cheers of the crowd. Katy O'Brian was having the time of her life as the fun seeking, care free and fellow contestant, Jenni Laughlin. She had a fiery attitude to life and an even more fiery finale. Daniel Ezra was good as the rebel broadcaster, Bradley Throckmorton. He was one of the few that was helping Ben and I loved his segments the most as he would breakdown the lunacy and corrupt nature of the show. Michael Cera was awesome as another fellow rebel, Elton Parrakis. He was an odd character that felt more like the grown up version of Kevin McCallister with the surprises he had. Lee Pace was good in the film as Evan McCone, but I felt he was sort of wasted. He brings his physicality to character and acting chops once his face and secrets are revealed, but the character felt below his talent level. Lee can be menacing and charismatic at the same time and there were moments where you see that in Evan, but its hampered by the action around the scene.

The score by Steven Price was both adrenaline fuel and fun in all the best moments in the film. The action, for better or worse, was the star of the film and it was shot well. I love the action and the design of the dystopian world, but the action overtook the much needed time to explore. My biggest issue with the film is the constant speed of the story. There is tension, but it is quickly removed by the next thing explosion or gun fire which I love, but I wish there was less of it. For example, Ben is being hunted in a hotel and instead of building a tension filled escape scenario, it quickly goes into bullets flying into a explosion. It didn't feel earned in my opinion. I would've liked a Minority Report type of chase in the hotel where the cameras would go floor by floor or room by room. Maybe have someone watching the mailboxes in the film to create a spy scenario? Like I said before, the two plot holes really bothered me in the finale. One of them could easily be explained away as hubris, but the other one is completely forgotten. In the end, you have a action packed adaptation that looses its soul and drive halfway through and ends with a rather numb feeling anticlimactic ending. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!