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Cinema, Reviews

Cinema Review: The Running Man (2025) – Edgar Wright – a decent cardio cinema workout that breaks into intermittent sprints!

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Cinema Review: The Running Man (2025)

Directed by Edgar Wright

Screenplay by Michael Bacall & Edgar Wright – Based on The Running Man by Stephen King

Produced by Simon Kinberg, Nira Park & Edgar Wright

Main Cast: Glen Powell, William H. Macy, Lee Pace, Michael Cera, Emilia Jones, Daniel Ezra, Jayme Lawson, Sean Hayes, Colman Domingo and Josh Brolin, etc.

Cinematography by Chung-hoon Chung

*** MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS ***

As a fan of Edgar Wright’s stylish, kinetic direction, the camp cult charm of the original Arnold Schwarzenegger 1980’s action romp, and of course Stephen King’s sharp literary concepts, I went into The Running Man (2025) with high hopes. The film certainly starts brilliantly where Wright unloads a barrage of inventive visual gags, flashy transitions, and razor-clean action choreography. The set-pieces are spectacular from the outset, and when the film is firing on all cylinders, it’s exactly the sort of propulsive, high-concept entertainment you’d expect from this creative cocktail.

It remains a fantastic concept with a near-future game-show rewarding contestants with great wealth as long as they survive a month on the run and are not killed by all manner of uber-mercenaries chasing them. But as a whole the script and tone never quite settle. As such, the film wavers between being a comedy-actioner and a revolutionary dystopic thriller. It can be both, but here the shifts feel abrupt and under-cooked. The last forty-five minutes and final act especially drag, weighed down by a new character who is introduced mainly to witness Richards (Glen Powell) strike back at his foes, without adding much thematic or emotional heft. Emilia Jones does okay but her character should’ve entered the story much earlier—ideally as one of the contestants—so her eventual role feels earned rather than tacked on.

Powell is solid, charming, and physically believable in the role, but he’s not (at least yet) a true blockbuster star—more a handsome, reliable leading actor as demonstrated in the excellent, Hit Man (2024). I couldn’t help but imagine someone like Lee Pace in the part. Instead he is playing the lead henchmen. Pace is an actor with the gravitas and presence to anchor the story’s darker undercurrents and sell the rebellion with more weight. Indeed, Pace, Michael Cera, Colman Domingo, and Josh Brolin bring depth and texture to The Running Man (2025), each grounding the film’s wild energy with sharply defined performances. Pace delivers charismatic menace, while the underused Cera adds an unexpected nervy humour that sharpens the satire. Domingo, as always, lends personality as the show host, and Brolin rounds it out with rugged corporate authority that makes the world feel dangerous.

Ultimately, even Wright’s trademark ADHD-fueled visual dynamism can’t fully rescue a script that overreaches in ambition. Thus, The Running Man (2025) could have been truly great if it had taken just a little more time to breathe—letting its world, its fears, and its people settle in before the chaos kicked off. Beneath the neon splatter and bombastic satire is a sharp idea about media, violence, voyeurism, and manipulation, but the film races past its own potential. With a touch more patience to build tension, deepen the stakes, and let us actually care about the characters caught in the spectacle, its dystopia might have hit harder, felt richer, and lingered longer after the credits rolled. Still, the craft and energy make it an intermittently thrilling ride—just one that needed sharper focus to become the definitive The Running Man (2025) adaptation fans were hoping for.

Mark: 7 out of 11

Cinema, Five Reasons - Film Preview, New Releases

FIVE REASONS THIS COULD BE GOOD – DEATH ON THE NILE (2020)

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FIVE REASONS THIS COULD BE GOOD – DEATH ON THE NILE (2020)

Directed by: Kenneth Branagh

Produced by: Kenneth Branagh, Judy Hofflund, Simon Kinberg, Ridley Scott, Mark Gordon, Kevin J. Walsh

Screenplay by: Michael Green

Based on: Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie

Cast: Tom Bateman, Annette Bening, Kenneth Branagh, Russell Brand, Ali Fazal, Dawn French, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Rose Leslie, Emma Mackey, Sophie Okonedo, Jennifer Saunders, Letitia Wright

UK Release Date: 23/10/2020

The cinemas are now open again and while the reason for their closure was understandable, it’s great to look forward to seeing some of the more grand and expensive films on the giant screen. I have very much made the most of watching loads of films and television programmes at home via streaming and digital channels, yet it was a pleasure to be back at the cinema this weekend watching TENET (2020). Kenneth Branagh features heavily in Christopher Nolan’s latest high concept brain-twister. Moreover, he also has an updated version of DEATH ON THE NILE (2020) being released soon. Thus, as I’m such a sucker for these old-fashioned murder mysteries I thought I’d give five reasons why it could be good.

CAST

Following the box office success of MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS (2017), it comes as no surprise there is a sequel to the classy Hercule Poirot train-set murder mystery. Once again Kenneth Branagh directs and stars as the Belgian detective and he has also assembled a wonderful cast of A-listers and solid character actors within the ensemble. I’m especially pleased to see Annette Bening lend some gravitas to the glamour and whether GAME OF THRONES’ Rose Leslie can break out into bigger film roles. Gal Gadot and Letitia Wright leave behind recent comic book films for an altogether more period setting. Lastly, who doesn’t want to see French and Saunders reunited on screen.

NOSTALGIA & FAMILIARITY

I have always loved Agatha Christie’s work be it in literary, radio, television or film mediums. DEATH ON THE NILE (2020) is a favourite of mine, especially as the 1978 version was the first Christie adaptation I saw at the cinema. I must have seen that particular film about twenty times over the years. So much so I know the plot backwards. I guess the nostalgia for watching a film as a child and familiarity with the story create a kind of comfort film. Thus, another positive reason why I am looking forward to the new adaptation is how they recreate a familiar classic.

LOCATIONS

As I established in a recent film review, I for one have a massive fear of flying. Thus, watching films set in exotic locations can be a way for me to experience vicariously places I would not normally visit. Seeing as the film is set on a boat travelling up the Nile, there is no doubt there will be some incredible sights to see while Poirot tries to solve a devilishly complex crime.

MYSTERY

Agatha Christie truly knows how to create a masterful detective plot. In fact, she was a genius. What we now consider to be a cliched genre, the “whodunnit”, was practically invented and reinvented by Christie and this story has a particularly brilliant plot and ending. While the genre is familiar, I enjoy watching all the players in one location conflicting with each other. Of course, Poirot is an eccentric and brilliant detective, so even though I know he will solve the crime and how, paradoxically I still love the mystery of it all.

TRAILER

I have now watched the trailer a few times and it shone on the big screen at the weekend. It also does a great job of establishing the cast, characters and setting without giving away any of the plot. The Depeche Mode track really resonates with the grand voiceover, building to a crescendo where we get to meet Kenneth Branagh as the inimitable Poirot. Anyway, here it is!