The Running Man, 2025 - ★★★½

I enjoyed the fast-paced, high-energy vibe this movie delivers, and I especially loved the first act. The performances were great. The movie certainly brings an intense, adrenaline-pumping energy that keeps you engaged throughout the film.

I genuinely wanted to love this movie; however, the screenplay is such a letdown that the more I reflect on it after the credits roll, the less I like the film.

Firstly, the premise of The Running Man show is simply ridiculous, even within the film’s context. How could there possibly be enough content to fill a TV time slot for at least two weeks (and they aimed for 30 days! WTH) with only three competitors! Especially when they’re just running and hiding? I was so dumbfounded about this concept. The show’s structure lacks a clear format to generate enough content to sustain ratings in their world, let alone supporting this movie’s storyline. If there had been stages or challenges for the runners to tackle, it might have provided some real meat to feed us the audience.

With the lackluster premise of the show within the movie, the protagonist’s journey feels aimless, merely drifting along with coincidental events until the film concludes. I’d even say that the people he met along the way has better stories worth telling than him. 

Another issue is the film’s failure to blend drama and action-comedy into a cohesive narrative. They didn’t dig deep enough to make the dramatic storylines sink, but also didn’t let us have the long entertaining sequences that’d truly put us at the edge of our seats. As a result, the film constantly shifts back and forth between these two conflicting tones. I have to wonder how much better the film would be if only they picked only one lane and stick with it. 

Lastly, the film doesn’t fully commit to its final scenes. They feel rushed, as if the creators had no clear idea how to land the story (pun intended), so they had to slap something to deliver the intended message.

Despite its flaws, I still had fun watching The Running Man and still recommend the film when you just want to have fun.