In a dystopian future, family man Ben Richards signed up for the reality show “The Running Man” in order to make enough money to support his family but must survive 30 days on the run without being killed, and all of America is looking for him.
Glenn Powell is very likable as Ben; he brings a funny charisma to the part but also a serious devotion when it comes to his family and motives for being in the games.
Josh Brolin plays the main TV executive villain, and while he’s not in the movie a whole lot, he brings a subtle, underhanded menace to the character, even when he’s acting friendly.
Coleman Domingo plays the host of The Running Man, and he steals every scene he’s in with
While he’s running, Ben meets a lot of characters along the way, and while I do like the characters and the actors playing them, none of them get a whole lot of screen time, so it kind of feels like you’re going from one character to the next, never getting a whole lot of time to connect with them until you’re on with the next.
Michael Cera is the standout for me; his character is both so serious and naturally silly that it brings a fun humor to the film.
I wish the film had played up more of the parodying of reality TV; they sort of do some at the beginning with game shows and things like Squid Game, but I wish they had gone into it more and done some more sharp satire. Instead, they do more of a traditional Kardashians-type parody, which is well done, but I think sticking with game shows would’ve made the satire more biting. And in line with the running man storytelling
I enjoyed William H. Macy, Katy O’Brien, and Lee Pace in the film; they took advantage of what screen time they had.
For fans of the book, from what I can tell, this is a very faithful adaptation, with a few changes here and there, but as far as book-to-screen adaptations go, it is pretty faithful.
Edgar Wright did a solid job directing; it’s not as hyper-crazy as some of his other films, but it had its moments and was overall very solidly crafted.
I like actress Amelia Jones, and it was nice to see her pop in with this, but her character felt a bit underwritten and could use a little bit more development for the choices she makes and really just kind of felt there for some overhanded social commentary.
It was a small Arnold Schwarzenegger cameo that I appreciated and that was cute; I always appreciate Arnold references.
The trailer advertises a lot of the action in this movie, and while there is a good amount, I don’t think it’s as “action packed” as people realize, but what you actually have is fun.
People might be a little split on the ending; it was OK, but it did feel truncated at the very end.
I’ve heard a lot of people say they were disappointed in this movie, and I feel like I enjoyed it more than most people. How do you understand and agree with some of the criticism? But I guess I walked in just wanting a good time and left with a good time, so it all worked out. I’ll give it a low four-star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️; the fun and charm really pushed this one over.
No comments:
Post a Comment