Stephen King’s The Running Man has always been one of his sharpest stories — a bleak look at a divided future where survival becomes entertainment for the masses. So when word came that a new adaptation was on the way, promising to follow the source material “more closely” than the 1987 Schwarzenegger version, expectations were understandably high. The question is whether The Running Man 2025 actually delivers on that promise.
The film follows Ben Richards, played by Glen Powell, who signs up for a deadly televised game show to earn money for his sick daughter. On paper, it’s a premise built for tension. In execution, though, the results are mixed.
Does It Stay True to the Book?
Technically, yes. The Running Man 2025 tracks the events of King’s novel far more accurately than the 1987 movie ever did. However, staying close to the plot isn’t the same as capturing the spirit of the story. Despite following the book’s structure, the film often feels just as exaggerated and over-the-top as its predecessor.
In fact, some of the performances lean so heavily into theatrics that the movie occasionally undercuts its own dark tone. Being faithful to the events on paper doesn’t automatically mean the film understands what made those events matter in the first place.
Visuals and Production Design
One area where The Running Man 2025 clearly succeeds is its look. Filmed largely in the UK, including several sequences in Scotland, the movie is polished from start to finish. The production design does a strong job of building out the story’s broken, unequal world, and every frame feels intentional.
That said, the soundtrack barely registers. Much like many modern blockbusters, the score fades into the background instead of adding to the atmosphere. It’s a small gap, but a noticeable one in a film that leans so heavily on tone.
How’s the Cast?
The performances here are solid, even if the material doesn’t always give them room to shine.
| Actor | Role | Performance |
|---|---|---|
| Glen Powell | Ben Richards | Angry, driven, carries the film |
| Josh Brolin | TV Producer | Coldly effective as the elitist antagonist |
| Colman Domingo | Show Host | Charismatic and entertaining |
| Lee Pace | Lead Hunter | Genuinely menacing |
| Michael Cera | Outsider Rebel | Wacky, but ultimately unnecessary |
Powell proves he can lead a film like this, bringing a believable edge to Richards’ anger and desperation. Brolin, meanwhile, makes for a compelling villain, playing a producer who values ratings over everything else. Domingo brings energy to the host role, and Pace is suitably intimidating as the hunter chasing Richards down.
Where the Movie Struggles
Despite a strong cast, The Running Man 2025 runs into trouble with pacing. At 133 minutes, the film feels stretched well beyond what the story needs. One of the book’s most compelling segments, the audition process, comes across as flat and forgettable on screen instead of tense or revealing.
Action, unfortunately, is another weak spot. There isn’t much of it to begin with, and when it does show up, it rarely leaves an impression. A hand-to-hand combat sequence near the end, which should have been a highlight, gets chopped up by quick cuts that drain it of impact. There’s a chase scene, an explosion, and scattered bursts of action, but none of it comes together into something cohesive. At times, it feels like the director was making a drama and only occasionally remembered this was supposed to be an action movie.
The Preachiness Problem
Perhaps the biggest issue with The Running Man 2025 is how heavy-handed it gets. The source material already carries strong social commentary, and it doesn’t need much explaining, the message is clear enough on its own. This adaptation, however, spends far too much time hammering the point home, which drags the pacing down even further.
A good chunk of that runtime could have been trimmed. The Michael Cera subplot, for example, adds little that couldn’t have been covered by expanding Daniel Ezra’s character instead, since both essentially serve the same narrative purpose. Likewise, the film’s constant reminders that Richards is doing all this for his wife and daughter feel unnecessary. In King’s novel, Richards leaves his family early on and never sees them again, and the story is stronger for it. Once Richards enters the games, his journey becomes about something bigger than his original motivation, and that shift is the whole point.
Final Verdict
So, is The Running Man 2025 worth watching? Not really. The novel takes bigger risks and tells a darker, more unflinching story than this adaptation is willing to commit to. Even the 1987 version, despite its campier tone, arguably delivers more memorable action and stronger character moments.
This new version seems aimed at viewers who want to say it’s “more faithful to the book” without having actually read it. If that sounds like you, there’s enough here to justify a watch. For everyone else, outside of a few sharp lines and brief action beats, there isn’t much reason to seek this one out.
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