For a lot of ’80s and ’90s kids, The Running Man is that very entertaining but slightly silly Arnold Schwarzenegger movie where he plays a soldier who is treated as a scapegoat by the corrupt government of a dystopian future and winds up on a deadly TV game show that’s sort of the equivalent of American Gladiators crossed with actual Gladiator. But before it was a movie it was a Stephen King novel (technically a Richard Bachman novel) about an ordinary guy who needs money to buy medicine for his sick child. There The Running Man is more of a marathon than a sprint: A test of survival for 30 days; if the guy survives, he gets $1 billion.
The new version of The Running Man, starring Glen Powell and directed by Edgar Wright, looks much closer in storyline (if not in tone) to King’s original story. There doesn’t seem to be any outlandishly dressed “Stalkers” who fight the “runners” in ridiculous costumes with over-the-top weapons. It’s about running for your life from scary dudes in black fatigues and masks. (Oh by the way: The book was set in the year 2025. Fun!)
And because it’s directed by the guy who made Hot Fuzz and Scott Pilgrim, it looks like the action is intense and wild as well. Which sounds like a pretty darn good combination to me. Check out the new trailer for The Running Man.
READ MORE: Every Arnold Schwarzenegger Movie, Ranked From Worst to Best
Here is the film’s official synopsis:
In a near-future society, The Running Man is the top-rated show on television—a deadly competition where contestants, known as Runners, must survive 30 days while being hunted by professional assassins, with every move broadcast to a bloodthirsty public and each day bringing a greater cash reward. Desperate to save his sick daughter, working-class Ben Richards (Glen Powell) is convinced by the show’s charming but ruthless producer, Dan Killian (Josh Brolin), to enter the game as a last resort. But Ben’s defiance, instincts, and grit turn him into an unexpected fan favorite—and a threat to the entire system. As ratings skyrocket, so does the danger, and Ben must outwit not just the Hunters, but a nation addicted to watching him fall.
The Running Man is scheduled to open in theaters on November 14.
The Best Movie of Every Year for the Last 100 Years (According to Letterboxd)
According to the users of the movie website Letterboxd, here is the single best movie of every year dating all the way back to 1925.
