If there’s one thing Stephen King knows how to do, it’s making you absolutely fall in love with a character, just to kill them in one of the most brutal and macabre ways to have ever graced your screen. This was true of the new film The Long Walk, released back in early September, and it holds true for his latest adaptation—The Running Man.
This film, much like King’s other novels, is set in a dystopian society where everything has gone terribly wrong and the government is more corrupt than ever before. That being said, this particular story line follows that of a husband and father by the name of Ben Richards. In this future dystopia, Ben’s child is fatally ill and won’t survive the night unless she gets medicine and the help of a real doctor. The problem is, they are dirt broke. Ben’s wife suggests that she try to earn a little extra cash on the clock by flirting with the rich men who come in for dining. It’s safe to say, he immediately rejects this idea, hating the thought of his wife exploiting herself to save their daughter. He decides, instead, that he’s going to go out and audition for one of the city’s many “game shows.” The thing about these games, though? The people who actually get on them don’t usually end up returning to their families without a casket draped mercilessly over their skin.
Ben’s wife reluctantly agrees to let him audition for one of the shows— so long as it isn’t The Running Man. That show, in specifics, is one where three guests, out of hundreds, are chosen, similar to The Hunger Games in the idea that the entire thing is televised, each chosen “running man” now has to spend the next thirty days outrunning everyone in the country, and I do mean everyone. Including the government. If they’re caught at any time, they could, and very well may be, slaughtered. The funny thing? It’s entirely legal. The terrible thing? Nobody ever wins.
As promised, Ben proceeds to audition for the film network, among hundreds of other people currently living in poverty, the only issue being that nobody knows which show they are auditioning for. They can’t choose. Meaning that when Ben is inevitably chosen for The Running Man, he doesn’t really have much of a choice. It will get his family more riches than they’ve ever laid their eyes on, and all he has to do is survive a couple of days with the entire country hunting him down. Really, how hard can it be? And so—shocker, I know—Ben Richards, among two other contestants, became the next “running man.”
As I briefly mentioned before, The Running Man is an adaptation of the well-renowned novel of the same name, written by Stephen King. The film itself, however, was adapted (and co-written) by Edgar Wright. Though Edgar was the creator of the movie, King still had a say in many of the important decisions; for instance, the script was carefully reviewed by King many times before production began. Stephen King is rumored to hold this adaptation very close to his heart, unlike his feelings on the 1987 version.
Contrary to popular belief, and similarly to The Long Walk, The Running Man has an ending entirely separate from the book, which has inevitably garnered controversy on the internet. Knowing that, I feel I should warn fans of the novel that this alternative ending was approved by Stephen King himself, and while it is okay to have opinions on the matter, maybe try and be a bit nicer about it. If the film isn’t for you, you don’t have to watch it.
The rest of The Running Man is action-packed and emotionally traumatic as we watch our favorites live and die all the same. Ben Richards makes allies, and he definitely makes enemies, but most importantly? He makes money. This was such an entertaining watch, and I cannot even begin to describe my thoughts and feelings about it all; needless to say, I’m going to try. Every single character was so well-rounded and thoughtfully written—it felt like I was watching real people. That being said, I really do wish we got more screen time with some of the other characters, like Laughlin, Tim, or even Elton. I, personally, think they were all incredible and so, so intriguing— I long for the day we hear more about them and their backstories.
My favorite— and least favorite— part of this movie had to be the characters. As I said before, if there’s one thing Stephen King is magnificent at? It’s making you develop a sort of kinship to a character, just to slaughter them on screen five seconds later. I could go on and on with examples of this trope— like the 1986 It novel or 1979’s The Long Walk (if I haven’t mentioned it enough). I loved them all, every single one of them, and that stays true with the characters in The Running Man. Knowing that, you can probably imagine my disappointment when most of them ended up dead, gone, and ultimately, buried. What can I say, it’s a curse! Every time I have a favorite character, they always end up deceased in some grotesque and morbid way. Regardless of my personal curses and opprobrium, every single character in The Running Man brought something new and entertaining to the table, which is exactly what a film like this needed.
I, for one, really enjoyed this movie, so if you can, and you want to, I would one hundred percent recommend seeing it on the big screen. You know, that feeling when you step into the icy-cold theater with your favorite beverage and a bucket full of warm and buttery popcorn in hand? Or when you’re sitting in the back with your friends and giggling at something the characters say, and even though it wasn’t all that funny, you found it hysterical? As AMC Theaters says, seeing something in cinemas and hearing it through the loudspeakers truly does make movies better. And so, as my final words to you, I will recommend that you see every movie you can in the theaters— if not for the film, for the atmosphere— and if this article made you at all intrigued in The Running Man, go and see it before it hits streaming.
