Edgar Wright co-writes and directs the second adaptation of Stephen King's 1982 novel of same name (as Richard Bachman).
To be clear, this is NOT a remake of the 1987 Schwarzenegger classic.
Glen Powell - Ben Richards
Josh Brolin - Dan Killian
Colman Domingo - Bobby T.
Lee Pace - Evan McCone
Michael Cera - Elton Parrakis
Emilia Jones - Amelia Williams
William H. Macy - Molie Jernigan
Daniel Ezra - Bradley Throckmorton
Jayme Lawson - Sheila Richards
Alyssa and Sienna Benn - Cathy Richards
Katy O'Brian - Jenni Laughlin
Martin Herlihy - Tim Jansky
Summary
Welcome to Co-Op City, where poverty is rife and corporate media networks bombard people with trashy reality and violent game shows.
Blue-collar worker Ben Richards lives in the slums with his wife Sheila and daughter Cathy.
When he's fired by Defense-Net for insurbordination, he can't afford the medicine for Cathy's influenza. In desperation, Ben auditions for FreeVee's game shows, with his anger, fitness and physique making him the perfect contestant for The Running Man.
He meets the producer Dan Killian, who offers an advance on Cathy's medication and a safe house for his family if he agrees to take part.
To win one billion new dollars, 'runners' must survive for 30 days, hunted by not just trained killers, but also the public.
Ben and fellow runners Jenni Laughlin and Tim Jansky are given $1000 and a 12-hour head start, and must send a tape of themselves each day.
Trio quickly learn that the show's host Bobby T. manipulates the audience by making out contestants are psychopathic killers.
Can they defy the odds and scoop the ultimate prize?
Kill the execs
First off, this is very faithful to the book, but unfortunately, that's the problem.
I'm a huge Edgar Wright fan, but bloated, joyless borefest is defintiely his worst.
The tone and pacing is all over the place, the script is blunter than a butter knife and while action and chase sequences huff and puff, no house is in danger of being blown down.
Unlikable protagonist moves from one convenience to another and after arriving at the home of Elton Parrakis, underground activist has bizarrely booby-trapped his house, Home Alone style.
Scott Pilgrim electrocutes soldiers with his Psycho Hydro gun, which may be a nod to Dynamo in the Arnie film, but whatever - it's fucking dumb.
Speaking of which, Arnold is literally the face of dollar bills and this Ben even says to Sheila "I'll be back".
CRINGE.
Another weird choice is a female Laughlin. Yaphet Kotto played made-for-film character William Laughlin.
At Hollywood's behest, we get a happy ending.
Sheila and Cathy are alive, living under false identities. Ben also survived, otherwise he wouldn't be able to shoot Killian dead.
In the book, Sheila and Cathy have been dead for over 10 days and the plane crashes into the Games Network skyscraper, killing Richards and Killian.
"The explosion was tremendous, lighting up the night like the wrath of God, and it rained fire twenty blocks away."
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