The Running Man (2025)

Direction: Edgar Wright
Country: UK

British filmmaker Edgar Wright, who made his name with cult favorites such as Shaun of the Dead (2004), Hot Fuzz (2007), and Baby Driver (2017), returns with The Running Man, an effusive sci-fi action thriller based on Stephen King’s novel and adapted for the screen for a second time, following Paul Michael Glaser’s 1987 version. Glen Powell takes over Schwarzenegger's role in this weakened satire, which plays less like a cautionary dystopia and more like a garish circus broadcast in real time.

Powell stars as Ben Richards, an honest yet volatile man caught in a family crisis, recently fired for insubordination and deeply distrustful of the system and its rules. Desperate, he signs up for the wildly popular TV show The Running Man, a dangerous, often barbaric, technology-manipulated game of survival run by sadistic producer Dan Killian (Josh Brolin).

Although it gestures toward revolution and rebellion, The Running Man never feels grounded or serious, instead pushing forced ideas and piling on far-fetched action sequences. It can be mildly entertaining in spurts, yet it feels as artificial as the fictional program it depicts, constantly echoing better films without forging a strong identity of its own. Don’t let the hype mislead you: this is a slick pretender, driven by formulaic plotting and an aggressive posture, unable to connect its excesses to anything resembling a plausible reality.

Burdened by what feels like heavy post-production interference, the film struggles to find a stable rhythm, repeatedly tripping over its own noisy boom-crash-bang theatrics and a shaky script. Had Wright opted for greater simplicity and fewer preposterous action set pieces, the result might have been a leaner, more coherent spectacle. As it stands, The Running Man is cluttered with loose ends and strained credibility. Check out for yourself and see if you can forgive its flaws.

Hit Man (2024)

Direction: Richard Linklater
Country: USA 

Flirting with film noir and sly romance, Hit Man is the latest film by Richard Linklater (Boyhood, Before trilogy), who directs it with down-to-earth awareness from an insightful script he co-wrote with the leading actor, Glen Powell. The story, based on the 2001 Texas Monthly magazine article of the same name by Skip Hollandsworth, gracefully balances tension and mordant wit. 

Powell portrays Gary Johnson, a philosophy professor and tech nerd who works undercover for the New Orleans police as a fake contract killer. His task, carried out thoroughly, consists in closing deals with the ones who try to hire him and then arrest them. Everything runs smoothly until one day he breaks the protocol to help Madison Figueroa (Adria Arjona), a desperate woman trying to escape an abusive husband. Their instant chemistry leads them into a dangerous game with unpredictable outcomes.

Flowing with a comfortable pace, the narrative reminds you how bonds between people may change you unexpectedly and drastically. Linklater, showcasing his versatility and effortless cinematic approach, has taken a familiar premise and imbued it with a unique identity, a notion explored here in a darkly comic way. Despite its unequivocally amoral nature, I found myself cheering on the protagonists’ lawlessness.

Hit Man is breezily acted, consistently funny, often charming, and noir enough to provide a great time in the theater.