Movie Review: The Running Man (2025)

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A mostly entertaining film that often seems to be treading water and is only buoyed by its star’s likability. I’ve seen the first film adaption but barely remember it and I’ve read a summary of the novel, so I have two different points of reference going into this remake. Plot-wise, it sticks close to the novel till it decides to go its own way for the ending, which ends up being more convoluted than it needs to be. It doesn’t help matters that the Running Man game is supposed to go on for a month and there isn’t enough story to fill up that time frame. There’s shockingly little action in the movie, and none of the set pieces are very memorable. The film also veers occasionally into dark comedy, but that’s a bit more hit or miss. And while there is opportunity to use satire and parody in a way films like “Robocop” did the make a point, there isn’t much here more than surface level. The lead actors are solid throughout, but most of them don’t end up with much screen time outside of Glen Powell. He does a good job playing both an everyman and an action hero, and he keeps you invested in his story even through most of the films many lulls.

**1/2 out of *****

Movie Review: Predator: Badlands

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A fun action film that pulls the curtain back on the secretive Predator race while walking the line between sanitizing one of them into a wholesome underdog, and yet still trying to give us the fearsome hunter we expect from this franchise. While the plot is relatively straightforward at first, it takes quite a few twists. Some of them expected and some not as much. Making a Predator the main character is a mixed bag. Seeing one of these fearsome creatures having conversations and expressing their feelings doesn’t quite feel right. But the underdog story does ultimately work and keeps you invested in Dek’s journey. Introducing sidekicks for him is also another risky choice, one that occasionally borders on cuteness overload. However, Elle Fanning’s synth Thia is a likable enough character once they move on past her bubbly personality being used to create a bit of an “Odd Couple” dynamic. (She also does a solid job of differentiating herself from her “twin” Tessa.) The action scenes are all well-executed but avoid the R-rating by featuring exclusively non-human carnage. The alien designs are also interesting, and they seem to be coming from a place somewhere between “Avatar” and the “Alien” prequels.

*** out of *****