Edgar Wright’s ‘The Running Man’ (2025) was released on the 12th November to a vast array of reviews.

It is a new adaptation of the Stephen King novel, reimagining the dystopian chase narrative for contemporary anxieties about media manipulation, surveillance and political spectacle. Glen Powell stars as Ben Richards, an ordinary man forced into a violent, state-sanctioned game show in which contestants are hunted down for entertainment.

Wright reshapes the premise into a kinetic blend of action, satire, and media circus commentary, with a focus on how a society numbed by spectacle gradually loses sight of truth.

Below is a round-up of critical reactions from The Independent, The Guardian, NME, and Empire, capturing what the film gets right — and where critics felt it fell short.

1. The Independent – is sharply critical. Clarisse Loughrey argues that while the film has all the ingredients for a biting dystopian satire, it “feels closer to a friendly knock on the shoulder” rather than delivering real urgency. She says Edgar Wright “has lost much of that once-ironclad grasp of tone,” and that the movie “files down” the bite of Stephen King’s vision into “slick manoeuvres and cutesy gags.” Powell’s character, she continues, lacks real rage: “there’s no real purpose to all that white male rage … Wright places a far heavier emphasis on comedic value … than on any sense of fury or propulsion.” 

2. The Guardian – is more sympathetic to Wright’s style, praising the film’s energy and its pop-soundtrack flair. Critic Peter Bradshaw describes it as “never anything but likable and fun … Wright accelerates to a sprint for some full-tilt chase sequences.” That said, he notes it “never actually [is] disturbing … and the ending is fudged and anticlimactic.”

3. NME – (James Mottram) observes that the film feels like a cross between The Hunger Games and Black Mirror. He applauds Wright’s world-building (dystopian “Rover Cams” everywhere, a ruthless media empire), and he finds Glen Powell “a very watchable everyman … convincingly demonstrating the man-of-the-people integrity” of Ben Richards. But Mottram also warns that the narrative “gets repetitive in the second half … the story starts to feel stretched.”

4. Empire – Empire Magazine praises the world-building from Edgar Wright stating that it mixes “vast dystopian cityscapes with old-school tech… It’s a pleasingly retrofuturist approach, but it also serves a narrative purpose. “These TVs don’t watch you back,” notes William H. Macy’s underground tinkerer Molie”. Critic John Nugent also praises the lead actor’s performance – “in Glen Powell’s Ben Richards, Wright finds the film’s grouchy, punchy, ill-tempered heart”.

The Independent – 2 out of 5 stars

The Guardian – 3 out of 5 stars

NME – 3 out of 5 stars

Empire – 4 out of 5 stars

In cinemas now.