LOS ANGELES, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- One reason to remake The Running Man, in theaters Friday, would be to adapt the Stephen King novel more faithfully than the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger film. Yet in subduing the caricature from the dystopian future, the remake loses what made The Running Man prescient and relevant.
Glen Powell stars as Ben Richards, a man desperate to buy medicine for his sick daughter. He is unemployable in this world's corrupt society because he reported radiation poisoning to the union at his last job.
Richards intends to compete on a game show to secure funds, but producer Dan Killian (Josh Brolin) sells him on taking part in The Running Man. On The Running Man, Richards and two other contestants (Katy O'Brian and Martin Herlihy) have 30 days to outrun five hunters, while viewers can earn rewards for reporting their whereabouts.
The Schwarzenegger movie used only the name Ben Richards and the premise of a game show that kills contestants. Nevertheless, it anticipated a lot of what reality TV would become, without sanctioned executions... so far.
Stephen King, publishing under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, also anticipated aspects of reality TV and a society constantly on camera. But over 25 years later, The Running Man now feels less modern than the world we live in, yet it's set in the future.
