‘THE RUNNING MAN’ RATED R
   
Arnold Schwarzenegger, former professional bodybuilder and erstwhile politician, remains to this day late in the eighth decade of his storied life an actor and producer, though not as prolific in this line of work as during his heyday. 
   
The moniker of “The Terminator” will linger forever as his trademark. Even when he was California’s leader, he was often called the Governator, maybe derisively, but nevertheless in recognition of his cinematic persona.
   
Nearly 40 years ago, Schwarzenegger starred in the dystopian action thriller “The Running Man,” where memory serves, his character, Ben Richards, was a California police officer framed for a massacre of rioters and then falsely imprisoned.

   

The nation had turned into a totalitarian police state, where the government operated Soviet-style to control the populace through force, intimidation and media manipulation, while keeping the masses entertained through a popular game show called “The Running Man.”
   
Escaping from a prison labor camp along with a pair of resistance fighters, Richards was later recaptured and accepted an offer to participate in the game show where his survival depended on eluding “Stalkers” dispatched to kill him. It was all about entertaining the proletariat. 
   
An interesting fact about 1987’s “The Running Man” was that the movie was based on the 1982 novel of the same title written by Richard Bachman, who turned out to be the nom-de-plume of horror fiction writer Stephen King.
   
The 2025 remake of “The Running Man,” still based on Stephen King’s book, stars Glen Powell (best-known for “Top Gun: Maverick and “Hit Man”) as Ben Richards, with a backstory unlike that of the Schwarzenegger version.
   
For all the intensity, grit and determination he brings to the role, Powell is nonetheless not even vaguely like “The Terminator” in physical strength or the innate ability to utter cheesy one-liners.
   
The near future dystopian world now looks like a crumbling Detroit, where the masses endure desperate lives steeped in poverty, and relief from a bleak existence only comes in the form of the TV reality show where a runner can win one billion dollars if they survive for 30 days.
   
The challenge for a participant in the game show is to outwit and outrun a cadre of assassins called the “Hunters” and as well as bloodthirsty and despairing citizens eager to cash in on reward money.
  
The violent game show is run by the despotic media empire known as the “Network,” and the show is produced by Dan Killian (Josh Brolin, doing the best he can to be a cartoonish, smirking villain), whose motivation is delivering the best ratings for his show.
   
Not a policeman or prison escapee like Schwarzenegger, Powell’s Richards is a working stiff, with a strong moral code, fired from his job for insubordination and overall hostility to authority.  
   
Living in a cramped apartment in dreary Co-op City, Richards is distressed that his wife Sheila (Jayme Lawson) must work at a sleazy nightclub because the family can’t afford the expensive medicine needed for their baby daughter suffering from a lingering flu-like illness.
   
While Richards promises his wife that he’s not going to be a contestant on the most violent reality show, with the offer of the billion-dollar prize money no one has ever won, you already know he’s reckless enough to take the plunge.
   
The interview process to be a contender is interesting alone. Hordes of downtrodden people are lined up to get on any show that offers a payout. A quick-thinking Richards uses his temper and bravado to get a jump ahead of the others.
   
The contest for “The Running Man” requires at least three initial participants who fall into certain categories. Richards is joined by daredevil Jenni (Katy O’Brian), who looks like a punk rocker, and goofy Tim Jansky (Martin Herlihy), who would be lucky to survive more than two days.
   
Of course, the detestable Killian knows that the longer a contestant stays alive, and on the run, the greater the boost in ratings as the runner attains a celebrity-like image that fuels the lust of viewers to witness his demise.
   
Richards gets help from a variety of people, from an old friend (William H. Macy), who provides disguises and fake identities, to Michael Cera’s writer of underground conspiracy pamphlets wanting to avenge his policeman father who was pushed out of the force for being an honest cop.
   
What if Richards becomes a folk hero and inspiration for rebellion against the tyranny of the Network? Is it possible that the masses, once satiated by a violent TV show, could turn to insurrection against authority? This could be where “The Running Man” is headed.
   
The original “Running Man” seemingly attained cult classic status in certain circles, notwithstanding that it hardly rises above popcorn entertainment. The remake is likely to fall short of an exalted standing in the future, but at least, it works as mindless entertainment. 

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.