Club Benefits
Edgar Wright's 2025 action thriller "The Running Man" (with "Twisters" and "Anyone But You" star Glen Powell) is now available on Prime Video. Even though it split critics and bombed at the box office, Wright's latest release quickly became the biggest movie on Paramount+. As of April 17, you can now stream "The Running Man" on Prime Video, and I think it may well end up being a hit on one of the best streaming services in the business, too.
Why? Well, "The Running Man" features a buzzy star (he just got the honor of voicing Fox McCloud in "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie"), it has a noteworthy director at the helm and you can usually find several action-packed watches within Amazon Prime Video's streaming charts. Even with its mixed reception, I think all these things could mean Prime Video subscribers may well take a chance on this action-packed new arrival.
Article continues belowWhat is 'The Running Man' about?
"The Running Man" remake introduces us to a down-on-his-luck (and incredibly angry) everyman called Ben Richards (Powell). In an effort to save his sick daughter, he makes the potentially fatal decision to sign up for the most popular show on TV in his dystopian near-future city: He's going to take part in "The Running Man."
The show's contestants (known as "Runners") have only one objective: spend 30 days on the run out in the world, doing whatever it takes to stay alive and avoid the show's deadly team of professional assassins ("Hunters"). A successful Runner stands to walk away from the show with a colossal cash prize... but the odds are very much not in their favour. However, our shouty hero proves far more capable and resilient than he first appears, and as his run continues, he becomes a fan-favorite with the viewers at home ... making him a threat to the system that "The Network" has built.
In addition to Glen Powell, "The Running Man" remake also features Josh Brolin, Colman Domingo, Emilia Jones, Lee Pace, William H. Macy, Katy M. O'Brian, Michael Cera, and Jayme Lawson (among others).
Should you stream 'The Running Man' on Prime Video? Here's our take
I already shared my thoughts on "The Running Man" when it arrived on Paramount+ at the start of the year, but I'll summarize my thoughts here all the same. I love Edgar Wright's movies, so the film was definitely one of my most anticipated releases of 2025, but I left feeling a little disappointed.
Even though "The Running Man" was action-packed, very pacy, and does boast some solid performances (Colman Domingo's exuberant TV host is a highlight), it doesn't feel quite as "alive" as Wright's previous releases. It's far from the worst thing I watched last year, it just didn't live up to some of Wright's previous releases.
TG's own Malcolm McMillan felt similar when he reviewed "The Running Man" for Tom's Guide around its theatrical release last year, and he concluded that it just might be better to wait to stream Wright's latest watch. At the time, he wrote: "This movie is fun, features some enjoyable performances and is a slick, polished action thriller. But perhaps because of its polish, it feels soulless, as if it were a paint-by-numbers blockbuster."
Despite some issues, "The Running Man" is definitely not a bad watch, and it's certainly much more deserving of your time than your average streaming original movie. So, if you're about to waste your weekend scrolling through streaming services on the hunt for an action-packed watch, I'd recommend giving "The Running Man" a shot.
If you don't want to rely on TG's takes, then I'd say the general verdict lines up with what Malcolm and I have said about the film, too. At the time of writing, Edgar Wright's take on "The Running Man" holds a 61% approval rating on the review aggregator, Rotten Tomatoes, with a critics' consensus that reads: "Spiritedly sprinting through grim source material, Edgar Wright's "The Running Man" doesn't live up to the director's high bar for inventive action extravaganzas but maintains a slick stride."
Case in point: "The Running Man" earned a 2.5/4-star rating from Matt Zoller Seitz at RogerEbert.com, who said the film "hits the ground running and rarely stops," adding: "The relentless pace generates enough of an endorphin rush to power the movie beyond plausibility nitpicking."
THR's David Rooney said "The Running Man" was "running on empty," writing: "Edgar Wright’s update of the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle of the same name, while it has no shortage of action and adrenaline, ends up feeling hollow. It also fails to erase lingering doubts about Glen Powell's viability as a leading man."
Some critics did really like what they saw, though. For example, HeyUGuys' Linda Marric gave the movie a 5-star rating, calling the movie "Wright’s most accomplished Hollywood film to date" and labeling it "dynamic, propulsive and sharply orchestrated, balancing adrenaline-fuelled action with a meaningful critique of authoritarianism."
In short, then? If you're willing to risk maybe not loving "The Running Man" as much as some viewers did, it's nevertheless a high-octane action thriller that will liven up your weekend viewing.
Stream "The Running Man" on Prime Video now
Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Subscribe to Tom's Guide on YouTube and follow Tom's Guide Entertainment on TikTok and Instagram.
More from Tom's Guide
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
