35 Thoughts I Had Watching The Running Man
- BY MUFARO MHARIWA
- Nov 14
- 3 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
Everyone knows Squid Game. That closed-off, survival-for-cash chaos where people with nothing left to lose gamble whatever’s left of their dignity for life-changing money. Alice in Borderland plays in the same space. The Running Man lives in that world too, but it takes a very different route.
The film; originally a Stephen King novel, first adapted in 1987, and now reimagined in 2025 by Edgar Wright, follows the same familiar starting point: a desperate man chasing a payday big enough to rescue his family and rewrite his life. But unlike Squid Game and Alice in Borderland, there’s no secret island or mysterious alternate Tokyo. There’s no hiding at all.
The Running Man is a global television event: hosts, sponsors, ad placements, a full production machine, and a population glued to their screens like it’s the World Cup.
Nothing here is happening in the shadows. The evil is broadcast live, sanitised as entertainment, and cheered on by everyday people who not only watch, but participate and cash in themselves. I attended the premiere hosted by Paramount Pictures in partenrship with The Grove Mall, and my mind was doing a marathon of its own. Here are 35 thoughts that ran through my head.
It’s clear to see that parents will do anything for their children.
Ben Richards is the angriest man I’ve ever seen. I don’t know how he is always so constantly angry.
You’d think this was a DC movie, not a single bit of sunlight in sight.
Living in a world where you’re penalised for helping someone is crazy.
Ben brought his child into his former manager not to guilt trip him into getting a job but to stop himself from assaulting the guy, wow.
When did Thanos grow out his hair?
The concept of a man on a hamster wheel and it being sped up every time he gets a wrong answer is very funny to me.
Being convinced to do The Running Man at the last minute is something.
Tim is one of those guys who should’ve just stayed at home.
Laughlin is way too confident. Does she know what type of show she’s on?
I probably would’ve died during training.
It’s hard enough surviving 30 days in seclusion, but having to mail a video everyday?
It’s only Day 2 and the hunters already know Ben’s fake name, wow.
I always fall for the trick where the character is dreaming.
Ben’s survival instincts are remarkable.
Tim is such a stupid guy. No disguise, not even trying to hide but boasting.
Automated check-ins to hotels, and such a dystopian era. I can’t help but think this is where we’re headed.
So crazy how it’s a game of staying hidden but the world is always watching you.
Of course, it’s all rigged.
I would’ve liked to see more of the kid and his family.
Laughlin was too arrogant, she could’ve gone far if she really tried.
Evading the hunters in such a formidable way, then dying to the most unlikely of things? Who gave these kids flamethrowers?
Wow, the kids got a lifetime supply of cereal for their troubles, no milk though.
Ben only has two disguises; one as a preacher and one as a priest, interesting.
Bradley’s hotdog story makes him likeable.
Bradley built all these things in his house and made sure to use all of them against the people who killed his father.
It’s always so obvious who is about to die because the movie makes sure you like them first.
How do you even survive if the lampposts around the city can detect DNA?
They really could’ve named this movie ‘Inuit’. Inuit is a type of boredom that rich people get when they have tasted everything the world has to offer and now find joy in diabolical things. The Hunger Games could’ve also been called Inuit.
Josh Brolin has mastered the art of playing a very evil person who is likable.
Bobby T is so charismatic.
A self driving car that gives you a false sense of control? Get me out of here.
It was all a game and Ben started playing it the way it should be played.
To be fair, they really played into the ad placements in this movie.
This movie is a depiction of what is to come.
