jbar19

In a way, this is a loving ode to 1980s TV complete with bad TV graphics and absurd commercials. My favorite commercial is for a heavy metal album called 'Feel the Steel' which includes songs such as Two Kinds of Love (turn around)' and 'Love is a Bloody Axe'.

There are a lot of hidden 1980s jokes in this movie. Like a commercial for an Oil company called 'Hazelwood' affirming its commitment to cleaning up the environment. (In real life Capt Hazelwood was in the drunk sailor who caused one of the largest the Oil tanker spills in history).

And few may know this, but this movie seems to borrow a lot from a WNEW NY TV special where Warren couple investigated the Amityville house on Live TV. (They didnt find anything)

I enjoyed the commercials but some of them were so accurate they werent even funny.

The movie has a slow pace that gets annoying. It just doesnt move along well.

I appreciate the intent and effort of these film makers but if you want a better alternative to this movie, try 'Late Night with the Devil' 2023 OR check out the HBO 'Tales from the Crypt' episode starring Morton Downey Jr. Called Television Terror'. It's a much scarier version of this kind of movie.

This movie is well done, well acted and well written. But to use a 1980s theme, "Where's the beef?" There's not enough of the main story to give this movie a rating higher than 5/10.

Did I miss something?

Without giving anything away... I kept waiting for a resolution, an answer and Im not sure if I got one.

Competent acting. Interesting premise, certainly not amateurish...

It just stops.

Now, Im sure someone will read some deeper meaning into this movie. And when one is forced to go behind the context of a movie anyone can see whatever they imagine.

But IMHO, there needs to be more of a resolution else, the writers are just taking shortcuts, or worse, not completing the story.

4/10 because it was at least well done and semi interesting. Not recommended.

The good news is Glenn Powell kicks ass and carries this movie. He looks to have a bright future ahead of him.

Obviously, this movie is a remake of the classic Schwarzenegger film. Well, not so much a remake as a reimagining. And the new plot is actually pretty good it just makes it hard to suspend disbelief.

See, the original was actually pretty believable. No one doubted that Schwarzenegger could actually pull off the challenges put in front of him. There was a sub plot about a revolution but it didnt really affect the arc of the story very much. Instead of the revolutionaries helping Arnold, he helped them.

But that's not the case here. In this new Running Man, Ben Richards has all sorts of talented and powerful people popping up to help him. Some of these characters seem a little cartoonish and outlandish. ('I have a secret cabin you can hide in" or "I have a lot of bombs we can use" types of stuff).

This movie is a good waste of time and Im glad I saw it. The action is impressive and never boring. It just doesnt have a lot of 'rewatchability'. But give it a go.