In a review of The Running Man (2025), Artemis Douglas assesses the film’s commentary on the modern world in relation to capitalism and excessive surveillance.
The Running Man is an interesting and cutting piece of witty satire. After watching it twice, I have found that there is a clear statement that means to criticize the lack of privacy that we submit ourselves to today, in the real world. From omnipresent social media to contrived security threats deployed to justify increased policing and surveillance budgets, especially in the United States, our real world is steadily turning into a complete panopticon.
The Running Man opens with our protagonist trying to negotiate for his job back. Ben Richards (Glen Powell) is left unemployed after talking to a trade union rep. We find out later in the film that he wasn’t talking to the union to protect himself, but rather to protect his “guys” and the team that he worked with. At this moment, Richard was not acting out of self-interest, but out of respect to his team and this is a recurring trait of our protagonist.
From omnipresent social media to contrived security threats deployed to justify increased policing and surveillance budgets, especially in the United States, our real world is steadily turning into a complete panopticon.
Motivated by pure desperation and the need to acquire medicine for his child, Richards goes and auditions for The Network’s game shows. The Network is a powerful omni-media entity that has total monopoly and dominance over media and surveillance, while also exerting absolute control over the government. Their game shows are deadly, at best. The deadliest of them all is the titular one known as: The Running Man. In this particular game, an entire society hunts you down and tries to kill you for the duration of 30 days. The longer you survive, the more money your family gets.
From the start, it’s made clear that nobody has ever survived the full month of the game and lived to tell the tale. The film crosscuts events from the tryout section of the game with scenes from Richards’s career, showcasing the dangerous feats he performed on the former job. These moments build toward the film’s core narrative: Richards’s run as The Running Man.
The film's story focuses almost entirely on Richards as both the initiator and corruptor of the corporate executives.
Just as Ben is about to embark on this survival run, he finds out that a friend of his had the intention of bringing him on as a business partner. This means that he actually did have another choice to get employed despite being blacklisted in every corporation, losing all hope and resorting to participating in a so-called death game.
The film’s critique focuses on surveillance and the impossible choices people face under capitalism. However, it never explicitly identifies capitalism as the root problem; instead, it frames these issues primarily as matters of corruption.
Moreover, the film isn’t some sort of revolutionary text. It doesn't suggest that capitalism itself must be destroyed. This remains true even in the final act, where a violent uprising occurs after the truth about Richards’ run is revealed. The film's story focuses almost entirely on Richards as both the initiator and corruptor of the corporate executives. It does not highlight the ordinary people, without whom mass resistance to systemic abuses would be impossible, nor does it critique the economic systems that empower and incentivize the corruption it represents.
As a critique of opt-in mass surveillance, and of the panopticon that we choose to be a part of whenever we post on social media, The Running Man is an effective, witty, and biting film.
As a critique of the violence, deprivation, and greed that capitalism enables however, The Running Man ultimately falls short. Although it effectively depicts coerced choices and the desperation to survive, the film’s take-home message loses intensity in the film’s second act.
It uses a “great man” theory of change in which a single person can drive the revolution. This is an idea that serves the story but doesn’t hold true in real life.
The film offers some compelling narrative choice in depicting the final uprising and what triggers it. It uses a “great man” theory of change in which a single person can drive the revolution. This is an idea that serves the story but doesn’t hold true in real life.
Overall, The Running Man is a sharp satire that deeply criticizes the present by portraying a dystopian world. I suggest watching this film twice: once for fun, and once to engage with its critique and commentary on the modern world.