I kinda looked forward to this one, but the box office performance was totally lukewarm, so I was curious why, and the content itself piqued my interest, so I went to see it. The movie was fun and didn't drag, but yeah, there are definitely things that fall short.
The upside, as I mentioned, was that the movie never had a boring part. Considering the 133-minute runtime, which is pretty long by today's standards, thatโs a huge plus. The setupโa guy participating in a survival show for his life being hunted by everyoneโsounds simply entertaining, but focusing on that concept for over two hours in a movie is seriously tough. The quality of the story needs to maintain tension, and the action can't just be random *bang bang boom*; it has to make the audience feel chased. It did that pretty well right up until about five minutes before the credits. As the plot unfolds, it constantly drops interesting world-building elements, forcing immersion and keeping the excitement flowing. I think a well-made action film needs spectacle, but the more you are invested in the story, the deeper the action feels, and this movie managed to do that until the final five minutes.
However, what bugged me was how much bullet hell he went through, yet he wasn't even grazed. The only time he seemed genuinely in danger was in the final duel with McCon, when he got cut on the abdomen by a shard of mirror glass. He was shot at close range multiple times, and the fact that he never got hit wasn't just a one-off thingโit lasted until the end, and my immersion kept dropping. I can't call the action direction brilliant, just 'well-done.' Everyone has different tastes, but I prefer action where the protagonist gets slashed a few times or takes a minor, non-fatal gunshot woundโthat feeling of life-or-death perilโso I couldn't help but feel disappointed.
Since the movie is non-stop action, the plot moves alongside it. Similarly, the early and mid-sections were exciting, but it started losing steam as it went on. I personally love films set in dystopias, so the world-building elements were fascinatingโfor example, the 'Network,' a massive broadcaster, controls society, acting practically above the law, not just in media; or the worsening environment making it hard for kids and the elderly with compromised immune systems to even find cold medicine. The depiction of a plausible dystopia was excellent.
Those settings played a huge role in maintaining interest, but the process of the protagonistโa simple family manโtransforming into the trigger that awakens and enrages the public lacked conviction. His *reason* for being angry was convincing, but the sudden flip in public opinionโfrom seeing him as a villain due to constant media manipulation to suddenly supporting himโfelt way too rushed. First, the process of convincing Amelia, the middle-class woman, felt too abrupt, and the way that spread to create the mass outrage leading to the ending felt completely out of nowhere. I canโt remember his name, but the guy who tore through the screen at the end and started ramblingโI honestly still don't know exactly what that was about. The Running Man show tricks the protagonist, tricks the viewers, and the movie tries to trick the audience at the end, but the crucial point is that it failed to deliver a clear conclusion. If the runtime had been around 150 minutes, it probably would have been much better, though that's a tough commercial choice. The video manipulation parts reminded me of recent deepfakes and AI videos, and seeing the public readily accept the flood of fabrication and exaggeration felt like watching real life; I was thoroughly hooked and immersed in that aspect.
I love Edgar Wright movies; Iโve seen the Cornetto Trilogy and Scott Pilgrim, but this felt like only half of his usual style showed up, which is a bummer. After hitting a high point with the commercial success of Baby Driver, it feels like he's lost his way (ํค๋งค๋๊ฑฐ). I hope he finds his form again. It's hard to predict, but seeing Mamoru Hosodaโs recent decline makes me sad, and I really hope Edgar Wright doesn't follow suit.
"The consensus is that the setup and world-building were fire, but the second half absolutely crashed and burned. Where was the signature Edgar Wright sauce?! Seems like the studio meddled hard."
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