Join host Neal Lynch for a giant breakdown of Edgar Wright’s The Running Man (2025), starring Glen Powell. In this deep dive, we compare this gritty, satirical adaptation to Stephen King’s (Richard Bachman) original 1982 novel and the campy 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger classic.
Topics covered in this episode:
The Adaptation: How Wright pivots from 80s action cheese to systemic horror and the “banality of evil”.
Glen Powell as Ben Richards: Analyzing the shift from Arnie’s muscle to a “pre-tubercular” (but surprisingly shredded) desperate father.
The Satire: A look at the “Americanos” Kardashian parody, the “Speed the Wheel” game show with Sean Hayes, and the controversial Liquid Death product placement.
The Ending Explained: Why the film changed the novel’s “unfilmable” kamikaze climax to a story of survival and revolution.
Box Office vs. Streaming: Why the film bombed in theaters with a $110M budget but found redemption as a streaming hit on Apple TV and Paramount
Timestamps:
00:00:00 – Intro
00:00:15 – Brief Overview
00:04:27 – Stephen King’s The Running Man Novel (1982)
00:23:24 – Arnold Schwarzenegger’s The Running Man (1987)
00:37:31 – Edgar Wright’s development of The Running Man (2025), casting Glen Powell
00:47:18 – Character analysis (Ben Richards, Dan Killian, Evan McCone, The Apostle)
01:20:39 – The Americanos, Speed The Wheel, Liquid Death, FreeVee01:36:09 – The ending (“Richards Lives” vs. Obliteration)
01:39:37 – Box Office and Critical Reception
01:47:27 – Biggest Box Office Bombs of 2025
01:49:34 – One Final Note on a Missed Opportunity
New York Giants Fan Rants & Analysis
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ABOUT NEAL LYNCH:
Irish-Italian-American who graduated from a Catholic high school (even though I’m not Catholic), and a college known for producing doctors and lacrosse players, then became neither.
Former 4th string quarterback and middle relief pitcher at a Division III university.
Degrees in Film & Media Studies and Communications.
Worked for Condé Nast, New York Post, SportsNet New York, and Hearst Television.
Divorced dad who blogs, podcasts, writes, edits, optimizes, strategizes, and over-analyzes.
ABOUT “GIANT MESS”:
“Giant Mess” is a weird sports and entertainment comedy podcast hosted by a giant mess, the Real Cinch Neal Lynch.
Neal covers New York Giants football, Mets baseball, movies, and TV shows, mixing in funny life stories along the way.
Episodes focus on movie reviews, tv show recaps, post-game analysis, predictions, reactions, and funny stories about parenting.
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