The Running Man 4K Ultra HD Review

The Running Man is perfectly entertaining but didn’t quite swing for the fences and tried at times to be as bonkers as something like Mad Max: Fury Road but instead stepped back into your traditional Hollywood action-er.

 

 

The Running Man
(2025)

Genre(s): Action, Suspense/Thriller, Science Fiction
Paramount | R – 133 min. – $34.95 | March 3, 2026

Date Published: 03/07/2026 | Author: The Movieman


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MOVIE INFO:
Directed by: Edgar Wright
Writer(s): Stephen King (novel); Michael Bacall and Edgar Wright (screenplay)
Cast: Glen Powell, Josh Brolin, William H. Macy, Lee Pace, Michael Cena, Emilia Jones
DISC INFO:
Features: Commentary, Featurettes, Deleted/Extended Scenes
Slip Cover: No
Digital Copy: Yes
Formats Included: 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray
Number of Discs: 2
Audio (4K/BD): English (Dolby Atmos), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Atmos), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Japanese (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Video (4K): 2160p/Widescreen 2.35
Video (BD): 1080p/Widescreen 2.35
Dynamic Range: HDR10, Dolby Vision
Subtitles: English SDH, Chinese, Danish, Finnish, French, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai
Codecs: HEVC / H.265 (4K), MPEG-4 AVC (BD)
Region(s): A, B, C

Paramount provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.

THE MOVIE — 3¼/5

Plot synopsis: In the near future, “The Running Man” is the top-rated show on television, a deadly competition where contestants must survive 30 days while being hunted by professional assassins. Desperate for money to save his sick daughter, Ben Richards (GLEN POWELL) is convinced by the show’s ruthless producer (JOSH BROLIN) to enter the game as a last resort. Ratings soon skyrocket as Ben’s defiance, instincts, and grit turn him into an unexpected fan favorite, as well as a threat to the entire system.

Quick Hit Review: The Running Man is another quasi-remake that is a more faithful adaptation of the source material (based on Stephen King’s book) compared with the 1987 version, a movie I have not seen in decades. This 2025 adaptation is for sure watchable and has the ingredients for a fun, off-the-wall sci-fi/action/thriller but instead is kind of mediocre not to mention feels its 2+ hour running time.

For his part, what I consider the new Sam Worthington with a bit more charm in Glen Powell, he does a good enough job in the lead, and plays the everyman quite well, though I’d hardly call it a riveting performance either. You get a few minutes of screen time from venerable acting veterans with Josh Brolin as the evil corporate man while William H. Macy as an underground tech guy who aids Powell in his mission to elude the hunters.

The film is the latest from Edgar Wright who has a good following thanks to Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, and although I’m not his biggest fan, I have found most of his mainstream films, like Baby Driver, and in small part of Last Night in Soho, to be entertaining. Wright does have a visual flare and does some interesting camera angles and movements to give this some freshness.

 

SPECIAL FEATURES – 3½/5

This release comes housed in a Steelbook case and includes the Digital HD redemption code.

Audio Commentary – Co-Writer/Director Edgar Wright, Actor Glenn Powell and Writer Michael Bacall

Featurettes:

  • The Hunt Begins (11:31) – Behind-the-Scenes featurette on how the project came about starting with adapting the Stephen King novel and Edgar Writing coming on-board.
  • The Hunters and the Hunter (16:34) – This one delves more into the casting.
  • Welcome to the Running Man: Designing the World (16:45) is obviously on the production design with a futuristic world with still hints of today’s reality.
  • Surviving the Game: Shooting The Running Man (28:37) gets into Edgar Wright’s approach to directing.

The Running Man Commercials (2:00) is a collection of TV commercials.

The Running Man Show (4:21) are movie clips of things like the hardest hits, opening title of the show, etc.

The Runners: Self Tapes (14:31) are a collection of characters doing their on-the-run tapes.

Other Network Shows are two in-movie adverts for “Speed the Wheel” and “The Americanos”

The Apostle (4:19) is in-movie footage of the anonymous person who exposes the show.

Stunts Compilation (1:39) is just some rehearsal footage of the stunt work.

Hair, Make-Up and Costume Test (25:46) – Lengthy feature with just raw footage of the actors in various lighting to test things out.

Deleted and Extended Scenes (11:03) are scenes that likely for pacing reasons were removed or cut down.

Trailers & Digital Spots (7:45) – 3 Theatrical Trailers and 3 Digital Spots

 

 

4K ULTRA HD VIDEO – 5/5, BLU-RAY VIDEO – 5/5

The Running Man races onto 4K Ultra HD and is presented with a 2.35 widescreen aspect ratio and a 2160p high-definition transfer. This does look great, detail is sharp and well defined throughout while colors do have a certain splash to it, especially set against the darker look of the dystopia setting.

AUDIO – 5/5

The disc comes with a robust Dolby Atmos track that excels both with the many action sequences alongside the quieter moments that are either reflective with little to no dialogue or the dialogue-heavy scenes.

 

OVERALL — 3½/5

The Running Man is perfectly entertaining but didn’t quite swing for the fences and tried at times to be as bonkers as something like Mad Max: Fury Road but instead stepped back into your traditional Hollywood action-er. Still it’s worth one viewing and a good way to waste a couple hours.