Stephen King set his "The Running Man" novel and its dystopian future in 2025, so it’s fitting that a new film adaptation arrives today. Meanwhile, a trio of new art house films opens at Digital Gym Cinema.
'The Running Man' returns
Back in 1987, Arnold Schwarzenegger was the first cinematic incarnation of King's "The Running Man."
Directed by "Starksy & Hutch" actor Paul Michael Glaser, the original was a memorable, exceedingly fun '80s action film that still holds up. Schwarzenegger was his muscular self, but it was Richard Dawson, an actual game show host, who added gleeful nastiness as the ruthless TV host.
This year, Edgar Wright delivers a remake that tries to be more faithful to King’s original novel. It succeeds in mirroring the plot more closely with its story of a man who ends up on a deadly, highly rated game show where contestants must survive 30 days while professional "Hunters" and the entire world pursue him — all for a billion-dollar prize, which no one has ever won.
Wright pumps up the remake with fast-paced action and effects that give it a summer action flick feel. He also tackles some darker themes that tap into current fears about greed, AI, fake news, big media mergers — you listening Paramount? — and authoritarian governments.
I love Wright and once again he displays great craftsmanship, but in this instance he fumbles in the final act with overly complicated plotting and an ending that delivers neither satisfying revenge (as in the first film) nor King’s bleak dystopian warning. There's none of Wright's usual cleverness and layered humor, and the action lacks the flair of "Baby Driver" or "Hot Fuzz." He does make a nice nod to Schwarzenegger by placing the actor's face on the prize money.
Glenn Powell is fine as Ben Richards — the Arnold role — but he doesn't bring anything exceptional to the role. His square-jawed, good looks are impossible to disguise, making it hard to believe he can evade capture when it is so easy to spot him in a crowd.
"The Running Man" is an entertaining watch but it does not offer the repeat viewing fun of the original film or Wright's Cornetto Trilogy.
Digital Gym Cinema offerings
The San Diego Asian Film Festival (SDAFF) has two days left, but a hit from last year opens today at Digital Gym Cinema. "Mistress Dispeller" offers a window into China that is completely unexpected. The superbly crafted and slyly executed documentary explores a new industry in which someone can be hired to surreptitiously end your spouse’s extramarital affair.
When the film screened at SDAFF, artistic director Brian Hu said: "In China, there is the figure of the 'Mistress Dispeller,' a new job that has sprouted out in sort of the economy of romance. So if you suspect, in this case, that your husband is cheating on you, you can hire a mistress dispeller, and that person will go undercover as the friend of a friend, hang out with the husband, and maybe try to figure out what's going on, and then maybe befriend the mistress with the hope of getting more information and then maybe breaking it up, maybe trying to get the original couple back together. But wow, if you're a documentarian, how do you capture this? And I watched this movie just in total awe of what an accomplishment this movie is. How did director Elizabeth Lo get scenes where you had this mistress and this Mistress Dispeller talking in front of a camera? It's quite good."
Lo masterminds a kind of cinematic alchemy, telling the story with such elegance and humanity.
Also opening is "Peter Hujar’s Day," based on a real 1974 interview Linda Rosenkrantz conducted with the photographer in which he recounts a single day’s activities. It may be too introspective, and his name-dropping may not resonate with younger audiences, but fans of New York's '70s scene will enjoy the nostalgia.
Director Ira Sachs creates an intimate, narrowly focused style. I wish he had included some of Hujar's photographs so we could see the people he is talking about instead of opening the film up to some exterior scenes. Perhaps rights issues prevented this, but I immediately went to Hujar's website to see his photos and his art would have enhanced the film immeasurably.
Ben Whishaw and Rebecca Hall are great, as always, and give the film an easy naturalness.
And saving the weirdest for last, Romania’s wildly gifted but wholly eccentric Radu Jude tackles the Dracula legend in a bonkers blend of comedy and social commentary. I loved his "Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn" and enjoyed his recent "Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World." He has an unconventional approach to storytelling that allows him to create the strangest entry points to what is ultimately a social commentary on his part.
His "Dracula" is far less successful for me than the other films of his that I have seen. The material does not merit its near three-hour length, but there are a few genius moments if you have the patience to wait.
A director within the film constantly comments on the story. It opens with some pretty atrocious AI-generated images that the director dismisses as bad — but we still have to consume them, and he keeps bringing them back. As the film progresses, the director's commentary becomes more interesting as Jude starts to tackle the Dracula legend and what it means, how it reflects how his country is viewed and how Dracula reflects certain social ideas. There are genuinely inspired moments, and the film improves as it progresses. I just wish he had been more ruthless in his editing to pare the film down to its best bits.
So, plenty to choose from this weekend, including SDAFF's closing night film "Left-Handed Girl."
