The Running Man 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

The Running Man 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman April 2, 2026

Arnold Schwarzenegger's 1987 film The Running Man is not a film that held in so high esteem as to put it in the stratosphere of his filmography, or even to an elevated position in the realm of 80 Action flicks, but it's an entertaining romp with staying power that has now been re-imagined for modern audiences. 2025's take stars Glen Powell as the familiar Ben Richards, but the film takes a somewhat different approach to the material, following the 1982 Stephen King (written under the pen name Richard Bachman) source novel a bit more closely than the 1987 film. It's a loud, violent, angry, yet surprisingly reflective picture that isn't content to just spray blood on the screen but find a rawness to the human response to everything that goes down throughout the film. It's somewhat predictable, but it's a solid remake that offers a fresh perspective on the story. It pairs well with the 1987 flick, offering just the right blend of fresh and familiar. The two should be able to co-exist nicely together in the heads and hearts of fans.

Time is running out for Ben Richards' daughter. She has the flu, and in a future world that is starkly divided between the have's and the have-not's, the flu is death sentence for those on the wrong side of the tracks. Ben and his family live on that wrong side. Both sides are owned and operated by The Network, a strong-armed authoritarian regime that attempts to keep the people under their thumb through the modern-day version of bread and circuses, giving them junk food reality television with a decidedly violent bend. Richards, desperate for cash and unable to hold down a job due to his anger management issues, finds that he no choice but to try out for one of the many "game shows" The Network offers. The most deadly of those is "The Running Man," a show in which contestants are forced to live on the run from a handful of deadly bounty hunters for 30 days. But they also face other obstacles: radically advanced technology watching their every move and a populace that is eager to report the runners for their 15 minutes of fame. Richards quickly finds himself not just part of the show, but emerging as a cult hero as his longevity leads him to find favor with the millions of viewers. With a few helping hands along the way and a motivation to destroy the man behind the curtain, Dan Killian (Josh Brolin), Richards finds himself increasingly bent not just on survival, but turning the tables on The Network and leading a revolution against its nefarious grip on society.

The Running Man is set in a future (2025 in King’s novel) where the value of human life is near zero; whatever value it has is measured in ratings and dollars, not on anything else. It’s a grim, bleak future, one that feels like it's on the doorstep here in the real 2026, and one that the film portrays quite well through the lens of corporate greed and societal manipulation. In fact, beyond the action (which is fine), one of the best things about The Running Man is its look at the human psyche through the lenses of stress and manipulation. Richards already has an anger issue, so the character’s evolution begins form a dark place, a dark place that itself was fostered and formed through the muck of the society in which he lives. Richards is a classic anti-hero, a person who is not instantly likable but is easy to root for, anyway, especially as it becomes clear that his life — never mind is psyche — becomes a tool for ratings and financial gain and keeping a dumbed-down population content to cheer on violence and the further decay of society. But, angry as he is, Richards also has a soft side for the vulnerable in society. His anger is largely directed in the right direction. There’s enough meaty subtext and cultural commentary here that exists beyond the purview of this space, and audiences looking for a movie with some psychological value would find it well worth exploring beyond its superficial excesses.

Those superficial excesses, though, is where the rubber meets the road. The film is dark, vulgar, violent, and gritty. It’s kinetic and fast moving, and even at well over two hours it never feels too terribly slow. Most of the action is well choreographed if not fairly bland (it’s hard to really re-imagine the action scene at this point in movie history) but it does have a few creative tricks up its sleeve, including a Home Alone-inspired sequence later in the film. One of the weaknesses here, however, is the lack of character and personality in the Hunters. In the Arnold film, they were larger than life caricatures. Here, they're masked men with no real screen presence or persona. Things change a bit in the finale in that regard, but the film could have benefited by better developing its ground-level antagonists. But, Josh Brolin and Colman Domingo make up for that slack with excellent turns as the "faces" of "The Running Man," working the show and the manipulating the audience to fine effect.

The Running Man 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc.

Paramount's UHD release of The Running Man delivers a tight and precise image from start to finish. The film's aesthetics often favor worn down locales, drab clothes, and dark set pieces, so it's not made of the sort of scrumptious eye candy where the best UHDs tend to shine brightest, but the 2160p/Dolby Vision presentation more than holds serve within the context of the film and the confines of its deliberately deteriorated look. It brings those drab colors with as much vitality as can be mustered, and certainly the bright studio lights and the clean accents around the nicer areas of the city look terrific. Black levels and white balance are solid, though neither really stood out for sheer excellence. Flesh tones look spot-on. Overall definition is very strong; the picture easily captures and presents the grungy locales and worn attire with satisfying crispness and efficiency, delivering tighter details and improved definition over the Blu-ray (a Blu-ray copy is included but is not available separately). The UHD does everything it can with the source, and the result is strongly detailed picture that is as crisp and clear as seems possible with the source. There is a slight bit of noise, at times, but it's more evident examining the screen up close than it is watching from normal viewing distances.

The Running Man 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Running Man sprints on the UHD format with a Dolby Atmos soundtrack. It's stellar in every way. While there are plenty of moments of sonic reservedness, when dialogue and light atmosphere reign supreme, there are plenty of moments when things just explode into a symphony of sound that shreds speakers and eardrums with explosive chaos. Listen for the tremendous rip and depth to gunfire during a barrage at the 82-minute mark that might just be the highlight of the sound design to that point, only to be matched (and topped) by the climactic fight sequence and all that surrounds it. Bass is deep and prominent, surrounds are used extensively, overheads are nice complementary, and everything just harmonizes across every inch of the stage. Musical fidelity is terrific and spacious with dominant front-end location, and dialogue is clear and nicely detailed for the duration. This is a five-star track in every way.

The Running Man 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This release of The Running Man contains a large assortment of extras. All of them are included on the UHD disc, but only a few also appear on the Blu-ray.

• Audio Commentary: Writer/Director Edgar Wright, Actor Glen Powell, and Writer Michael Bacall discuss the film.
• The Hunters and the Hunted (1080p, 16:34): Looking at the characters and the actors who portray them. The feature delivers some behind the scenes footage and interview clips.
• Welcome to The Running Man: Designing the World (1080p, 16:45): A fascinating look at the "future" world of 2025 that the filmmakers have envisioned and designed. It also calls out some of the winks and nods seen in the film and key props and costumes.
• Surviving the Game: Shooting The Running Man (1080p, 28:37): Exploring worldwide shooting locations, stunt work and actor training, Wright's direction, performances, some of the "shows within the film," making key sequences, and much more.
• The Hunt Begins (UHD Exclusive) (1080p, 11:31): Looking at the original source novel and original film and Wright's desire to make a movie more faithful to King's original work. This piece also looks at the future world portrayed in the film and the basics of the universe and the plot.
• The Running Man Commercials (UHD Exclusive) (1080p, 2:00): All of the "TV commercials" for the show, all in one place. Included are Let Them Run, Hey You! Tough Guy!, Watermelons, Fate and Destiny, and Quadcopter.
• The Running Man Show (UHD Exclusive) (1080p, 4:21 total runtime): More "footage" from the show. Included are Hardest Hits, Opening Titles, and Rules of the Run.
• The Runners -- Self Tapes (UHD Exclusive) (1080p, 14:31 total runtime): Footage from the tapes the contestants must submit to the Network while on the run. Included are Ben Richards, Jenni Laughlin, Tim Jansky, Helpless Dude, Negative Dude, and Final Dude.
• Other Network Shows (UHD Exclusive) (1080p, 2:18): Clips from the other Network shows seen in the film. Included are Speed the Wheel (2:18) and The Americanos, which itself is split into Title Sequence (0:36), Episode (5:34), and Promos, the last of which is also divided into The Americanos - Promo 1 (0:31), The Americanos - Promo 2 (0:31), The Americanos - Promo 3 (0:14), and The Americanos - Promo 4 (0:31).
• The Apostle (UHD Exclusive) (1080p): The shorts exposing The Network made by the character "The Apostle" as seen in the film. Included are The Apostle 1 (2:02) and The Apostle 2 (2:10).
• Stunts Compilation (UHD Exclusive) (1080p, 1:39): A collection of behind the scenes stunt footage rehearsals, with some CGI blood thrown in.
• Hair, Make-Up and Costume Test (UHD Exclusive) (1080p, 25:46): As the title suggests, this piece features cast appearing on camera to test out various looks. Set to music.
• Deleted and Extended Scenes (UHD Exclusive) (1080p, 11:03 total runtime): A collection of scenes introduced with a title and numerical marker.
• Trailers & DIgital Spots (UHD Exclusive) (1080p, 7:45 total runtime): Included are Theatrical Trailer #1, Theatrical Trailer #2, Theatrical Trailer #3, Ride, Raving, and Now Playing.

The Running Man 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Remakes and re-imaginings don't always work, but this one...really does. It's a very different film compared to its 1987 predecessor while maintaining the same spirit but bringing with it more fidelity to the source novel. I'm still a sucker for Arnold's version, but this one will happily occupy the spot right next to it in my library. Paramount's UHD delivers superb video and audio and a surprisingly long and deep collection of extras. Highly recommended.