Prime Video has just quietly added one of 2025’s biggest action movies

It's a great addition, considering the film was only out in cinemas last November.

Also brought to the screen in the 1980s with Arnold Schwarzenegger, this new version stars (honorary Irishman) Glen Powell as Ben Richards, a cash-strapped family man living in a near-future United States which is run by an authoritarian media network.

Most people live in poverty with little access to healthcare, while the network placates the masses with trashy, violent game shows and reality television.

The most popular programme is 'The Running Man', in which volunteers (or "runners") can win $1 billion by surviving 30 days while being hunted down by the network's five deadly hunters, led by the mysterious Evan McCone (Lee Pace, Bodies Bodies Bodies), as well as ordinary citizens.

Desperate to save his sick daughter, Ben is convinced by the show's charming but ruthless producer, Dan Killian (Josh Brolin, Sicario), to enter the game as a last resort.

"But Ben's defiance, instincts, and grit turn him into an unexpected fan favourite--and a threat to the entire system," the plot synopsis adds.

The Running Man's cast also includes Colman Domingo (The Madness), Emilia Jones (Cat Person), Jayme Lawson (Sinners), Katy O'Brian (Love Lies Bleeding), Michael Cera (The Phoenician Scheme) and William H. Macy (Train Dreams).

Released in cinemas last November, the movie earned solid reviews from critics, who praised its blend of fun futuristic action, satirical humour and angry social commentary.

Powell's charismatic lead performance was also singled out for praise. In fact, many consider the film to be an improvement on the '80s adaptation.

That said, the movie was also criticised in some quarters for its convoluted and rushed third act and for softening the darker source material.

You can read a sample of some of the positive write-ups for The Running Man (2025) below:

Empire: "It's Wright's biggest, boldest canvas yet, and while it is less funny or flashily directed than his earlier fare, he doesn't miss a chance to rib American popular culture or the capitalist horrors it fostered, as King once did."

Observer (UK): "It might not be especially sharp in its insights or tidy in its plotting, but it’s a rousing, cobweb-clearing blast of a movie: a piece of propulsive popcorn entertainment that feels like a direct descendant of 1990s Paul Verhoeven."

Metro.co.uk: "Yes, the third act gets a little convoluted, but you’re powered to the finish by Glen Powell’s absolutely unstoppable star charisma."

Sight & Sound: "Between the skilful action sequences, the winking gags and the ever-looming threat of Lee Pace’s masked master-hunter Chief McCone (whose gun and knife are inscribed ‘Fate’ and Destiny’), it’s a highly enjoyable thrill-ride for a good stretch of time."

Variety: "Released in 1987, The Running Man was a lumbering Arnold Schwarzenegger movie. You could say that Edgar Wright, the director of the new version, has made it into a decent Bruce Willis movie."

Washington Post: "Wright has an appealing and spry leading man in Glen Powell, who channels the boiling rage of his accidental-insurgent character, Ben Richards, far more persuasively than Ah-nold did."

How to watch The Running Man (2025)

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Edgar Wright's remake of The Running Man is streaming on Prime Video in Ireland and the UK right now.