The Running Man is a science fiction action movie about a desperate father named Ben Richards. He joins a dangerous TV game show where people hunt him for money to save his sick daughter. The movie has a visibly diverse cast and a prominent lesbian character who kisses her partner on screen. The characters also deliver heavy-handed political speeches about workers' unions, class rebellion, and corrupt rich elites.
Community feedback
Was our 78% Woke rating accurate?
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for The Running Man.
Woke representation / casting
The movie features modern diversity casting with Jayme Lawson as Ben’s wife Sheila, Daniel Ezra as Bradley, and Colman Domingo as host Bobby T. More importantly, Katy O'Brian plays a gender-swapped Laughlin. She is shown kissing her female partner on screen. The inclusion of this visible LGBTQ+ relationship adds a clear activist signal to the casting, which raises the score.
55%
Woke political dialogue
The characters deliver several heavy-handed speech lines about workers' rights, union organizing, and rich people being corrupt. During a word association test, when given the word "freedom," Ben snarls "Nope!" to show his anger. A centrist character also acts as a straw-man who exists just to be lectured about the struggles of poor people.
52%
Identity-driven story themes
The plot reframes Stephen King's classic story into a modern class struggle. It focuses heavily on organized rebellion by the poor against the wealthy elite. It also features a brief but clear LGBTQ+ element with Laughlin's lesbian relationship, which adds a prominent identity-focused signal to the story's main themes.
45%
Western institutional / cultural critique
The story heavily critiques corporate networks, the media, and law enforcement, framing them as a corrupt dictatorship. It also features several scenes poking fun at Christianity. These include a street preacher warning of damnation, a casino covered in giant crosses, and a character flipping a wall cross upside down.
50%
Woke character or canon changes
The movie makes noticeable changes to the original Stephen King book. Laughlin, who was a male contestant in the novel, is gender-swapped into a muscular woman played by Katy O'Brian and made into an open lesbian. Sheila Richards, Ben's wife, is also race-swapped to be played by black actress Jayme Lawson.
58%
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Online viewers and critics complained about the film's heavy-handed socialist themes and modern political lectures. Some social media posts criticized the remake for being a shallow political fantasy. They felt it replaced the book's gritty feel with contemporary activist messages.
38%
Creator track record context
The key creative team has a mild track record. Director Edgar Wright (33) and writer Michael Bacall (27) lean slightly liberal but prioritize action and fun over identity politics. Author Stephen King (31) is highly vocal about left-wing politics on social media but generally focuses on storytelling over DEI quotas.
28%
Production
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