Edgar Wright says sci-fi spectacle 'The Running Man' holds 'a fun house mirror to our reality'

In Edgar Wright's latest sci-fi spectacle, The Running Man, the filmmaker holds up what he calls “a fun house mirror to our reality.” And when that reflection looks bleak, that’s precisely the point.

- By Manjusha Radhakrishnan

When I tell him that his new film both entertained and unsettled me — that it left me strangely sad, as if watching the world slide toward anarchy — Wright smiles thoughtfully.

“Well, I mean, I think it’s the job of genre films and science fiction films to hold up a fun house mirror to our reality,” he says. “And I think what hopefully is good about the movie is that it’s an entertaining action film, but it gives you something to think about. Maybe the job of dystopian fiction is to bring around change — it’s like a warning about the future.”

'RIGHTEOUS ANGER'

Based on Stephen King’s novel, The Running Man imagines a world ruled by televised cruelty, where truth-tellers are punished, and distraction is currency. Glen Powell stars as Ben Richards, a man whose honesty has made him an enemy of the state — and the perfect candidate for a deadly game show.