It’s already been a very good year for movies based on Stephen King books, as The Long Walk has already been a critical success, but we’re not done yet, as another of King’s dystopian stories, The Running Man, is also set to get its (second) film adaptation this year. King was a big fan of The Long Walk, and if his opinion is any indication, The Running Man could be another success.
Following the release of yesterday’s final trailer for The Running Man, starring Glen Powell, King revealed that he has already seen the film... and he thinks it’s fantastic. Not only that, but he compares it to one of the greatest action movies of all time, which certainly sets a high bar for the movie to clear. King said:
BTW: I've seen it and it's fantastic. DIE HARD for our time. A bipartisan thrill ride.
Needless to say, “Die Hard for our time” is quite a statement. Die Hard is generally viewed as not simply a great action movie, but it’s arguably the greatest action movie. It’s going to be at or near the top of the list of the greatest action movies ever made. Is Stephen King arguing that The Running Man is getting ready to join that list?
One person who is likely quite hopeful that is the case is star Glen Powell. He made a point to post King’s comments on Instagram, which will almost certainly hype up the fans looking forward to the movie coming out next month.
King may not be going quite that far. On paper, the similarities between the two films are at least understandable. Die Hard largely popularized the “one man versus an army” action movie genre to the point that “Die Hard, on a [Insert location here]” became shorthand for describing many movies that tried to cash in on the film’s success.
The Running Man actually does fall into that same category. It actually predates Die Hard and its many sequels and imitators. It’s the story of a man, Ben Richards, who competes on a game show that sees literally the entire world trying to hunt him down. In that way, the movie will be a lot like Die Hard.
While the primary comparison between The Running Man and Die Hard may be in the structure of the plot, King is clearly also calling out the new film’s quality by comparing the two. This is great news not only for fans looking forward to seeing a new Stephen King adaptation or seeing a new Glen Powell movie, but basically anybody looking for a great new action movie might want to be sure they don’t miss this one.