Glen Powell’s Allure Cannot Save This Edgar Wright Film

Comedy could be the style most related to director Edgar Wright, however he is additionally confirmed repeatedly that he is bought a fantastic sense for kinetic motion. His Cornetto Trilogy — “Shaun of the Useless,” “Sizzling Fuzz,” and “The World’s Finish” — is loaded with great motion set items, as are movies like “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” and “Child Driver.” Even his horror-thriller “Final Evening in Soho” makes nice use of distinctive digicam movement to convey a surreal narrative. Clearly impressed by the work of Sam Raimi and Hong Kong motion pics, Wright understands that motion is crucial.

So giving Wright the keys to the blockbuster motion pic “The Working Man” makes quite a lot of sense, at the very least in concept. A movie a few man continuously on the transfer appears excellent for Wright, and casting the always-charming Glen Powell because the titular working man solely provides to the possible enjoyable.

Why, then, is Wright’s “The Working Man” so clunky, so clumsy, so uncertain of itself? Whereas the filmmaker creates a number of huge motion set items, none of them actually pop. It actually does not assist that the cinematography, by the often implausible Chung Chung-hoon, who shot “Oldboy,” “The Handmaiden,” and Wright’s aforementioned “Soho,” is frustratingly murky. There have been a number of lengthy stretches of the movie the place I truthfully couldn’t see what the hell was taking place on display. The top consequence left me disillusioned after I ought to’ve exited the theater exhilarated.

“The Working Man” is predicated on the dystopian sci-fi guide of the identical title, penned by Stephen King beneath his pseudonym Richard Bachman (that “The Working Man” arrives the identical 12 months as one other Bachman dystopian adaptation, the far superior “The Lengthy Stroll,” is an attention-grabbing coincidence). The guide was tailored to the display as soon as earlier than as a car for Arnold Schwarzenegger, however past preserving the fundamental premise, the Arnold pic strayed significantly from the supply materials.

Wright’s take, with a screenplay he labored on with Michael Bacall, tries to remain more true to the King guide, and that maybe was it is first mistake. Like most of King’s Bachman books, “The Working Man” is bleak and nihilistic; it isn’t a enjoyable learn. Wright’s sensibilities appear to ban him from going into full darkness, which implies he is continuously juggling clashing tones. He tries to have his cake and eat it too, making an attempt to make a movie that embraces the bleakness of the guide whereas doubling as a rousing crowd-pleaser.

Powell performs Ben Richards, a working-class man dwelling in a dystopian future the place an evil TV community runs seemingly every little thing. Ben has anger points, and he is misplaced a number of jobs over time each because of his mood and his sense of righteousness — we study he is simply been axed from his most up-to-date job as a result of he dared to stand-up for the wellbeing of a few of his coworkers. You may instantly sense the movie at conflict with itself over its foremost character. 

King’s Ben Richards is an extremely unlikable jerk from the primary web page, however such a personality would not play properly in a giant blockbuster film. So the script tries to have it each methods, by making Ben an offended, violent man who additionally cares about others.

Powell is an inherently likable actor, and he does his finest to make Ben humorous and charming whereas additionally conveying that the character can fly off the deal with if he is pushed too exhausting. Whereas I by no means fairly purchased the course the character goes in, Powell is not the issue right here; he is doing the most effective he can with what he is been given.

Ben’s unemployment could not have come at a worse time, as his toddler daughter has come down with the flu and he and his spouse Sheila (Jayme Lawson) cannot afford drugs to deal with her. Ben’s resolution: audition to seem on one of many many recreation exhibits run by the community. All of those video games are violent and more likely to trigger damage, however essentially the most infamous is “The Working Man,” through which gamers have to remain alive for 30 days whereas a staff of sadistic hunters tries to kill them. When you win, you get a billion {dollars} — however seemingly nobody has ever gained. Ben has no curiosity on occurring “The Working Man,” however positive sufficient, that is the present he will get picked for, as evil, grinning community exec Dan Killian (Josh Brolin) sees loads of rankings potential brewing inside this offended man.

Wright units all of this up with fast cuts and a fair faster tempo, however “The Working Man” ultimately journeys over itself as soon as Ben begins working. Donning a sequence of unconvincing disguises and touring from one state to the subsequent, Ben is continually making an attempt to remain forward of the hunters whereas additionally remaining unseen by most of the people, who can report his location for a hefty reward. A repetitiveness units in: Ben heads to at least one location, befriends some sympathetic locals, then has to evade the hunters through an elaborate motion scene.

The hunters themselves are devoid of character, save for his or her chief, a masked man named Evan McCone (Lee Tempo). However even McCone is a bit flat when you get past the entire “man sporting a masks” factor, despite the fact that Tempo appears to be having enjoyable with the character’s corny dialogue. Distinction this with the Schwarzenegger “Working Man,” the place all of the hunters had been colourful freaks with their very own skilled wrestling-style character traits.

“The Working Man” is vigorous sufficient within the sense that it by no means actually slows down, and there are a handful of memorable supporting turns: Colman Domingo is charismatic as hell because the present’s host, Katy O’Brian is enjoyable if underused as one other contestant, and Michael Cera is delightfully kooky as an anti-government oddball who lends Ben a hand. However by having Ben transfer from one set of characters to a different, “The Working Man” begins to really feel like a online game as an alternative of a film; it is a fetch-quest, not a narrative. By the point Emilia Jones exhibits up close to the tip as a hostage who turns into sympathetic to Ben, it is all rising a bit tedious. It is practically inconceivable for us to get hooked up to any of those characters.

For a movie continuously on the transfer, “The Working Man” feels prefer it by no means actually will get began. I stored ready for Wright to stretch his legs and exhibit his motion directing expertise, however whereas the movie is lots violent, the motion is muddled and exhausting to observe, made worse by that murky, shadowy cinematography. Then there are the movie’s makes an attempt at satire and social commentary. You get the sense that Wright is making an attempt to invoke Paul Verhoeven along with his portrayal of a darkly comedic dystopian hellscape, however it all rings reasonably hole and uninspired. We have seen these items earlier than — in higher films.

For all his expertise, Wright seemingly cannot pin down what he desires “The Working Man” to be. The motion is not very thrilling, the satire is unoriginal, and the over-reliance on bizarre product placement (each Liquid Demise and Monster Vitality get distracting shout-outs right here) make the complete image really feel manufactured. I had excessive hopes that Wright might get “The Working Man” throughout the end line, however the movie stumbles proper out of the gate.

/Movie Score: 5 out of 10

“The Working Man” opens in theaters on November 14, 2025.