The post-pandemic theatrical market is hard, and infrequently unfair. For non-event movies, being good is not sufficient – if one thing would not examine each field, as a rule, audiences will simply keep house. Thus, films that deserved to turn into singles or doubles find yourself whiffing, and get tagged with the dreaded label of “field workplace bomb.”
2025’s The Working Man is a type of. Directed by Edgar Wright and starring Glen Powell, this new adaptation of the Stephen King ebook of the identical title arrived with loads of hype and hope, however evaluations have been finally mixed-to-positive: 63% on Rotten Tomatoes (nonetheless Contemporary, however solely simply) and 56 on Metacritic. Going through fierce competitors from Now You See Me: Now You Do not and the second week of Predator: Badlands, that simply wasn’t sufficient to get butts in seats. On a reported finances of $110 million, The Working Man made simply $68 million worldwide.
However this film deserves a second likelihood at discovering an viewers, and now, it has one. As of January 13, The Working Man is on the market on Paramount Plus. For those who’re nonetheless on the fence, I might encourage you to examine this one out.
The Working Man Delivers Thrilling Motion & Film Star Appeal
Although it shares a title and supply materials with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 1987 model, the 2 films are dramatically totally different. In pursuing this new adaptation, Wright sought to stay a lot nearer to King’s story, and the result’s a reasonably propulsive dystopian thriller. Powell stars as Ben Richards, a working class hothead whose earlier battle towards inhumane working situations bought him blacklisted. To get the drugs his toddler daughter wants, he chooses to take part in a violent TV recreation present known as The Working Man, which nobody actually walks away from.
After staring down Josh Brolin’s villainous producer and Colman Domingo’s wildly charismatic host, Ben is distributed on the run, incomes cash daily he stays free. However the present’s crew of hunters are on his tail, together with any and all legislation enforcement and a few overeager citizen viewers. If he is caught, he is killed spectacularly for the bloodthirsty viewers at house.
Wright’s movie lacks a number of the biting commentary of King’s ebook, however the brightened tone is all in service of displaying us an excellent time. Powell is in full film star mode, attending to lean into each his comedic skills and his stuntwork – which, as befits a Tom Cruise protégé, he did a lot of himself. Attending to spend time with him as an motion hero is half the enjoyable, and regardless of the monetary returns, I hope he pursues extra roles like this sooner or later.
It helps that Wright gives him with some fairly nice set items. The director’s attribute visible thrives are toned down in The Working Man, however his sense for motion rhythm is pretty much as good because it’s all the time been. Ben’s first encounter with the hunters in a Boston hostel is an actual standout, as is a sequence with returning Wright collaborator Michael Cera, which slips into absurdity and will get the laughter going.
The Working Man actually is an pleasing thrill journey. Its blockbuster scale regarded good on the large display screen, nevertheless it’s bought greater than sufficient to succeed at house, should you’ll give it the prospect.
- Launch Date
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November 11, 2025
- Runtime
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133 minutes