Zanobard Reviews

Steven Price’s propulsive score for The Running Man surges a determined theme for Ben Richards through a dark, moodily electronic dystopian soundscape, with a whistling Western-styled motif for the Hunters and a contrastingly upbeat piece for the Running Man show itself hurtling after him for a pretty relentless but nonetheless enjoyable soundtrack chase overall.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Steven Price’s music for 2025’s The Running Man – starring Glen Powell as Ben Richards – contains no thematic reference at all to Harold Faltermeyer’s score for the 1987 film, which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger. Instead, Price has crafted his own theme for the 2025 reboot, introduced in the album’s opening track; eerie electronics open the piece, setting quite a moody and dystopian tone before piano notes and strings start to rise, debuting the film’s primary motif and ostinato. It’s a dark and wary theme with a touch of hope to it overall, and it swirls with increasing intensity as this electronic/orchestral-styled cue continues. With dramatically ominous atmosphere emphatically abound, the track then builds to a climactic crescendo at the four minute mark to close things out. All-in, it’s a pretty strong start; the main theme is expectedly intense and memorable, and the compositional style works well too. Coldly electric ambience then echoes in a rather Blade Runner-esque futuristic style in the subsequent “I’m Not Angry” alongside moody notes from the main theme, before a sudden explosion of electronic grandeur crashes into centre stage for “Introducing Bobby”; a deafening sense of triumph and gusto rapidly envelopes the music here with a thunderous electric guitar leading the charge, introducing a brashly confident theme for the titular host of the Running Man show, played by Colman Domingo.

A sudden dissonant burst of harsh electronics crashes into frame for “Insubordination”, with tense percussive hints toward the main theme playing in the background opposite a darkly oppressive atmosphere. Bobby’s boppy motif then returns after a brassy rendition of the American national anthem in “Rules Of The Run”, leaping enthusiastically along with its electric guitar emphatically in tow all the way across this two minute track. The main theme then turns quiet, introspective and rather solemn for “If I Die On This Show”, plinking away on serene piano notes, electronics and strings with the short “They Will Walk Among You” afterward then continuing in a similarly morose vein. The tone then turns eerie and almost sinister for “Target Acquired”, with another new theme introducing itself in a curiously Western-esque whistling manner on a backdrop of loud and increasingly imposing electronics. This new motif – likely for Evan McCone and the Hunters, who track down Richards in the film – then performs just as eerily in the subsequent “Nowhere To Run And Nowhere To Hide” as it stalks the now tense main theme, with an action pace also kicking up on dramatic electronic beats. A sudden burst of orchestral ferocity then thunders through with the main theme aggressively in tow for the short “Stop Filming Me”, before coming to a just as sudden stop.

The electric action continues into “I’m Still Here” at a frenetic pace, with echoes of the main theme interspersed throughout, until “The Network Owns The News” then slows things back down with a rather sombre rendition of the main theme on downtrodden electronics. Action however then rapidly returns to the fold in “Someone’s Following Us” as increasingly horror-like electronics surge in the opening seconds before rapid strings and bursts of brass propel the main theme into further anxious rapidity. The minute-long “We Got Him” then surges at a similar electronic pace, though hope starts to rise again in “You Can’t Kill An Idea” afterward as light percussion, piano and synth build in both volume and intensity alongside the ostinato of the main theme to a proudly dramatic finishing crescendo. This hope doesn’t last for long though as “I Am The Initiator” falls back into the darkly intense action of earlier with wary interspersions of the main theme darting in and out at various intervals, and even a surgingly malevolent rendition of Bobby’s theme arriving at the end. Gently ethereal piano notes then echo the main theme at the start of “Keep Your Eyes Open”, with twinkling atmosphere following until a more determined electronic pace overtakes at the halfway mark. The malevolent whistling identity for hunting Richards follows quickly suit as the main theme turns anxious, and frenetic action then rapidly builds to an intense finish.

Imposing percussive hits open “Look At All These People Who Know The Truth”, with the main theme following shortly after on solemn strings while being closely pursued by the whistling hunting motif. “I’m Out Of Time To Save Your Life” then moodily echoes notes from Bobby’s theme alongside some rather downtrodden, regretful strings, before deafeningly frantic action suddenly overtakes for the minute-long “Altitude Alert”, with pounding electronics practically screaming in your ears alongside tensely brassy renditions of both the main and hunting themes. The thunderous action then continues into the first minute or so of “This Is My Show Now” before some rather grand brass starts to build determination and the action then builds to a crashing close a short while later. “They Can’t Lie To Us If You Don’t Watch” then slows things back down initially with the coldly ethereal ambience from earlier returning before increasingly abrasive hints toward the main theme build the volume and intensity back up, and continue into the short “This Time You’ll Play Your Part” alongside similarly tense echoes of Bobby’s theme. To close the score, “Turn It Off” swirls increasingly determined renditions of the main theme on loud brass, percussion and electronics before final track “This Game Is No Game” then reprises the hunting motif in now a grandly triumphant manner, with a final rendition of the main theme overtaking in the back half to give the track – and the score – a proudly grandiose sendoff.

Overall, Steven Price’s score for The Running Man (2025 edition) is a propulsive, relentlessly energetic experience that never lets up throughout its seventy minute runtime. Its standout aspect is its themes, with a moody yet ever-determined main theme for Ben Richards (“The Running Man”) struggling to survive throughout the album (in an entertaining way, it’s a great theme) as its endlessly pursued by the whistling Western-esque motif for Evan McCone and the Hunters (“This Game Is No Game”), as well as the thunderously boppy piece for Bobby Thompson and the Running Man show (“Introducing Bobby”,”Rules Of The Run”). The breathlessly orchestral/electronic style also cements a fittingly dystopian, Blade Runner-esque tone right off the bat, and results in some lovely ethereally ambient moments (“I’m Not Angry”) as well as several dramatically frenetic action setpieces (“Altitude Alert”, “This Is My Show Now”) where the score’s major themes clash intensely and indeed enjoyably, so there’s nary a dull moment. The relentless action does get a little much after a while, but I’d say that’s a minor criticism. All-in, major props to Price here in nailing not only a very apt compositional style & tone for the gritty, oppressive police state setting of the story (and the contrasting upbeatness of the titular in-film show), but also a memorable, prevalent and indeed kickass main theme for Richards himself.

Score: 7.5/10

Standout Cues: The Running Man, Introducing Bobby

Follow me on Twitter for the latest soundtrack and review-based news!