Overview
- The R-rated Lionsgate release is now in theaters as of Sept. 12.
- Director Francis Lawrence and writer JT Mollner adapt Stephen King’s Richard Bachman novel into a tightly focused, character-driven dystopia.
- Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson lead as the film’s emotional center, with Mark Hamill portraying the commanding Major.
- Reviews describe an endurance contest enforcing a three‑mile‑per‑hour pace under threat of execution, with graphic violence and close-quarters intensity.
- Critics widely commend the leads and craft but cite thin supporting arcs, repetitive shock tactics, and a narrowed perspective that rarely shows the televised audience or wider world.