‘Runner Runner’ Is A Surprisingly Bland Waste Of Talent

Synopsis: Princeton grad student Richie (Justin Timberlake), believing he’s been swindled, travels to Costa Rica to confront online gambling tycoon Ivan Block (Ben Affleck). Richie is seduced by Block’s promise of immense wealth, until he learns the disturbing truth about his benefactor. When the FBI tries to coerce Richie to help bring down Block, Richie faces his biggest gamble ever: attempting to outmaneuver the two forces closing in on him.

Release Date: October 4, 2013     MPAA Rating: PG-13

Genre(s): Action, Thriller

Film Review

In Runner Runner, Justin Timberlake plays Richie Furst, a Princeton student who once had a promising future in finance until the stock market bubble burst. Although Richie seems to be a smart kid with a good head on his shoulders, he is also an accomplished gambler who is well versed in the ways of online poker. And so, with the pressures of a hefty college tuition looming overhead, Furst decides to turn once again to the world of online gambling for a financial boost, but instead ends up losing everything.

However, Furst discovers that his substantial loss may not be a legitimate one, and so he heads to Costa Rica to seek out the owner of the gambling site “Midnight Black,” Ivan Block (Ben Affleck), an open-buttoned shirt type guy who typifies the adage that money equals power. Of course, Furst instantly falls in with Block, as well as his lady friend and business partner Rebecca (Gemma Arterton), and finds more than he bargained for.

Although there is more to Runner Runner‘s plot than that, it’s not worth going into any more detail, as that would be putting more effort into Runner Runner‘s story than its writers, Brian Koppelman and David Levien, did. In no uncertain terms, Runner Runner is as generic a thriller as one could expect; one that telegraphs its twists from a mile away, and features all the requisite archetypes. It’s almost shameful that a film with this kind of talent can deploy so many loosely connected plot points with reckless abandon. For that matter, the only thing that helps the audience keep things together is Timberlake’s terrible narration…that and an overabundance of characters spelling out their motivations. The story is simply that bad.

What makes matters worse for Runner Runner is that most of the actors involved seem to be well aware they’re in a sub-par thriller. Most give little enthusiasm to their performances, leaving the audience with zero characters to care about, hate, or even be generally interested in. Everyone is as thinly drawn as possible to the point that everything becomes laughable.

Runner Runner is a surprisingly bland waste of talent. Its story follows a fairly predictable formula and fails to be remarkable in any way. And some of the film’s more egregious sins – lazy narration, an awkwardly paced story, and no real message or theme about the nature of gambling – take it from mildly interesting to utterly boring. The cast seems equally as uninterested in breathing life into the film, choosing instead to get by with the bare minimum. If it weren’t for the talent involved, namely Oscar winner Ben Affleck, I would say Runner Runner is straight-to-DVD quality entertainment at best.

Although Runner Runner boasts the dynamic pairing of Justin Timberlake and Ben Affleck, I wouldn’t recommend the film to fans of either actor. Both seem to be phoning their performance in – Timberlake more so than Affleck – which is a shame considering both have interesting roles to work with. Affleck especially has an opportunity to chew the scenery and play the charming villain, but he barely flexes his acting muscles. However, Affleck’s dull performance is greatly overshadowed by the one-note Timberlake, who narrates the film with a dry, emotionless tone. Forget connecting with the character, Richie Furst barely feels like a human being, so much so that you’d rather not root for his success.

The one exception out of the film’s entire cast is Anthony Mackie, who feels like he’s in an entirely different movie. It’s almost as if his character, FBI agent Shavers, is chewing his own scenery and whatever leftovers Affleck left behind. A little over the top, but at least there’s some enthusiasm in his performance.

Cast and Crew

• Director(s): Brad Furman
• Producer(s):
• Screenwriter(s): Brian KoppelmanDavid Levien
• Story: 
• Cast: Justin Timberlake (Richie Furst)Ben Affleck (Ivan Block)Gemma Arterton (Rebecca Shafran) Anthony Mackie (Agent Shavers)
• Editor(s): Jeff McEvoy
• Cinematographer: Mauro Flore
• Production Designer(s):
• Costume Designer: 
• Casting Director(s): 
• Music Score: Christophe Beck
• Music Performed By: 
• Country Of Origin: USA