Runner

Two things can be true at the same time. Take director Scott Waugh’s action thriller Runner. The critic side of me found little to admire. The “normie” side of me enjoyed a good ol’ throwback to straight-to-video films of yore. You can’t compare a film like this to Citizen Kane, nor does it stand up to action classics — some of them even involving one of its stars, Owen Wilson (yes, I consider Shanghai Noon and Armageddon to be action classics). Taken on its own merits, however, Runner is surprisingly fun. I think it’s very much aware of the type of flick it is, hard rock soundtrack and all, and leans heavily into it.

The plot in a nutshell: Hank (Alan Ritchson) is a former Navy SEAL now living in Australia’s Gold Coast; the “resident Yank”, as the locals call him. Hank’s home is a dilapidated boat. He squints ponderously into the sunset, weighed down by a dark past he shares with ex-wife Monica (Geraldine Hakewill) — this past will add, um, substance to the plot later on. To take his mind off, he works as a runner for the mysterious Iggy, performing mostly routine tasks. He doesn’t “hurt people anymore”, see. Sounds like he’s about to hurt a few, huh.

Sure enough, our hero finds himself stuck with a self-proclaimed “bon vivant”, Ben (Owen Wilson), whose medical package containing a liver transplant of a super-rare blood type (“golden blood”) needs to be delivered to the hospital by 5:45 pm, or a little girl dies. It sure doesn’t take long for a cartel, led by the menacing Damián (Rodrigo Santoro), looking to save someone of his own, to track down our duo. Explosive chases and gunfights ensue. Oh, there’s also an endangered parakeet. The rare bird serves little to no purpose — and I love it.

Hank (Alan Ritchson) confronts a bloodied Ben (Owen Wilson) in a tense standoff in Runner.

“…medical package… needs to be delivered to the hospital… or a little girl dies…”

The critic side of me balks at the complete lack of character development or novelty. Some parts feel slapdash or rushed, like a clear continuity blunder involving the timing of a conversation on a phone screen. There’s no stereotype Waugh and his screenwriters Miles Hubley and Tommy White don’t embrace, the central “young girl in countdown peril” being the focal one. Composer Charlie Nguyen Kim’s intrusive score emphasizes every emotion we already know we’re supposed to feel.

There’s a whiff of cheapness to the whole affair, despite its evident budget and impressive action sequences. It’s the type of film where characters don’t seem to realize they’ve been fatally shot until twenty minutes later; the type of film where the villain snarls and talks before killing, allowing our hero several opportunities to strike back. A big, dumb oaf of an action thriller with the IQ of plaster, Runner gets a 4/10… from my critical side.

My “normie” side mostly enjoyed the game performances, the genuine chemistry between the leads, and the colorful Australian locations. Wilson predictably steals the show with his playful banter. “You’re not very chatty, are you?” he asks Hank early on. “No,” Hank replies. “That’s gonna be a bit of a problem,” Ben says, “because I kinda talk a lot. Why don’t we do this: I’m gonna dial it down a little bit, and you crank it way up, and we meet in the middle?” Later on, while bleeding out, he comments dryly: “I’m not gonna die in Australia.”

There’s nothing wrong with the film’s B-movie aesthetic, replete with grainy cinematography. It’s cheeky “turn your brain off” entertainment, best enjoyed after a few beers on Friday night. A car gets ripped in half. A man is killed by way of a car tire. The final chase, shot in a “modified” single take, is pretty badass. If the sight of Ritchson and Wilson riding a bicycle together puts a smile on your face, you’ll likely enjoy this film. My “normie” self gives it an 8/10, then.

Since I can’t reconcile the two halves — the critic and the “normie” tend to usually agree — I’ll go for the average and give Runner a solid 6. That’s about as much analysis as the film deserves.