In something of a confusing move, we find that only a couple of weeks after Amazon released Gal Gadot’s abysmal jog-or-die action/thriller, The Runner, Alan Ritchson and Owen Wilson’s comedy/actioner, Runner, lands in cinemas. I’m not entirely sure if two such similarly titled films have ever been released to the public so close together before, but it certainly seems like an odd choice for all involved. Thankfully for the people involved with the latter, Runner, proves to be the best of the two by far – but I’d be lying if I said it was smooth sailing all the way.
And yet, while Runner seemingly has all the hallmarks of a frothy, bright, predictable buddy comedy, the man who previously helmed the likes of Need For Speed and Expend4bles somehow manages to pull off a third act shift that bizarrely had me utterly swept up in the action. Loaded with enough overblown emotion to fill a drunken love-in between dudes not used to dealing with their feelings, the find third of this fairly cheerful flick has no business going as hard as it does.
Former Navy SEAL Hank Malone now works as a runner in Australia, who transports goods both illegal and legal for clients – but while he’s predictably good at the job, he’s carrying a certain weight thanks to a salty, tragic past. After recently earning his one year chit for being sober, he’s still mourning a failed marriage and instead throws himself into his thankless job.
However, one day he gets an emergency call from his boss detailing a very special pickup at the airport, but when he gets there he’s introduced to Ben Bishop who is possession of a very special delivery. In a refrigerated case is an organ that has to get to a particular hospital by a certain time in order to save the life of little Ellie Baker, who desperately needs a liver transplant – and while Hank is perturbed to discover that he’s now going to have incrediblely chatty company on his latest job, Ben is only the first of many surprises; most of them bad.
It seems that a couple of Colombian cartel members have hired a local biker gang to provide muscle to steal the organ for their own ends, and in no time at all, a simple situation gets instantly fucked up as an intense car chase soon degenerates into flying bullets and exploding gas tanks. But while the villains are insanely determined to swipe the refrigerated container by any means necessary, Hank is equally determined to keep it in the panicked hands of Ben, who can’t believe just how bad things have gotten in just a short period of time.
As time slowly runs out for Ellie, her mother starts to suspect that something shifty may be occuring with one of the staff at the hospital, that suggests that they might be feeding info to the cartel and with the clock ticking and the refrigeration unit growing dangerously warm, can Hank slay his personal demons while he slays a shitload of bikers?
I have to say, judging by some of the talent involved, I had made a few preconceptions about Runner that didn’t exactly paint an enthusiastic picture. For a start, director Scott Waugh was responsible for the colourful – if lifeless – Expend4bles and equally bland video game adaptation, Need For Speed, and the production company, Angel Studios, is no stranger to controversy due to questions concerning their political views and certain business practices. However, for the most part, Runner plays like the most cheerful, garrulous, bright action comedy you’ve ever seen, as the blues of an Australian sky seems extra blue thanks to a ramped colour pallet that could compete with a couple of animated movies when it comes to exaggerating those vibrant hues.
Backing up this trend even more is the presence of Owen Wilson’s perpetually up-beat Ben, who sees the actor pulling out his good-natured, verbal diarrhea schtick and giving it a good dust off for old times sake. That’s right, think Roy O’Bannon from Shanghai Noon, or Hutch from Starsky & Hutch and you’re on the right wavelength to predict what Wilson is bringing to the table. Opposite him is none other than Jack Reacher himself (the size-accurate one, not the Tom Cruise one) as Alan Ritchson continues to utilise his physical attributes to play yet another imposing mountain of a man with a heart of purest gold. The distribution of wealth plays to each of their strengths with Wilson required to drawl endlessly about every single thing that’s happening like he’s providing a DVD commentary (remember those?), while Ritchson is the reliably strong, stoic type who initially refuses to let the friendly babble of his new companion break down those emotional walls. Simply put, it’s every buddy movie you’ve ever seen and while it’s certainly slick and pretty watchable, it’s also incredibly derivative.
However, then a funny thing starts to happen. Certain, exaggerated aspects of the movie start to gradually win you over until – shock, horror – you’re actually quite invested.
Having the heroes desperately try to deliver a donor liver to a weak, jaundiced, little moppet may be the script playing impressively dirty when it comes to it trying to shamelessly latch on to our empathy, but as stakes go, it actually works and the filmmakers are able to turn the screws even more by adding further roadblocks in the path of our heroes, such as a stray bullet rupturing the coolant in the medical case, or an inside man within the hospital that helps the villains to stay one step ahead. However, the other thing that massively works in Runner’s favour is the excessively vicious brand of violence the film employs to further the plot. The bad guys are all either elaborately tattooed bikers or wildly overacting cartel guys who all look like they’ve wandered in from a casting call for a Bad Boys movie, and the fact that every single one of them acts odious to the extreme, watching Ritchson obliterate them in various ways proves to been wonderfully entertaining. In fact, the mixture of good natured comedy and ragdolling stuntmen managed to disarm me to the point that once the third act kicked in, I was utterly unprepared for how invested I’d become once a very surprising twist nails you right in the feels. But while you’re still processing this, Ritchson and his onscreen arch enemy start demolishing an entire hospital floor in one of the best climactic brawls of the year. Alright, it can’t hold a candle to the final hogpile that closed out the exemplary The Furious, but it’s brutal and desperate enough to have you flinching at every punch, kick and football tackle that shakes the very foundations of the building.
Maybe I’m overselling it a bit, but Runner’s shift from cheesy, three-star buddy comedy, to a savage, four-star final act managed to bag me hook, line and sinker. But while others may debate my upgrade, it’s tough not to want to cheer when Ritchson starts wading through henchmen like a scrolling beat-em-up video game.
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