This has less comedy and more violence.
Disclaimer: Not to be confused with the even worse Gal Gadot thriller “The Runner,” but the new Angel Studios action comedy “Runner” and it does have one thing in common. They’re both rated PG-13, resorts to drastic measures with the violence, and places sick children in danger. Isn’t that always entertaining? I can handle violence in other movies, but I think the MPA may be adrift with how they view movies.
Not seeing a trailer and only seeing a poster, I can assume it wants to be a buddy action comedy like “48 Hours,” “Rush Hour,” and I already made my haiku in my review of “Mayday.” But that Ryan Reynolds/Kenneth Branagh movie knew how to be funny and consistent. “Runner” is more consistent and less funny, which is a shame because I did like the leads Alan Ritchson and Owen Wilson for what they’re both trying to do within the genre.
Ritchson produces himself as a former soldier and recovering alcoholic named Hank, who currently lives in Australia as a runner. His next assignment is to escort the medical courier Ben (Wilson), who has healthy liver to deliver to a sick girl. The driver is the one who has undergone a tragedy and talks less, while his passenger is the one trying to bring some spirits into him. They both, however, end up in danger when that liver may be from the guy the cartels (led by Rodrigo Santoro) have murdered, and they have less than a day to reach the hospital.
What are the cartel doing in the land down under in the first place? It may have something to do with the bad guy’s terminally ill mother (Adriana Barraza), who also needs that liver transplant. And they may have people at the hospital implicated. You decide.
“Runner” was directed by Scott Waugh, whose last film was the awful sequel “Expend4bles,” and was written by Miles Hubley and Thomas White as their 2023 Black List script. He does what he can with the leads, who both have likability. Ritchson has the built as an actor star, and his best performance this year was in “Motor City.” And Wilson has taken on the genre before and “Starsky and Hutch” is his funniest. And in this movie, he reflects on his past into his character, who seems like a comic relief to the disenchanted hero. But the problem with this movie is how Waugh relies on more action and formulas than a story, which goes all over the place. Even at a PG-13 rating, he seems to be indulging in the violence, which requires stabbing and shooting.
We also have to get lousy cover versions of hit songs like “Spirit in the Sky” or “Kickstart My Heart,” both of which probably would sound better at a bar’s karaoke night than in a movie. I stick to the classics when they’re respectively sung by Norman Greenbaum and Motley Crue. In fact, the only good song is the most powerful one and appears at the end. I believe it’s Logan Pringle’s new song “Until I See You.” Now, that has more high spirits than those cover versions.
Take it from me, I’m sticking to my guns about “Motor City.” That was a pulp action movie that didn’t need words to be entertaining, it also didn’t need wall to wall violence to tell a story. It needed to work as a visual piece, and have the actors display their emotions through dispositions and silences. That was good enough for me. “Runner” does what it can, and it’s marginally better than “The Runner” (remember, there’s a very important distinction), but it’s not worth rushing to the theaters to see.
