Movie review - Runner

Runner *** (out of 5) For all the Alan Ritchson fans twiddling their thumbs between episodes of Reacher, here’s an amuse-bouche to sustain you until its complete Season 4 streaming release. Runner is an action buddy comedy, pairing our favorite heroic hulk not named The Hulk with Owen Wilson. Their job is to rush a liver to a girl who will die soon if she doesn’t get the transplant. Wilson brought it to Australia from Hawaii, where he meets Ritchson, whose mission is to get them to the hospital before the organ loses its viability.

That would have been a boring short without the surprising appearance of a horde of armed thugs trying to steal it for their own purposes. That gives us all the fights, shootouts and chases genre fans could hope for, as director Scott Waugh deploys his stunt crew and the features the scenery to great advantage.

Wilson plays another of his trademark hyperbolic, ultra-chatty characters, driving laconic Ritchson (and probably some viewers) nuts with his incessant yammering. He may remind you of Joe Pesci’s Leo in the Lethal Weapon films. Funny at first, but it might wear thin before the action ramps up. After Ritchson realizes they’re being followed by evildoers, it becomes his movie while the heavily-armed criminals keep on coming.

Balancing the mayhem with warm fuzzies are frequent cutaways to the adorable child and her hand-wringing mother, frustrated by knowing the liver is in town, yet not in the hands of the surgeon… and the countdown clock for a successful procedure keeps ticking. Loudly.

Miles Hubley and Tommy White created a script that delivers well on all the essential plot elements – action, humor and heartstring tugging for the child. The pace is suitably frenetic for the unfolding ordeal. It’s a fine Reacheresque role for Ritchson, as one should expect since he’s also one of the credited producers.

This flick is right in the wheelhouse for those who like a hefty dose of comedy in their action fare. It’s escapist fun, with a formulaic plot, allowing you to just relax your brain and enjoy how they do it.

(Runner opens in theaters on 9/11/26.)