Runner Runner

This should've been a really good movie.  It's all about gambling and conspiracy and mafia-like behavior.  Instead, Runner Runner ends up being a really forgettable 90-minutes.

Justin Timberlake plays Richie, a Princeton student who loses his savings trying to earn his tuition through online gambling.  He discovers that he was cheated and travels to Costa Rica to seek out Ivan (Ben Affleck), the head of the gambling website, in hopes of getting his money back.  Ivan convinces him to stay in Costa Rica and join his business.  But the world of online gambling is not what it seems.

Runner Runner tries to be topical and relevant, but it fails.  There's a lot of time in the beginning dedicated to establishing the threat that online gambling poses to college students.  Then it throws "the economy" at you as well.  But it manages to feel rushed and underdeveloped at the same time.  The best solution would've probably been to not have any of that set up at all.  Isn't it enough that Richie is cheated out of his money and goes to get it back but gets seduced by the riches that the business promises?  Does a ham-fisted intro and constant moping about Wall Street raise the stakes of the film at all?

Only two and half actors make their screen time worthwhile.  One is Ben Affleck.  He makes a convincing villain.  He's charming and threatening.  Affleck is the best thing this movie has going for it.  Second is Anthony Mackie.  His role is so poorly written and cliché that it's super impressive that he doesn't sound like an idiot.  The 1/2 is Gemma Arterton.  She just looks amazing and I love the accent but the script gives her nothing to do.  Justin Timberlake delivers his lines like he's in a church play.  He's better than this, but you'd never know just watching this.

The biggest sin Runner Runner commits is being kinda boring.  No movie about gambling or conspiracy should be boring, and this movie has both!  Doesn't matter though.  The greatest asset of Runner Runner is that it's 91 minutes.

I had hoped that this was a smaller budgeted, crime movie that just slipped under my radar.  Turns out it slipped under my radar for a reason.  Runner Runner is a movie you catch on TNT and fall asleep to on a lazy afternoon.

4 out of 10