There’s a long, long history of motion picture twins, like the blockbuster asteroid movies “Armageddon” and “Deep Impact,” and the nunsploitation horror films “The First Omen” and “Immaculate.” These very similar movies come out around the same time and compete for the same audience, and everyone likes to pick a side, but in the end history declares which film was the victor.
In the case of “Runner” and “The Runner,” I think I can save history some time. These two movies are coming out within a week-and-a-half of each other. Both are about heroes racing against time to save a child’s life. One stars Amazon Prime’s most popular hero, and the other one actually debuts on Amazon Prime. They have practically the same name, which is a little extreme even for twin movies, and makes it look like someone broke the rules of engagement. Anyway, that’s a lot of similarities but there’s one big difference: “The Runner” stinks, while “Runner” totally rules.
“Runner” stars Alan Ritchson, “Reacher” himself, as an American courier living in Australia. On what seems like a pretty typical day, he’s hired to drag a politician away from an epic bender, transport a rare endangered bird in the middle of a custody dispute and escort a human organ to a little girl awaiting a transplant.
It’s that last item that turns out to be a sticky wicket, as since she’s got the world’s rarest blood type, the organ is worth at least a million dollars and an army of heavily-armed criminals will stop at nothing to steal it. Also, Ritchson’s Hank is saddled with Ben Bishop, a sidekick played by Owen Wilson, who knows how to operate the organ’s high-tech cooling case but isn’t used to being shot at.
Hank Malone is a recovering alcoholic mourning the death of his daughter, the failure of his marriage and a lot of other stuff he wishes he hadn’t seen in the war. Normally, this backstory would be a recipe for grim ’n’ gritty darkness, but Hank is a nice guy who just wants to avoid violence at all costs. Unfortunately, Damian Zaldívar (Rodrigo Santoro) won’t take pacifism for an answer, so eventually Ritchson has to stab bad guys with spare parts of a bicycle, shove people’s heads into a spinning car tire and/or fling himself through the air like a human bullet.
All of this comes courtesy of director Scott Waugh, a stunt performer-turned-director who knows how to shoot a kick-ass action sequence. He’s been directing and co-directing movies for over ten years and “Runner” is, to date, his pièce de résistance — and that’s not just because Hank Malone is a francophile. “Runner” has a smart script, memorable villains, lovable heroes, a few genuine twists and turns, and even though it looks at first glance like a cute little buddy comedy, Waugh goes hog wild with his fist fights, shoot outs and car chases.
When it comes to action comedies, a lot of filmmakers overemphasize the comedy and let the action slide. It’s supposed to be a feel good time, so the theory goes that too much brutality might get in the way of the positive vibes. Scott Waugh knows better. He does a masterful job of balancing funny characters and seriously sick beatdowns and explosions. Even Wilson, playing a character who’d be annoying in almost any other film, is lovable and funny and a smart, invaluable asset to the story. “Runner” is the porridge Goldilocks ate, if Goldilocks loved kicking butt and taking names.
There’s no need to belabor the comparisons between “Runner” and “The Runner,” but it’s worth noting that Kevin Macdonald’s thriller ran aground because the plot was nonsensical and the lead actor had no charisma. Scott Waugh’s film has neither problem. The plot is easy to follow but constantly pushing forward, sometimes in unexpected and exciting directions. And Ritchson has more star power than a temporarily invincible Super Mario.
But if we must be critical — and we must, we must — there comes a point in “Runner” where the math stops adding up. Our heroes are fighting to save one person’s life, but in the process countless other people die, and not all of them are bad guys. There are several moments when Zaldívar entreats Hank and Ben to just let him have the organ, because even if it doesn’t get to a little girl it will still save somebody’s life. He’s technically got a point, especially after the collateral damage turns astronomical, but he’s bad and he’s gotta be stopped and the heroes don’t have enough time to ponder the ethics involved. They’re too busy being good people to debate what being a good person really means.
In a lesser film this might be distracting, but “Runner” is so lively and likable and action-packed it’s hard to lose sleep over it. This film has everything a great B-movie needs and throws in a cute endangered bird that says “peekaboo” just to sweeten the deal. Ritchson is dynamite, Wilson wisely downplays the comic relief, and Miles Hubley and Tommy White’s script is smart and, by the end, genuinely emotional and surprising.
“Runner” may be a mid-range, modest action-comedy, but most big budget blockbuster blow-‘em-ups aren’t this entertaining. So the joke’s on Hollywood — and on “The Runner.”
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