A big dumb action movie from the 1990s, but lacking in charisma.

An ex-Navy SEAL is piecing his life back together. His job involves couriering various things across the country thanks to his dispatcher. But this latest job doesn’t just involve transporting a person… but an extremely valuable item that a cartel is also after.

Runner (not to be confused with Amazon’s The Runner, also released this month) is directed by Scott Waugh. It stars Alan Ritchson (also Amazon’s Reacher series) Owen Wilson (Marvel’s Loki, The Wedding Crashers) and Rodrigo Santoro. The movie is intent on reviving the 1980s/1990s action movie. Which isn’t surprising given Waugh’s filmography includes 2023’s The Expend-four-bles.

Does Runner keep the pace, or is it just the runs?

Set in Australia, modern day, the story follows Hank Malone (Ritchson), an American and ex-Navy SEAL. He gets jobs from a contact named Iggy, and this new job is no exception. He is to collect a package and deliver it. But when he gets to the pick-up point, the package is a medical storage case and it is in the care of courier Ben Bishop (Wilson). The package is to save a child’s life in hospital.
As it transpires, this isn’t the deal Iggy had in mind. Quickly, Hank and Ben find themselves chased by masked and armed men. The chase is on.

There isn’t a great deal to say about Runner. It would be easy enough to say: do you like movies like The Transporter, or Taken? Well, this is more similar calibre of those films’ sequels. The film’s premise is delightfully simple. I can say that much. In an age were films can be needlessly complicated or hours long, Runner dispenses with all that.
Here we have an all-American hero, built like a truck, trying to stay sober, saving the life of a tiny angelic child. The film’s design is so boilerplate it could be used in a printing press. Our heroes are heroes. The villians wear black. The sickly child has massive glasses and talks about angels.

It has as breakneck pace as well. Before you can say “Oh, it’s the guy from Reacher” our heroes are being pursued by black vehicles. The score, by Charlie Nguyen Kim, is relentless as well. Owen Wilson’s character is, of course, a chatterbox. To contrast with our quiet, preoccupied hero. So far, so 1990s.

The villain, delicately called Damian, played by Rodrigo Santoro (who played the really tall Persian in 300) is chewing the scenery. Reminding us a little of Gary Oldman from Leon: The Professional. He’s probably the most memorable part of the movie. Simultaneously very dangerous and very hopeless.

There’s perhaps one major fist fight, and one gun battle that were quite good. The film is very gory when it wants to be, especially in its finale. In fact, it surprises you how bloody it decides to become in the eleventh hour.

But besides the occasional car stunt, camera trickery (usually with CGI implementation) or a good punch-up, there isn’t one particularly memorable element. Sure, if you haven’t seen any Die Hard movies you might be more entertained. A moment of improvisation early on was good, where the heroes have to escape a close encounter. But it isn’t repeated; the action is largely traditional after this point.
There’s also the question of the police. A throwaway line suggests the cartel have control of the police, and that Hank and Ben are alone. But they regularly receive (ineffective) police help. Plus, Hank has a detective on speed dial, who helps him find information on the cartel. Why are they alone again?

There’s the overbearing reality that having a Mexican cartel as your villains, up against a massive ex-military American. Again, this feels like a movie from the 80s or 90s. Its simplicity doesn’t translate so well anymore. The story also tries to give Damian a sympathetic edge, which doesn’t add a whole lot. In fact, it feels counter-intuitive to the film’s otherwise pulpy trappings.

Finally, there’s a bird in this film. Hank had a previous job to deliver a caged bird (that says “peeka-boo!”) and honestly, this movie needed more of the bird. They fob the bird off mid-way through the runtime; the film would have benefitted if Hank had to protect the bird throughout the story. As insane as that would have been, it would have added a memorable through-line.

If you enjoy movies that require no thought. A movie that has guns, car chases, and a font that has a gradient fill, a stroke outline, and a dash through it… you can indulge. It is a classic action movie. I will probably forget everything in it.