Runner Runner

The world of gambling, particularly over Internet, is a rather secretive and egoistic one, not many are eager to share their wins (and many more - their losses). Runner Runner lets us peep into this in an intriguing manner, creating an international scam story where evil is not limited to mind and rip-off only... True, there are lots of clichés (incl. the presence of beautiful femme fatale, poverty and crime in Latin America) and use of sophisticated hi-tech terms and flashing technology, but decent performances by Justin Timberlake as Richie Furst and Ben Affleck as Ivan Block, and the length of less than 1,5 hours do not let the movie become annoying. You will see lots of wealth, hopes, betrayal, activities at all costs, and the saying "beautiful life is often brief" holds true here as well. It could apparently also be a warning movie for young IT masterminds.

Right, well I must admit that I had already formed an opinion about this movie prior to having seen it. Why? How? Well, simply because of the lead cast being Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake.

And now having seen it, I have to admit that I am more than genuinely surprised at how entertaining the movie was, thanks to director Brad Furman, but also because of Affleck and Timberlake actually performing quite well. I will actually go as far as admitting that this was the best performance I have ever seen from Ben Affleck. That says a lot actually, because I usually stay well clear of his movies.

The story in "Runner Runner" is about Richie (played by Timberlake) who loses 17.000 dollars on an online gambling site, and finds out that he was cheated. So he goes to Costa Rica to inform the owner of the site, gambling mogul Ivan Block (played by Affleck). Offering Richie a job with money and a luxurious lifestyle, Ivan soon have him working in his gambling dynasty, but all is not well beneath the golden surface.

Story-wise "Runner Runner" is entertaining, although the story hardly seems plausible in any way. But hey, it is the movies after all. What makes this movie work was primarily the acting of Affleck and Timberlake.

A predictable story, yes. But the movie is well-worth watching nonetheless. Just a shame that the movie didn't offer any twists and turns, nor does it really challenge the intellect of the audience.

Greetings again from the darkness. I can sit in a theater and watch a mediocre movie, but when it comes time to write about it, there is no motivation or appeal. The most positive comment I can make is that it stars two very pretty men.

This one has "paycheck project" written all over it. Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake simply go through the motions as if someone is feeding them their lines through an ear piece. Gemma Arterton should never stoop to such a mundane and lifeless role ... though her hair and make-up are terrific. Only John Heard and Anthony Mackie come across as professional actors, and their minor roles are so limited, they barely register.

Writing partners Brian Koppelman and David Levien co-wrote the excellent Rounders, but this one merely teases the dark underbelly of online gambling. It has neither the depth, plot or character development that we would expect from a movie with this premise and cast. Director Brad Furman showed promise with The Lincoln Lawyer, but this one comes across as being rushed through production with faux-style.

The closest comparison I can come up with is last year's Savages, directed by Oliver Stone ... and even that one was more enjoyable. Rather than a MPAA warning for Language, I would prefer a heads-up whenever the filmmaking team really doesn't care much for the project. At least I could spend my money and time watching a different movie.

The 3*s I'm giving Runner Runner are for the location and the concept, this could have been a really great film but is completely let down by a incomplete script, poor direction, cinematography and wooden acting.

The Opening 10-15 minutes of the film should have been Timberlake's character back story leading to the point where we actually open. There is absolutely no chemistry between Timberlake and Arterton, Affleck proves once again how he's able to be out-acted by the most inanimate object on screen, and I saw the film less than an hour ago and have already forgotten everything the FBI agent did.

Due to the poor script you have a total lack of empathy for anyone, you actually don't really care if they live, die, go to prison or get away. My biggest concern was if it actually was Deadmau5 DJing at the Doctor Parnassus themed party or just some dude in a similar hat.

Also, the jargon used throughout the film means absolutely nothing to anyone with out a financial and IT background.

If you want to watch a good film about someone trying to pay for their university education watch 21!

Runner Runner is a story about a student(Richie played by Justin Timberlake) at University of Princeton who is a pro in gambling and makes money by signing players into online poker tournaments in order to pay his college fees. However, he is pushed to risk it all as the college dean warns him of termination if he continues to advocate gambling on campus and sets a deadline to pay his tuition fees.

Richie loses all his money in his attempt to hit a jackpot via an online poker tournament and discovers that he was swindled by the gaming corporation headed by Ivan (Ben Affleck) and he sets his foot in Costa Rica to lock horns with the gambling giant. Ivan recognizes the brilliance of Richie and gives him the life that he's been dreaming of. However, the tables turn when Richie finds the ulterior motive of Ivan's action and this is where the story falters. One expects a battle of wits to ensue but what follows is a series of lack lustre convincing acts by Ivan to make Richie remain in the trade.

The movie moves at a slow pace and what hurts the movie most is you expect Richie's character to be more shrewd and to be a few steps ahead of Ivan but that doesn't happen till the end.With Agent Shavers (Anthony Mackie)and Croning (Anthony Cooper) bringing in a few laughs here and there the movie rather ends well. The fresh locales of Costa Rica were captured brilliantly.

You are not missing anything if u fail to watch this movie but if u want to catch a glimpse of Costa Rica..