The Runners

I read a synopsis for this movie elsewhere that its "Taken" meets "Man Under Fire". So with this premise, I went ahead and watched it. And guess what? It's not - no where near it.

This movie is flawed, and flawed in a big way. From too many holes in the plot, to over acting and wooden acting actors.

It's a mediocre movie at best. And a low end B-Grade movie at that.

My recommendation: Skip it. Watch something else. Anything else.

I should probably be embarrassed that I laughed so hard during a film about human trafficking, but that's how bad this film was. The acting was bad, the dialogue elementary, and the fight sequences so ridiculous, I hoped they'd all die just so it would be over already.

Micah Lyons ("Ryan") has to head to Mexico to rescue his recently kidnapped little sister before she becomes embroiled in the drug-fuelled sex trade. Quickly adopting the kind of ninja skills that would flatten an entire army, he manages to overwhelm just about everyone as he races to her side. The acting, dialogue and storyline in general are all the stuff of a college project. Lyons appears to have done all but make the coffee, and as is frequently the case when the star/director has no sense of objectivity, what is produced is a messy, ill-conceived story with more plot holes than a Dutch cheese. There isn't the slightest degree of jeopardy anywhere and the adventure - such as it is - seems to be based on the premiss that he is the only one who has the remotest chance of hitting what he aims at, despite being constantly out-numbered, out-positioned and out-gunned. It's a labour of love for a very mediocre star working with an equally unremarkable script and supporting cast. Nothing to see here, really, even if you are a fan of the genre.

This movie is trash, and it's everything that's wrong with Hollywood. Whoever in hell gave them money to produce this trash should be in jail. The sad part is, they fine people so desperate to be in a movie they would do anything, this is horrible. This isn't even worth wasting time watching. Of course if you like bad acting, a sorry script, then sit down grab a bag of popcorn and be bored to death.

I didn't really know what I was expecting when I watched "The Runners" from directors Joey Loomis and Micah Lyons, aside from knowing that I would be in for a movie that was based upon some sex trafficking thing.

Well, I will say that the movie definitely started out nice enough and there was actually some good enough entertainment value to the movie. And the storyline was adequate, albeit it was somewhat generic and essentially was much akin to most other movies that involve sex trafficking. But then suddenly there was a Mexican drug cartel involved, and the movie just went from being adequate to becoming over-the-top. It was simply just too much at that point.

It should be said that the acting performances in the movie were adequate, taking into consideration the premise of the movie and the script that the actors and actresses were given to work with.

"The Runners" was ultimately a mediocre movie, I have to say. It proved to be entertaining enough for what it was, but this was by no means a memorable or outstanding movie experience.

I am rating "The Runners" a very mediocre five out of ten stars. While I did finish the movie, this is hardly a movie that warrants a second viewing in my opinion, as the movie just lacked solid contents to do so.

Good enough entertainment for a single viewing if you have nothing better at hand to watch.