It started in 2004 with a participation in “American Idol”, the US version of “Deutschland sucht den Superstar”. But the only thing that stuck out from the performance was the spontaneous striptease for presenter Paula Abdul, and the hip-hop album “This Is Next Time,” released a year later, also received little attention. Instead of singing appearances, smaller film roles followed – and in 2010 he finally had his breakthrough in the football series “Blue Mountain State”. But at that time hardly anyone in Germany was interested in this sport. Which is why it took another twelve years in this country for the Amazon superhit “Reacher” to start its series. But now the time has come: Alan Ritchson – how could it be otherwise with this physique – is finally considered a serious name in the action industry. The only question is: what happens next?
After all, cinema urgently needs legitimate successors to the musclemen Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone. Jason Momoa has already disqualified himself for the role with his first attempt at standing in “Conan” – and Jason Statham can’t do it alone forever. So far, however, things haven’t looked good at all when it comes to his big screen ambitions: After the Amazon action comedy “Playdate”, Ritchson’s answer to “Kindergarten Cop”, he also focused on streaming for Netflix’s sci-fi spectacle “War Machine”. Only now, after the dialogue-free action experiment “Motor City”, is the long-overdue debut as a mainstream cinema star finally following. And “Runner” delivers exactly what we hoped for: straightforward, entertaining action without much fuss, in which the testosterone-dripping charisma of the main actor is enough to make the crisp 97 minutes pleasantly entertaining.
Fortunately, Alan Ritchson not only has the muscles, but also the rough, dry charisma of his role models such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone.
The title is both generic and mysterious, but in the end, a “runner” is actually nothing more than a better-paid parcel delivery person who may not pay that much attention to whether everything he delivers is legal. That’s why it’s a bit strange that the film begins with an explanation of the words that is reminiscent of a Duden entry (Quentin Tarantino did a similar thing in “Pulp Fiction”, but in 1994 hardly anyone knew what “pulp” actually meant). However, the setup in the Australian metropolis of Brisbane is on point: the alcoholic Hank Malone (Alan Ritchson), who has been dry for exactly a year, is supposed to pick up a delivery at the private airport, but has to find out there…
… that the medical courier Ben Bishop (Owen Wilson), who has arrived from Hawaii, doesn’t just hand over the donor liver, but wants to take it to the hospital on the Gold Coast, about 80 kilometers away. However, the uninvited and extremely talkative guest in the back seat soon becomes the least of Hank’s problems. Apparently not only is seven-year-old Ellie (Scarlett Crabtree) with a rare blood type waiting for the precious organ, cartel boss Damián Zaldívar (beautifully devilish: Rodrigo Santoro) also seems to have a very special, personally motivated interest in the liver. He even hired the assembled local biker gang to stop the eponymous runner before he reached the hospital – using absolutely any means necessary…
Two people looked for each other and found each other
When the blonde Ellie lies in the hospital bed with tubes in her nose and, despite being completely exhausted, presents her increasingly desperate mother Kate (Leila George) with a riddle to which the answer is, of all things, “Angel,” it borders on emotional blackmail of the audience. But it serves its purpose – just like the Alcoholics Anonymous coin for the one-year drought, which is completely sufficient as a symbol of the title hero’s tragic past. Action-tested director Scott Waugh (“Act Of Valor,” “Need For Speed”) knows what’s important and doesn’t even dwell on trivialities. Surprisingly, this does not apply to the relationship between the unwilling travel companions – especially since constantly babbling sidekick roles like Ben have made many action comedies a test of patience.
But the chemistry is just right! Owen Wilson (“My Wife, Our Daughter-in-Law and I”) at least holds back enough that you quickly fall in love with his good-humored charmer, while Alan Ritchson (“The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare”) also shows a considerable degree of empathy despite his serene, no-nonsense attitude. “Runner” is one of the few films with a buddy construct in which you actually believe that the opposing protagonists are best friends at the end, even though they actually only met for the first time a few hours ago (and even then they weren’t all that green most of the time).
This happens far too rarely in the buddy genre: Alan Ritchson and Owen Wilson actually appreciate their sudden friendship.
The second central element is of course the action – and with the first attack by the bikers, “Runner” immediately develops a convincing physicality in the middle of a busy market place (which he then maintains in the old-school car action sequences, including an SUV that “breaks” in the middle). Alan Ritchson is given the part anyway – and Scott Waugh has provided him with capable stunt people. Unlike “John Wick” or other outings by the 87Eleven stunt team, you won’t find any breathtaking action acrobatics or extensively choreographed planned sequences here, but it is precisely this self-confident down-to-earth nature that makes “Runner” so likeable.
Nothing is groundbreaking, but everything is rock solid – and thanks to the two main actors, pleasantly entertaining. This also applies to the degree of hardness, which is well-received and doesn’t take any prisoners, but it still doesn’t throw in such exaggerated spikes of violence that it would completely break with the comedic tone of other scenes. So: Alan Ritchson actually chose exactly the right material for his mainstream cinema leading role debut. Now it just remains to be seen whether there is actually a broader demand for such straightforward, old-school action films – or whether there may be (economic) reasons why such classic mid-budget productions without exaggerated high-concept gimmicks are rarely seen on the big screen these days.
Conclusion: If you’re being completely honest, three stars would probably be a more appropriate rating for “Runner”. But we’ve been waiting so much for a movie star like Alan Ritchson, who can pull off a simple action story with well-trained muscles and natural charisma, that we’re just adding half an extra star as a little thank you. Now we can only hope that Alan Ritchson will make one or two trips to the big screen despite the newly signed first-look deal with Netflix.