Runner Runner (2013)

Runner Runner: Directed by Brad Furman. With Justin Timberlake, Ben Affleck, Gemma Arterton, Anthony Mackie. When a poor college student who cracks an online poker game goes bust, he arranges a face-to-face with the man he thinks cheated him, a sly offshore entrepreneur.

“I was sorely tempted to write a single word review of Runner Runner: Pointless! u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut Iu0026#39;ll resist and expand slightly.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe trailer strongly suggests an intelligent, exciting thriller of crime and intrigue with A-list stars, action, drama, plenty of danger and a soupçon of violence. The realty of Runner Runner is somewhat blander.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eRichie Furst (Justin Timberlake) is a Princeton student with moderate financial worries, who supports himself through online gambling. When he risks everything (except the price of his airline ticket to Costa Rica, clearly) on a game and loses, he discovers he has been swindled and heads south to confront the man behind the poker company and scam, Ivan Block (Ben Affleck). Block is so impressed with Furstu0026#39;s balls that he offers him a job with eight-figure returns. With the chance to join the super rich, all the pleasures it encompasses and, predictably, a beautiful woman, Rebecca (Gemma Arterton), who equally predictably is Blocku0026#39;s girlfriend, Furstu0026#39;s life couldnu0026#39;t be any better. Then FBI agent Shavers (Anthony Mackie) interferes.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe ingredients are there but it just doesnu0026#39;t work. The characters are half-written shadows of people about whom we donu0026#39;t care. There is no depth, detail or intrigue to inspire us to invest our attention and, though we try to second guess the plot and look for the twists and double crosses lurking in the background, it transpires there are none to speak of and what we see is the sum total of it.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTimberlake is on something of a downward trajectory after the superb The Social Network. Neither Bad Teacher nor Trouble with the Curve ignited and his turn in Runner Runner, though adequate, does nothing to persuade us heu0026#39;s an A-lister in Hollywoodland.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAffleck, however, was ridding high with the supreme success of Argo and the promise of more box office clout with the forthcoming Gone Girl and Batman vs. Superman. Runner Runner isnu0026#39;t going to damage his career but it certainly isnu0026#39;t going to boost it.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMeanwhile, there are times when Gemma Arterton frequently forgets to act (and canu0026#39;t pronounce Antigua) and Mackie is lumbered with a role that diminishes even the u0026#39;heightsu0026#39; of Pain and Gain.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSomebody really needs to shake director Brad Furman, turn him around and point him in the direction of a sequel to his fine The Lincoln Lawyer.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eRunner Runner isnu0026#39;t a bad film. Itu0026#39;s just a bland, boring, forgettable, dull thud with no echo.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFor more reviews from The Squiss, subscribe to my blog and like the Facebook page.”