“I don’t hurt people anymore,” says Hank, the central character in Runner, the propulsive thriller representing a bit of a stylistic departure for its distributor, Angel Studios. But since Alan Ritchson (Reacher) plays the role, you can rest assured that by the end of the film he’ll have not lived up to his statement. Indeed, Hank hurts lots of people in this action-comedy that doesn’t prove boring for a second but has trouble managing its disparate tones.
Mere seconds into the film, there’s a lingering moment on Ritchson’s bare torso shot from behind, and since the actor possesses one of the most formidable torsos in film it’s immediately apparent that his character is a force to be reckoned with. Or, as he inelegantly puts it later on, “I’m not a man that people successfully mess with.”
Runner
The Bottom Line
Propulsive and relentless.
