The hype surrounding Ben Affleck’s role as Batman in the upcoming Zack Snyder-directed film, or negative hype as it were, is fueled almost entirely on his abilities as an actor. There was an impressive amount of backlash several weeks prior concerning the presumption that Affleck wouldn’t be able to scowl with the best of his predecessors, based on his acting in such acclaimed films as “The Town” and “Argo.” And “Gigli.”
Nevertheless, what Batman-fanatics may learn from “Runner Runner,” as will Justin Timberlake’s fanbase, a group whose size must span space and time, is that independent of the actors in a film, if they are not given a proper story to go off of, any actor will falter.
Such is the case with this drama (or otherwise confused genre) picture by Brad Furman, who previously directed 2011’s “The Lincoln Lawyer” with Matthew McConaughey. Where “The Lincoln Lawyer” used the law as an intriguing basis for both its serious and fun plot points, fueling an entertainment story backed by an underrated actor, “Runner Runner” stops running before any of the entertainment can pick up.
Timberlake plays Richie Furst, a Princeton student with a background in the gambling industry. It’s terribly strange watching Timberlake, a well-known pop icon that any Princeton student would recognize, pretend to be a young attendee in trouble with the dean for his gambling past. But alas, that plot point is forgotten quite quickly as the setting changes.
After being scammed on a gambling website owned by world-renowned corrupt businessman Ivan Block (Affleck), Richie travels to Costa Rica to confront the kingpin. Within about 10 minutes of screen time, Richie has become Ivan’s right-hand man, obliviously going on dangerous missions and troubling confrontations without doing much research into his tasks.
Bathing in wealth and good times throughout the film, Richie would pass for a competent symbol of ignorance. It isn’t until much later in the plot that the he finds out any details about what he has been truly doing, and what his purpose for being in a different country is truly for – in fact, it isn’t until the latter half of the movie that anything truly comes together.
The actors do a fine job, sometimes even too much so. Supporting actors Gemma Arterton and Anthony Mackie play characters with an unusual balance of friend and foe to Richie, remaining sideline performers having fun with their own agendas. Ivan is having a wonderful time pretending to be in control and feared by the few individuals, besides Richie whom he has any confrontational scenes with.
Unfortunately, “Runner Runner” never finds its own interesting point to have fun with. In a tropical paradise filled with parties and millionaires who play poker and craps all day, one would assume there to be more things to do than go about the same simplistic tasks every day. Yet Richie never seems to find them, choosing to go about ignoring the warnings of his peers until eventually he is harassed slightly too much.
What results is a bland piece without much, if anything, to teach those who sit through it. Even the most exciting moments, all compiled at the film’s end, lack enough logic and satisfaction in its “happily ever after” attempt to ruin its biggest chance at glory.
At heart, “Runner Runner” tries to be a film about gambling, with the necessary games, tables and even cast strewn among its most glossy settings. What it lacks is the cool, or at least the creativity to be cool.