‘Runner’ movie review: Alan Ritchson and Owen Wilson charm in action comedy

There is a lot to enjoy about Runner, including Alan Ritchson’s considerable star power, his excellent chemistry with Owen Wilson and the nifty action sequences. Runner, incidentally, is not to be confused with Gal Gadot running all over London to the tune of Miley Cyrus’ ‘Heart of Glass’.

That was The Runner, which nevertheless shares the “child in peril” plot with Scott Waugh’s Runner. Ritchson, after successfully handing the baton to his Master Sergeant in Neagley, is now Hank, a former Navy SEAL working as a runner in Brisbane, Australia.

A runner, the film helpfully tells us, is a person who transports legal or illegal goods for clients. When we first meet Hank, he is learning French and eating a French sandwich. His boss, Iggy, sends him off to collect a rare parrot from a tech bro who tells him to deliver the bird to his ex-wife.

The choice, the tech bro says, was between “the bird and the Bentley” and returns to his meditation with a serene Namaste to an increasingly bewildered Hank. Just as Hank is settling down to his lunch, Iggy calls with a time-sensitive assignment that promises a magnificent payday.

The scene shifts to a private jet and Ben Bishop (Wilson), a medical courier, is holding forth on sugar, spice and all things nice. When a steward calls him a foodie, he gently corrects her, saying, “not a foodie, a bon vivant.” There is a little girl, Ellie, (Scarlett Crabtree) with a rare blood type and liver cancer.

Ben is getting her a liver from Honolulu in a special temperature-controlled box and Hank has to transport both Ben and the liver to the hospital. Though reluctant at first, and also irritated with Ben’s constant questions and chatter, Hank slowly warms up to his loquacious co-passenger, who has only nice things to say about everyone, including the parrot, whom Ben names Spirit.

Unfortunately, a Colombian drug cartel led by the slightly unstable Damian (Rodrigo Santoro) is also after the liver and the duo come under fire quickly. Ellie’s mum Kate (Leila George) is wringing her hands and worrying the doctor with many questions as time ticks by.

The action sequences are well done and there is a jolly joy in seeing Ritchson being Reacher and dispatching the bad guys with single punches. Wilson and Ritchson riffing off (crankapotamus was priceless) each other is another plus of the film as are the Australian locations.

All the good karma is undone in the overwrought third act as well as by an unwarranted character death. Runner has the vibe of an ‘80s action flick with its one-liners, the odd-couple pairing and thrilling action sequences.

If it were not for the weak third act, Runner would have been one of those solid entertainers, neither great nor terrible but all-round good time pass.