Runner Runner

source: Runner Runner

One of the things that I love in George Clooney, Jack Nicholson and other talented actors, that when you watch their movies, they are not acting, they are real people, and the camera just a method that supply a window or an observation point for what happening in the movie, in this movie I felt that Justin Timberlake is acting, is not playing as a real character, the scenes are not connected well, his voice is so monotonic, and with my respect I didn't buy what the director wants to sell. Also the editing of scenes so poor and the background music are weak. The script of this movie comes to show an aspect of the new rising phenomenon, Internet Gambling. I think if the director wants to market his opposition to that phenomenon, he failed.

Runner Runner is a story about a student(Richie played by Justin Timberlake) at University of Princeton who is a pro in gambling and makes money by signing players into online poker tournaments in order to pay his college fees. However, he is pushed to risk it all as the college dean warns him of termination if he continues to advocate gambling on campus and sets a deadline to pay his tuition fees. Richie loses all his money in his attempt to hit a jackpot via an online poker tournament and discovers that he was swindled by the gaming corporation headed by Ivan (Ben Affleck) and he sets his foot in Costa Rica to lock horns with the gambling giant. Ivan recognizes the brilliance of Richie and gives him the life that he's been dreaming of. However, the tables turn when Richie finds the ulterior motive of Ivan's action and this is where the story falters. One expects a battle of wits to ensue but what follows is a series of lack lustre convincing acts by Ivan to make Richie remain in the trade. The movie moves at a slow pace and what hurts the movie most is you expect Richie's character to be more shrewd and to be a few steps ahead of Ivan but that doesn't happen till the end.With Agent Shavers (Anthony Mackie)and Croning (Anthony Cooper) bringing in a few laughs here and there the movie rather ends well. The fresh locales of Costa Rica were captured brilliantly. You are not missing anything if u fail to watch this movie but if u want to catch a glimpse of Costa Rica..

This movie is as real as the headlines we read. In past centuries gamblers would sail into the unknown on ships gambling with their lives, explore new territories, start wars, take extraordinary financial risks starting new industries ... and gamble at cards, dice, and anything else where odds and probability are involved. The implicit relationships between university graduates, wall street, economic bets, the ups and downs of online gambling, poker, Ponzi schemes and corrupt governments are real. This movie was a fictional, largely accurate and very entertaining portrayal of the on-line gambling industry ... a wild, wholly and unregulated billion dollar industry. The acting was good, the glitz entertaining and kept my interest from the opening scenes to its end. What more can you want from a movie?

Ostensibly a gambling thriller in the Rounders mould, but in reality a standard cat-and-mouse caper, Runner Runner puts its hand up for worst movie of 2013. Despite holding winnable cards - Ben Affleck, Justin Timberlake, Gemma Arterton and the Oscar-winning cinematographer Mario Fiore - director Brad Furman loses the hand in spectacular fashion thanks to a slew of clichés, predictable twists and lacklustre action scenes. If the tacky and tenuous links to the U.S. financial crisis don't have you rolling your eyes, then the ridiculous subplot about Timberlake's neglectful father or Anthony Mackie's painfully inept FBI agent surely will. The climax is also excruciatingly banal and rather than serving as the BIG payoff it was desperately attempting to be, it simply reinforces just how pointless and unoriginal this whole insipid motion picture truly is. Saving it from the dreaded sole star is Affleck, who, despite his character being as one- dimensional as the others, manages to squeeze in a welcome display of dry humour.

This film tells the life of a bright physics student after he gets recruited to work for an online gambling site in Costa Rica. "Runner Runner" shows a life of excess in an exotic paradise, which captivates the student crippled by university fees. From beautiful scenery to hedonistic lifestyle, there is simply everything the young man can imagine. Soon afterwards, he discovers that his job is not as sweet as he thought it was, and he had to get himself out of the terrible mess. With Ben Affleck the Oscar winner, and Justin Timberlake the heartthrob, "Runner Runner" has a winning formula. The script is tight and full of surprises, I enjoyed the ride through the exotic paradise and the dark underworld of the corrupt corporation.

I get this movie maybe being a high 6 or low 7, but a 5.3?? That's just crazy! I loved most of what this movie offered. It had a great story line, in-depth characters, and a great setting. Honestly, I was just refreshed from having to see another sub-par superhero movie, but I digress. I really liked JT and Batfleck in this movie. Both of the characters had a lot of depth to them as well as some mystery. I'll give it to you that the ending was sort of predictable, but I didn't think that it made the movie any weaker.. I thought the Costa Rica and online gambling ideas that the movie was based on were really fresh, new, and something of worth. I also really enjoyed the corruption bits of it as well. The cast in this movie, I thought, did a really good job.. And every hole was filled pretty much. I don't know what else you really expect in a movie.

Runner Runner is 100 minutes of entertainment starring and narrated by Justin Timberlake. From its beginnings at Princeton to the real action in Costa Rica, the movie had good support from venerable supporting actors John Heard and Bob Gunton. The computer pyrotechnics and Costa Rican locales and sexy girls at party scenes also lend to the general entertainment. Is it as derivative as 711 Ocean Drive meets Wall Street? You bet - nothing new here - but plenty to be entertained by. In reading other reviews, there seems to be a lot of criticism of Affleck's performance from people who don't care for him in general. I am neither lover nor hater but thought he nailed the Gordon-Gecko-of-online-gambling bigger-than-life Ivan Block, creating a memorable and menacing persona without ever being over-the-top.

As mentioned in a previous review, this film is a bit too familiar to be an exciting watch. Having said that, the performances, particularly Affleck, were of good quality and each leading actor portrayed their characters well. This is not an intelligent nor original film, but the location and storyline do add a sense of refreshment to the formulaic 'good guy trumps' action/thriller plot. I enjoyed the film. I wasn't on the edge of my seat, nor was I glued to the screen, but the fact that we had the whole screening room to ourselves meant that we could quip freely about what was going on, and this naturally added to my enjoyment. There were a few unintentionally funny moments, mostly near the end, but that may be more of a personal observation and many viewers may have a different view on that. Affleck was convincing and strong as the shady, ruthless business tycoon and delivered his lines with appealing finesse. Timberlake was a good choice for the role as an initially thin-skinned Prinston student, and his development as a character was well-timed throughout. Overall, I enjoyed the film, but it's not one I would rave about to friends. 'Prisoners' was showing at the same time and while I haven't seen it yet, I can say with a relative degree of certainty that it would be a more compelling and rewarding watch.

In Princeton, the student Richie Furst (Justin Timberlake) is a former Wall Street broker that lost everything in the stock market crash a couple of years ago. Richie supports himself and pays the institution promoting online gambling in Princeton. When he is denounced by one student to Dean Alex Monroe (Bob Gunton), Richie receives an ultimatum and is forced to stop his activity. Further, he decides to bet all his savings to finance the rest of his graduation. However he loses all his money and discovers that he has been swindled by the powerful Ivan Block (Ben Affleck) that owns the site. Richie travels to a gambling convention in Costa Rica expecting to meet Ivan, and he meets his lover and employee Rebecca Shafran (Gemma Arterton) that gives an invitation to him for the party. Richie meets Ivan that refunds him and invites Richie to work for him. Richie is seduced by the offer and moves to Costa Rica expecting to become rich. But soon Richie is pressed down by the unethical FBI Agent Shavers (Anthony Mackie) that wants to catch Ivan but has no jurisdiction in the corrupt country. Soon Richie finds the truth about the disloyal Ivan and he has to find a way out to escape from Ivan and Shavers using his intelligence and money. "Runner Runner" is an underrated and highly entertaining action movie with a good mouse and cat story with twists and betrayals. Fortunately I did not pay attention to the bad reviews in IMDb and we saw "Runner Runner" yesterday in a group of three. Everybody enjoyed this film that is not a masterpiece but a good entertainment even for a Saturday night. My vote is seven. Title (Brazil): "Aposta Máxima" ("Maximum Bet")