Alan Ritchson’s massive physique does the heavy lifting in “Runner.”
The special ingredient that puts his performance over the top? His equally bulky heart.
The “Reacher” star proves a double threat in this slick, fast-paced buddy pairing. Sure, co-star Owen Wilson can dole out buddy chemistry in his sleep, but it’s Ritchson’s work that catches us by surprise.
A very pleasant surprise.
Ritchson stars as Hank, a former Navy SEAL and recovering alcoholic who is trying to get his life back on track. The screenplay sketches out some of his woes, including a deeply personal death in the family and a divorce he didn’t want.
His current gig is a straightforward one. He’s a professional “runner,” moving objects and people from one place to the next.
Simple. Direct. And his hulk-like physique should coax anyone standing in his way to leave – immediately.
He doesn’t give much thought to his latest assignment – carry a precious liver to a young girl who will die without the transplant.
Except the liver comes with a delivery guru. That’s Ben (Wilson), who insists on accompanying Hank on this mission. The two won’t be alone for long.
An unsavory cartel thug named Damien (Rodrigo Santoro, filling in the blanks of his generic character) wants that organ for a family member. And he has a small army of thugs ready to retrieve it at all costs.
Special delivery!
The official RUNNER poster is here.
Alan Ritchson and Owen Wilson star in this high-stakes action-comedy thriller, coming to theaters September 11. pic.twitter.com/TSVp6Bzw8j— Angel (@AngelStudiosInc) July 15, 2026
“Runner” is as direct as its plot. This is buddy-action-comedy 101, but the formula clicks if the leads do the same. Ritchson and Wilson connect instantly and that bond never fades.
Ben is a non-stop talker, the kind of guy who wins you over with sheer force of will. Hank is more stoic and has too much on his mind, but it’s hard to resist Ben’s tenacious approach to, well, everything.
The script doesn’t have them bickering for the first half of the film only to thaw later on. It’s more subtle, and that’s one of several refreshing elements here.
Another? The stakes are higher than usual for a film of this brand. The third act takes a twist sure to surprise many, but it’s handled with grace and gives way to a bittersweet resolution.
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It’s easy to take Wilson’s skill set for granted by now. He’s always low-fi charming and magnetic, and he never appears to be phoning his shtick in. Here, his character isn’t intimidating in the least, but Ben’s heart is surprisingly strong.
Director Scott Waugh (“Act of Valor,” “Expend4bles”) does the rest, staging exciting chases and fisticuffs that make every set piece pop. It must be brutal to create novel action beats in 2026. Every third film ups the ante on the formula, adding a new wrinkle that makes every punch feel like a haymaker.
Waugh and co. use Ritchson’s frame to their advantage, but their collective creativity deserves a separate huzzah. Even better? Waugh knows how intimidating his star can appear on screen, but he’s nowhere near as bulletproof as Ah-nold or Sly in his prime.
Again, refreshing.
“Runner” isn’t particularly memorable, and the buddy boilerplate will always feel a tad familiar. That doesn’t detract from the film’s eagerness to lean hard into an unbreakable film genre.
HiT or Miss: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Genre: Action/Comedy
Runtime: 97 minutes
Where to Watch: In Theaters Sept. 11)
Family Friendly? Strong violence, some adult language and mature themes. (PG:13)
Here’s the English translation:
Scott Waugh’s Runner has been released by Angel Studios, but when you look at this very effective action comedy, I honestly don’t know exactly what’s Christian about it.
Sure, there’s an element of sacrifice for a higher cause, the struggle of two mismatched buddies to deliver an organ that needs to be transplanted into a sick child, and their willingness to do anything — even give their lives — to make it succeed. But essentially, this is a full-blooded action movie in which brutality appears frequently and is unambiguously enjoyed.
There is sacrifice, but very little forgiveness, patience, or prayer. At one point the hero even dismisses prayer as a solution to his situation and interprets the need for prayer as a sign that he’s “fucked.”
That’s why how this ended up at Angel Studios is very interesting, especially considering that the film’s central theme is organ transplantation from a deceased donor — a subject on which churches around the world hold differing views, because, as we know, burial is traditionally seen as preserving the body for later biblical events. Of course, the major churches have more or less come down on the side of transplantation in the meantime, but even that is a theme the film doesn’t explore from a theological perspective.
So I’d say this was a negative pickup rather than a film profiled as genuine faith-based Angel Studios material, and as such it’s still a different kind of action film from, say, the thriller Sound of Freedom, which wasn’t necessarily very Christian either but had an agenda in a different way.
None of that is present here. Alan Ritchson plays a burned-out American military retiree with family trauma who works as a courier in Brisbane, while Owen Wilson plays the courier delivering a liver for a little girl with a rare blood type. Such a liver is extremely rare, and a cartel joins the chase for it because they want it for their leader.
Rodrigo Santoro is solid and physically capable in the role of the cartel guy leading the pursuit for the organ.
In a certain sense, the motive of a cartel wanting to obtain a liver for their leader appears in Mel Gibson’s excellent film How I Spent My Summer Vacation (a.k.a. Get the Gringo). And that solution isn’t particularly new. However, this is a film directed by Scott Waugh, a former stuntman, and the emphasis is on the physical chase.
The brother of the more talented Ric Roman Waugh, he is here for the first time making a truly good film, and he works differently in terms of quality from his brother. While Ric Roman tends to combine visceral action with tough characters as in Felon and Shot Caller, Waugh deals in pure action escapism of the kind Besson used to produce.
And this is the first time he’s put together a completely good film, with several outstanding scenes, among which the explosive hospital finale particularly stands out.
Waugh has finally made an exemplary film of the kind that stuntmen ought to direct. It wasn’t unclear to him earlier what he should be aiming for, but now he’s hit it exactly.
Ritchson is excellent in the title role. Wilson is also just right. BUT… Wilson did appear in No Escape, and thereby, as far as I’m concerned, reached an unusually high place in the action pantheon, so the excess of that film may have slightly disrupted the hierarchy by which his performances in action movies are measured. Especially when you consider that he also nailed Dobkin’s outstanding Shanghai Knights.
Dobkin was a master back then. And those are heights Waugh doesn’t try to reach. But what he does achieve is a solid actioner placed in the right location where good actioners grow — Australia. I don’t want to read too much into it, but there’s a bit of Ozploitation flavor in some of the details, starting with the significant role of motor vehicles in all that chaos.
Add to that the slightly non-American dimension of the location, which still carries a certain significance within the genre, and Runner gains even more value.
I will not watch anything Ritchson is in.
Ritchson = pass.
They’re trying to make Ritchson into the next Arnold, Stallone, Statham.
But who is it who likes to watch macho, masculine, kick-ass movies? Purple-haired chicks screaming “Free Palestine”? Soy boys with man buns and co-exist tie-dyed peace sign T-shirts?
Nope. So Steroid Boy has decided to align with the aforementioned folks by going on vulgar left-wing tirades any time he gets a chance.
This, in the business world, is known as a really, really bad idea. And seeing as how movies are a business, I would guess that Steroid Boy’s hopes of being the next action hero will probably last about as long as his next profane tirade on a Hollywood podcast.
Yes, and how many of his movies will be remembered in the same way as those of Stallone, Arnold, Cruise or Willis? Other than Reacher, can you recall any of his other characters in the same way as John(s) Wick or McClane?
no not really until Ritchson opening his annoying ass movie,screw this movie.