Runner Runner

Runner Runner

Rated R and Released in Grand Rapids 10/4/13

Reviewed 10/7/13 at Celebration North in Grand Rapids, MI

with Mark, Karen and Gary

2 1/2 out of 5Js in QUIET Rating System

Justin Timberlake, who plays Richie Furst, is a talented artist but I am not so sure he is the greatest actor. He is getting better, though. Ben Affleck (Ivan Block) is always really good. I love him in movies, such as Argo. This is no Argo, but it is a fast-moving crime drama that digs into the world of on-line gambling and the "winners" and the "losers" of the business. There are a lot of the latter. Gary and Mark thought it was entertaining and probably liked it a little more than Karen and I. But we all did say it kept our attention and was worth seeing.

Richie Furst is a Princeton grad student that is lacking funds for tuition. Besides excelling in school, he found something else he is good at - playing on-line poker. He goes all in by putting the remainder of his tuition money into his poker account, hoping to grow his bankroll enough to buy him some time. However, it doesn't go down like that and after doing some research with his math buddies they discover the system cheated Richie. Let it go? Well...he can't report them since on-line gambling is illegal in the U.S., but it's definitely overlooked elsewhere. Furst schemes up a plan and heads to Costa Rica where Ivan Block heads up the off-shore gambling site company. It doesn't take long for Richie to get to the right places to confront Ivan with his beef about fraudulently losing his money on-line.

At first that doesn't go over well, but Ivan has a change of heart and wants to give a smart guy like Richie a job and a chance to make a lot of money. Richie gets planted very quickly into the operation and strikes up a friendship with Ivan's assistant and part-time girlfriend Rebecca Shafron, played by cutie Gemma Arterton. She dutifully follows orders from her boss and is stern with her power in the organization. The nastier side to the business (components of greed, payoffs, strong arming people, money laundering) are all very routine. These criminals are one step ahead of the law and when they are about to get caught they have an exit strategy. As the movie is winding down the story then takes a sudden turn and wraps up too abruptly with some questions that are not explained sufficiently. If there is something else to see and it's between this movie and another one, maybe see the other one. This is definitely no Rounders when it comes to gambling movies. At some point though, go see Runner Runner and you won't be bored. But if you want to save it for the cheapie theatre or even at home, that would be the better "bet."

QUIET Rating system: 2 ½ Js

Quality: Jj

Understood story:  JJ

Interest: JJj

Entertainment:  JJJ

Time:  JJJJ