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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..

Ben Affleck has made three great films in the last few years, all of them starring and directed by the man himself. It's rather puzzling therefore - after 'Gone Baby Gone', 'The Town' and 'Argo' - what Affleck saw in Brian Koppelman and David Levien's script or in director Brad Furman to commit to star in this by-the-numbers thriller that arguably adds little to the cred he's built up so far. Indeed, it's an odd choice for a multi-hyphenate at a critical turning point in his career when pretty much everyone in Tinseltown was prepared to cast him as a has- been.

In spite of this, Affleck and his co-star Justin Timberlake are about the best things that 'Runner Runner' has going for it. The title here refers to a card that either completes a hand or significantly improves one, which is what Affleck's gambling magnate Ivan Block sees in Timberlake's Princeton maths whizz Richie Furst at least at the start. But really, fancy titles aside, this is no more than yet another cautionary tale about a young, ambitious up-and-comer who gets way over his head when he is lured into a world of crime and corruption by a smooth-talking, charismatic criminal.

Set against the backdrop of the online poker industry, Furman tries to spin a sleek fast-paced number using the sun-drenched locations in Puerto Rico to stand in for Costa Rica. Just as Block lures Furst into his world of riches, the director best known for his work on the Matthew McConaughey thriller 'The Lincoln Lawyer' stuffs the screen with lavish digs, fancy cars, cool boats, private jets and stylish beach parties in the hopes of pulling a fast shimmery one on his audience. To his credit, all that glamour does succeed to mask the movie's flaws during its brisk setup.

And yet as soon as Furst's giddy ascent into the shady world of Block's business is complete, what ensues is pretty much a downhill journey. There's absolutely no surprise that an overachieving FBI agent (Anthony Mackie) will turn up to enlist Furst in order to take down Block, or for that matter the fact that said agent is willing to risk even Furst's life in the process. Neither is it any less predictable that Furst will fall in love with Block's right-hand woman Rebecca (Gemma Arterton), further aggravating the animosity between mentor and protégé.

But perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the plot lies in how simplistic Furst's plan to demolish Block's criminal empire turns out to be, an utterly predictable chain of events that only serves to cast aspersions on Block's own intelligence in the first place. Just like 'Lawyer', Furman employs a whole lot of snazzy camera techniques to distract his viewer from the plot failings, but even the casual viewer is likely to find the denouement underwhelming. In fact, the same can be said of the entire slicked up movie, which quickly runs out of any smart moves once you see through its bluff.

That is, even as Timberlake tries his darnest to inject the same kind of smarminess of 'The Social Network' into his character. The boyishly charming actor exudes enough wide-eyed naivety at the start to convincingly gear-shift into desperation as things go awry, but it is a clichéd role that does him no favours. On the other hand, Affleck underplays his character's villainy, and though some may find his performance too nonchalant, it is nicely calibrated to surprise when he reveals a dastardly evil hand.

Yet this is a movie that hardly deserves such subtleties, since just about everything is ostentatious to a fault. To Furman's credit, he does what he can with a tepid script to draw in and retain his audience's attention, but there is so much he, or for that matter his stars Timberlake and Affleck, can accomplish. So entirely forgettable it almost ceases to matter, 'Runner Runner' is ultimately a 'Loser Loser'.

The 3*s I'm giving Runner Runner are for the location and the concept, this could have been a really great film but is completely let down by a incomplete script, poor direction, cinematography and wooden acting.

The Opening 10-15 minutes of the film should have been Timberlake's character back story leading to the point where we actually open. There is absolutely no chemistry between Timberlake and Arterton, Affleck proves once again how he's able to be out-acted by the most inanimate object on screen, and I saw the film less than an hour ago and have already forgotten everything the FBI agent did.

Due to the poor script you have a total lack of empathy for anyone, you actually don't really care if they live, die, go to prison or get away. My biggest concern was if it actually was Deadmau5 DJing at the Doctor Parnassus themed party or just some dude in a similar hat.

Also, the jargon used throughout the film means absolutely nothing to anyone with out a financial and IT background.

If you want to watch a good film about someone trying to pay for their university education watch 21!

I am neither a fan of Timberlake nor a fan of Batfleck, but I didn't hate them in this film. Acting is ok and the director did a smart thing and kept this movie short and with a good pace. Doesn't get boring and the story is ok especially if you are into gambling-style movies, but don't expect an intricate plot or smart twists. If you have seen all the other available films of this style/genre, then you can try this one and you will be entertained. 6/10 ok if no alternative.

I was sorely tempted to write a single word review of Runner Runner: Pointless!

But I'll resist and expand slightly.

The trailer strongly suggests an intelligent, exciting thriller of crime and intrigue with A-list stars, action, drama, plenty of danger and a soupçon of violence. The realty of Runner Runner is somewhat blander.

Richie Furst (Justin Timberlake) is a Princeton student with moderate financial worries, who supports himself through online gambling. When he risks everything (except the price of his airline ticket to Costa Rica, clearly) on a game and loses, he discovers he has been swindled and heads south to confront the man behind the poker company and scam, Ivan Block (Ben Affleck). Block is so impressed with Furst's balls that he offers him a job with eight-figure returns. With the chance to join the super rich, all the pleasures it encompasses and, predictably, a beautiful woman, Rebecca (Gemma Arterton), who equally predictably is Block's girlfriend, Furst's life couldn't be any better. Then FBI agent Shavers (Anthony Mackie) interferes.

The ingredients are there but it just doesn't work. The characters are half-written shadows of people about whom we don't care. There is no depth, detail or intrigue to inspire us to invest our attention and, though we try to second guess the plot and look for the twists and double crosses lurking in the background, it transpires there are none to speak of and what we see is the sum total of it.

Timberlake is on something of a downward trajectory after the superb The Social Network. Neither Bad Teacher nor Trouble with the Curve ignited and his turn in Runner Runner, though adequate, does nothing to persuade us he's an A-lister in Hollywoodland.

Affleck, however, was ridding high with the supreme success of Argo and the promise of more box office clout with the forthcoming Gone Girl and Batman vs. Superman. Runner Runner isn't going to damage his career but it certainly isn't going to boost it.

Meanwhile, there are times when Gemma Arterton frequently forgets to act (and can't pronounce Antigua) and Mackie is lumbered with a role that diminishes even the 'heights' of Pain and Gain.

Somebody really needs to shake director Brad Furman, turn him around and point him in the direction of a sequel to his fine The Lincoln Lawyer.

Runner Runner isn't a bad film. It's just a bland, boring, forgettable, dull thud with no echo.

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