Players

Greetings again from the darkness. I can sit in a theater and watch a mediocre movie, but when it comes time to write about it, there is no motivation or appeal. The most positive comment I can make is that it stars two very pretty men.

This one has "paycheck project" written all over it. Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake simply go through the motions as if someone is feeding them their lines through an ear piece. Gemma Arterton should never stoop to such a mundane and lifeless role ... though her hair and make-up are terrific. Only John Heard and Anthony Mackie come across as professional actors, and their minor roles are so limited, they barely register.

Writing partners Brian Koppelman and David Levien co-wrote the excellent Rounders, but this one merely teases the dark underbelly of online gambling. It has neither the depth, plot or character development that we would expect from a movie with this premise and cast. Director Brad Furman showed promise with The Lincoln Lawyer, but this one comes across as being rushed through production with faux-style.

The closest comparison I can come up with is last year's Savages, directed by Oliver Stone ... and even that one was more enjoyable. Rather than a MPAA warning for Language, I would prefer a heads-up whenever the filmmaking team really doesn't care much for the project. At least I could spend my money and time watching a different movie.

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.

Mindless entertainment, check.

Justin Timberlake being Justin Timberlake, check.

Ben Affleck being his same character from Boiler Room but with more blinking while delivering frat-boy douche lines, double check.

Hot girl standing around being hot, Check.

FBI agent way to young and random to be a believable yet cliché FBI agent, check.

Justin Timberlake not nearly getting his ass kicked enough in this film, inexcusable but CHECK.

5/10 yall

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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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.