The Runner

9/3/2026

Pulse-pounding deadline-based thrillers have become a common source of action-adventure viewing over the years. These largely formulaic offerings are often fairly predictable, with their outcomes frequently obvious well in advance, the only variable generally being the routes their narratives take to arrive at their final destinations. So it is again with this latest effort from director Kevin MacDonald, a typically capable filmmaker who comes up woefully short with this release. When London-based criminal attorney Maia Marten (Gal Godot) goes on her usual morning run before her latest big court case, she’s interrupted in mid-sprint by a cell phone call supposedly from her young son, Noah (Rory Wilmot). However, when she answers, she discovers it’s not from him but, instead, from an anonym

9/11/2026

You've seen this film before. When it was 1995's **NICK OF TIME** and **DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE**, 2002's **PHONE BOOTH**, 2003's **OUT OF TIME**, 2005's **RED EYE**, or even Netflix's **CARRY-ON** (2024) -- well, you get the idea. Films like **THE RUNNER** do not happen in a vacuum. And the formula is clearly working, as director Kevin Macdonald's film (wisely released direct to streaming on Amazon Prime) is already one of the platform's top films. Starring Gal Gadot as high-powered London barrister Maia, whose child is held for ransom by a mysterious Caller (Damian Lewis) in exchange for assassinating the star witness of a local mob trial -- it's a premise that sounds increasingly preposterous the more you think about it. Despite its **RUN LOLA RUN** pacing, with endless cl

10/6/2026

I think we have to conclude that this movie is just not any good. The premise has been seen before in many movies and it hasn't gotten better with time. With surveillance technology, it should have actually improved, but it just appears to be the same old thing. We also have to come to the conclusion that our main actress is simply not very good. The failure to emote and the failure to be believable in any of our human interactions just marks down Gal Gadot's character as a completely unrelatable. The ending is also utterly unearned. There are no stakes and no tension to it since we aren't privy to the twist the movie wants to spring that on us, but we can't have it both ways, and it simply does not land. The main antagonist is good as a voice on the phone, but does very little on screen,

10/23/2026

## 0/10 stars review ratings from me. Its a drop. Not to be mistaken with another runner from the actor from Reacher. This number is with Gal Gadot . The similarity is too uncanny with another movie when her son was kidnapped while she is out jogging. The trick is to keep her running while resolving each of the riddles from the caller . I got disinterested halfway through and its a total drop.