Runner Review: Alan Ritchson Action Thriller Is Surprisingly Unhinged (Complimentary)

Though it may not be the most original action movie, Runner's jumble of tones gives it an unexpected (and enjoyable) ability to surprise. Published Sep 8, 2026, 8:55 AM EDT Alex is the Senior Editor of Reviews & Prestige Content, overseeing ScreenRant's film reviews as one of its Rotten Tomatoes-approved critics. After graduating from Brown University with a B.A. in English, he spent a locked-down year in Scotland completing a Master's in Film Studies from the University of Edinburgh, which he hears is a nice, lively city. He now lives in and works from Milan, Italy, conveniently a short train ride from the Venice Film Festival, which he first covered for SR in 2024. When Runner begins, it doesn't seem like it'll be an unusual action movie. The script by Miles Hubley and Tommy White cobbles together a variety of genre tropes to form what seem like pretty solid, familiar bones, which, handled right, could make for a fun story. But there's something about the way this movie is executed that sets it apart. A slightly unhinged quality that's a little hard to put your finger on, but that shapes how everything feels. It's as if the action-movie borders that usually keep everything contained just don't exist. There are elements that don't work as well as they could – the comedy, for example, doesn't really pull its weight – but whatever director Scott Waugh has done to this tonal cocktail ensures that his film is alive where it matters. While being more emotionally grounded than your average chase thriller gives it some welcome color, Runner successfully delivers on the two things required to make it worth watching: keeping the tension high, and letting star Alan Ritchson lower the boom. That it's capable of layering in some surprising detailing is a nice bonus. In Runner, Alan Ritchson's Specialist Courier Has Action Hero Thrust Upon Him The titular runner is Ritchson's Hank, an American living and working in Brisbane, Australia. The details of his personal life are delivered with enough patience that I'm loath to reveal much, aside from the pieces we get at the very beginning: He's got an Australian ex-wife, already remarried; He has a picture of a little girl kept in his car's sun visor; and today is his one-year sober birthday. Aside from spending his free time on an app learning French, there doesn't seem to be much to Hank's life beyond his work, which certainly keeps him busy. A high-end courier of sorts, his boss calls each day with the slate of odd jobs someone's paying a lot of money for. Runner gives us a taste of the range of tasks, one of which amusingly ends with a rare, valuable bird remaining in his possession, before zeroing in on the one that matters. There's a medical shipment coming in via private jet from Honolulu. All he has to do is meet it right when it lands, and bring it to another location just a few minutes away. Runner puts an impressive degree of well-choreographed carnage in Hank and Ben's path... Only, when he gets there, it seems like some wires must've been crossed. The shipment, a liver in a temperature-controlled container, is being carried by Ben Bishop (Owen Wilson), who does this for a living. It's destined for a little girl named Ellie (Scarlett Crabtree) in a hospital on the Gold Coast, an hour or more away. Unfortunately for Hank, who doesn't seem like the social type, there are strict rules for organ deliveries like this. Wherever the liver goes, Ben goes, and Hank will have to drive them both. The minor annoyance turns dangerous when, after Hank makes for his new destination, he gets a panicked call from his boss. Then, he notices they're being followed. It turns out, a criminal outfit led by the erratic Damian Zaldívar (Rodrigo Santoro) are the ones that hired him; they intend on hijacking this organ, uniquely valuable for being a match for the rarest blood type. But they didn't count on the courier being an especially large ex-Navy SEAL with a moral compass. Hank decides pretty quickly that a bit of violence is worth saving the life of a little girl. This is, as I said, a pretty good setup, and each little wrinkle in it is well-handled. There is the matter of how the criminals were informed of this delivery, which creates some solid intrigue for Ellie's mother Kate (Leila George) to untangle at the hospital. There's Damian's motive, which is more compelling than it initially seems. And there's the fact that what follows is not a little violence. Runner puts an impressive degree of well-choreographed carnage in Hank and Ben's path, and there's seemingly no limit to its ability to fan out and impact anyone around them. Runner Is A Mess Of Tones, But That's Why It Works Perhaps what I'm responding to is that, while Ritchson, Wilson, Santoro, and the goons are living in action world, most characters in Runner could believably be part of a more grounded drama. This goes for key supporting roles, like Kate, as well as people Hank and Ben just happen to interact with on their journey. So, when action world suddenly comes crashing into their lives, it does feel like a boundary is being crossed somehow. It may be a result of Waugh having less of a grip on the tone than the best-directed films in this genre, but it also really works for what this movie is. Sometimes, that looseness shows in less-successful ways. Runner is occasionally funny, and Wilson's line delivery is the source of some of those laughs, but his character isn't properly calibrated to this story. Ritchson is giving the right action-hero performance to sell the combat and the drama, but the odd-couple sparks that should've fueled the comedy aren't flying between Hank and Ben. More of that energy actually comes from the interplay between Hank and Damian, who Santoro plays as a fun, cartoonish, wounded villain who almost seems to relish the unexpected challenge. On the other end of the spectrum, Leila George, who leaves a strong impression in Alfonso Cuarón's miniseries Disclaimer, really leans into the emotion of an understandably heavy situation. Those notes seem at odds with the rest of the film until the final act, when her performance enters the action world in a way I found especially satisfying. That Runner finds notes like that is one reason to seek it out, especially if you're already inclined to enjoy it. It's not groundbreaking, nor does it consistently punch above its weight, but its tendency to resonate in unexpected ways makes it quite enjoyable to watch. Runner releases in theaters on Friday, September 11. Release Date September 11, 2026 Runtime 97 minutes Director Scott Waugh Writers Tommy White, Miles Hubley Producers Alan Ritchson, Deborah Glover, Jeffrey Greenstein, Mark Fasano, Todd Garner