Runner

There are action movies that spend twenty minutes explaining why all of this matters, and then there’s Runner, which understands that sometimes the most effective way to build suspense is to put something valuable in a box, set a timer next to it, and hit the road. Directed by Scott Waugh, this muscular and delightfully over-the-top action thriller has the simple mechanics of a 1990s studio film and the pace of a movie designed for an audience nostalgic for the days when a car chase could be the main plot of a movie. Alan Ritchson plays Hank Malone, a former U.S. Navy SEAL living in Brisbane and working as a runner the kind of professional courier called upon when the package, the passenger, or the circumstances demand discretion. Hank has been sober for a year, is divorced, and carries an emotional burden far heavier than his imposing physique might initially suggest. A routine pickup at the airport brings him face-to-face with Ben Bishop, a medical courier played by Owen Wilson, as well as the liver that Ben is transporting for a seriously ill seven-year-old girl. The organ has only a very narrow window of viability. Unfortunately, someone else needs it, too. From there, the film Runner essentially turns into a long journey during which almost everything that can go wrong does so at breakneck speed, keeping us on the edge of our seats without a single misstep.

It is precisely this simplicity that makes Miles Hubley and Tommy White’s screenplay so powerful. Their screenplay made the 2023 Black List a compilation of the most admired unproduced screenplays and it’s easy to see why: the central MacGuffin could hardly be more concrete. It’s not a mysterious hard drive or a suitcase full of cash. Every delay could cost a child’s life, which gives the cooler Ben is carrying a surprisingly powerful emotional presence. The screenplay also finds a clever counterpart in the character of Damián Zaldívar, played with explosive intensity by Rodrigo Santoro. He is undeniably ruthless, but his desire to obtain that liver goes far beyond mere greed, creating an unsettling moral tension beneath the layer of wrecked vehicles and broken bones. The film Runner never becomes a serious philosophical reflection on the question of who deserves to live—and no one should expect it to be but the fact that its villain and its heroes may both desperately want the same thing for fundamentally human reasons gives the conflict more substance than the classic “cartel versus the good guys” plotline initially suggests.

The real driving force behind the film, however, lies in the unexpected pairing of actors Alan Ritchson (star of the cult series Reacher) and Owen Wilson. On paper, it almost looks like a cast put together by randomly pulling two names from different hats. On screen, however, they click. Hank only speaks when necessary; Ben seems capable of carrying on a conversation even when no one is listening. Owen Wilson wisely avoids turning his character into a caricature. His usual laid-back style is very much present, but beneath it lies a man who takes the responsibility of transporting donated organs extremely seriously. Alan Ritchson, for his part, demonstrates why his current role as an action hero isn’t limited to his physical abilities alone. Hank is obviously capable of taking down a room full of attackers, but the most interesting moments occur when he doesn’t do anything of the sort. His attempts to learn French, his milestone in sobriety, and the tragedy involving his daughter which is gradually revealed transform what could have been yet another archetype of the indestructible ex-military man into a man trying to rebuild his life. Their relationship evolves accordingly: Ben gradually learns when not to speak, while Hank gradually remembers how to do so. It’s a subtle character development, but one that’s incredibly effective.

That’s when Scott Waugh starts wreaking havoc. A former stuntman himself, he approaches action scenes with a pragmatic vision: the audience must be able to understand where the characters, cars, and cameras are in relation to one another. His experience on Need for Speed is evident, particularly during the car sequences, but Runner takes this technique even further. Since much of the story confines Hank and Ben inside a vehicle, the filmmaker spent months developing a system that allows the camera to move inside the car and rotate 360 degrees around its occupants, rather than settling for repetitive shots through the windshield. A spectacular chase sequence was first developed using miniature cars and then previewed before the production team embarked on the full-scale choreography. This effort is evident on screen: the camera dives in and out of moving vehicles, giving the audience the sensation of being right in the thick of the collision rather than merely observing it. Alan Ritchson also performs many of Hank’s stunts himself, which heightens the emotional impact of these scenes and allows Scott Waugh to often frame the actor clearly rather than hiding stunt doubles behind frenetic editing. The result has weight, a sense of space, and, increasingly, a raw intensity. The film easily stands out as one of the best action movies of the year and would have deserved a theatrical release in France and greater prominence in the United States.

Violence is at the root of one of the film’s strangest contradictions. Runner is distributed in the United States by Angel, a company whose catalog has always suggested very different expectations—and yet this is a PG-13-rated film of unexpected brutality. Heads slam against unforgiving surfaces, bodies are hurled across the set, and Hank discovers increasingly inventive ways to demonstrate that renouncing violence is easier said than done. We even see an endangered parakeet accompanying some of these scenes of carnage a small, absurd detail that perfectly sums up the film’s singular personality. This mix of tones isn’t always harmonious. The scenes featuring Kate and her hospitalized daughter Ellie played by Leila George and Scarlett Crabtree, respectively sometimes lean a bit too heavily into easy melodrama, while the cartel characters can fall into genre clichés. The film also asks viewers to overlook several logistical questions notably why such a precious and urgently needed organ is transported under conditions that seem specifically designed to facilitate a lengthy car chase. Asking such questions is entirely reasonable. Expecting Runner to pause long enough to answer them is probably less so.

In its PG-13-rated version, Runner has a welcome dose of physical grit. Brisbane and the Gold Coast provide a refreshing backdrop, a far cry from the generic North American cityscape usually associated with this kind of story, and the production uses the Australian setting as much more than just a backdrop. The film is at its best when vehicles are speeding through these open spaces, when Hank improvises a weapon out of whatever he can get his hands on, and when Ben discovers that accompanying an organ donor apparently requires far more extensive occupational hazard training than anyone had mentioned.

What ultimately sets Runner apart is not so much its originality as its conviction. Almost all the elements are familiar: the veteran haunted by his past, the mismatched partner, the countdown, the precious cargo, the relentless pursuers, and the inevitable progression toward increasingly improbable showdowns. Scott Waugh and his cast simply refuse to treat this familiarity as an excuse for laziness. Rodrigo Santoro imbues the antagonist with enough despair to prevent him from becoming a purely theatrical villain; Owen Wilson brings warmth without steering the film toward comedy; and Alan Ritchson offers both the spectacular physical credibility demanded by the action and the more subtle vulnerability necessary to make Hank’s redemption believable. 

"Runner" knows exactly what kind of movie it is, tells its story in 97 well-paced minutes, and wraps up before its absurdities have a chance to overshadow its strengths. It may have the structure of a disposable B-movie, but there’s genuine craftsmanship in its action scenes, authentic chemistry at its core, and far more heart than its battered cars would suggest. Sometimes, movies don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Sometimes, all they need to do is mount that wheel on a fast car, head for the hospital, and make the ride entertaining. Runner delivers on its promises. It’s one of our absolute favorites this year and proves once again that Alan Ritchson isn’t just a muscle-bound hunk but a true actor equally at ease in spectacular action scenes as he is in more dramatic or comedic moments. 

Runner
Directed by Scott Waugh
Written by Miles Hubley, Tommy White
Produced by Alan Ritchson, Todd Garner, Mark Fasano, Jeffrey Greenstein
Starring  Alan Ritchson, Owen Wilson, Rodrigo Santoro
Cinematography : Lorenzo Senatore
Edited by Matt Villa
Music by Charlie Nguyen Kim
Production companies : 2521 Entertainment, Broken Road Productions, Nickel City Pictures, A Higher Standard, Industry Entertainment
Distributed by Angel Studios (United States)
Release date : September 11, 2026 (United States)
Running time : 98 minutes

Viewed on September 29, 2026