Runner Runner (2013)
Rated R
Starring Justin Timberlake, Ben Affleck, Gemma Arterton, Anthony Mackie,
Directed by Brad Furman
The Story:
Richie (Timberlake) is trying to make ends meet and make his college tuition by rounding up people to use an online poker site owned by Ivan Block (Affleck). However, when Richie ends up losing a fortune, he discovers a flaw in the system and crashes a party to let Ivan know that his site is being rigged by someone. Ivan thanks him by offering him a job, and Richie quickly rises to become his right hand man. However, that's a very dangerous place to be...
There are flashes of brilliance and great performances to be had throughout this film.
Timberlake, as always, seems to be a natural in front of the camera, and when he hangs up his singing career for good, he's got a great second career to fall back on.
Naturally, a hero is only as good as the villain, and Affleck plays along as the menacing thug who can make or break Richie (or anyone for that matter) with just a few choice words.
When the two are together, the storyline picks up.
The problem, the two don't share a whole ton of screen time.
The other major players are Arterton as Ivan's girlfriend who has a thing for Richie...
And Mackie who gets to play a corrupt FBI agent.
Throw in a heist, betrayals and backstabbing and the movie had great ideas that just didn't fully come across.
That's a shame, because again, those flashes of brilliance could have made this a repeat viewing.
Final Grade: C+
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