Runner Runner (2013)

When a poor college student who cracks an online poker game goes bust, he arranges a face-to-face with the man he thinks cheated him, a sly offshore entrepreneur.

Director:

Brad Furman

Writers:

Brian Koppelman, David Levien

Stars:

Ben Affleck, Justin Timberlake, Gemma Arterton

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Justin Timberlake	...	Richie Furst
Ben Affleck	...	Ivan Block
Gemma Arterton	...	Rebecca Shafran
Anthony Mackie	...	Agent Shavers
Michael Esper	...	Billy 'Pet' Petricoff
Oliver Cooper	...	Andrew Cronin
Christian George	...	Wilson
Yul Vazquez	...	Delegate Herrera
John Heard	...	Harry Furst
James Molina	...	Esteban
Louis Lombardi	...	Archie
Vincent Laresca	...	Sergeant Barrancas
Bernie O. Ramos Robledo	...	Handlebar Mustache
Sam Palladio	...	Shecky
David Costabile	...	Professor Horstein

Storyline

Princeton grad student Richie, believing he's been swindled, travels to Costa Rica to confront online gambling tycoon Ivan Block. Richie is seduced by Block's promise of immense wealth, until he learns the disturbing truth about his benefactor. When the FBI tries to coerce Richie to help bring down Block, Richie faces his biggest gamble ever: attempting to outmaneuver the two forces closing in on him.

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Plot Keywords:

21th century | 2010s | woman | university | poker | 

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Taglines:

You have no idea who you're playing with.

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Genres:

Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

20th Century Fox [United States] Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

4 October 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Apuesta máxima

Filming Locations:

Puerto Rico

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,706,712, 6 October 2013, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$19,316,646

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$62,675,095

Company Credits

Production Co:

Regency Enterprises,New Regency Pictures,Appian Way

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In a 2017 interview with Entertainment Weekly Gemma Arterton said on Runner Runner (2013) "It made me stop wanting to be an actor. The whole thing wasn't right for me. It wasn't the type of thing I enjoyed watching or doing. I had a moment where I thought, 'Okay, I got into this because of Michael Haneke and Lars von Trier and now I'm making action movies.' Not that I wouldn't ever do [action movies] again but I realized then that it wasn't for me and I decided to do more theater and collaborate with people."

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Goofs

When Ben Affleck's character talks about all the things he cannot do in the US anymore, he mentions Pittsburgh and its famous Primanti brothers restaurant chain, notably the specialty sandwiches they make. He pronounces it Pri-MAHN-ti, with the AN letters sounding like 'on'. Any big fan of the restaurant chain would know the proper pronunciation is Prim-AN-ti, with the AN sound similar to the name "Ann".

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Quotes

[first lines]
Richie Furst: Everyone gambles. They may call it something else, like the stock market, or real estate. But make no mistake, if you're risking something, you're gambling. And if you're gambling, then I'm the guy you want to see.

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Connections

Referenced in Wild Card (2015)

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Soundtracks

La Reja (Nicodemus Remix)
Written by Martin Perna and Adrian Quesada
Performed by Ocote Soul Sounds
Courtesy of ESL Music

User Reviews

Save your money, Runner Runner is a losing bet.

Not as intelligent as it thinks it is.

This would be true if the films producers intended to create something intelligent, but Runner Runner is textbook sex-money-thriller, with a spot of online gambling thrown in to keep it relevant, and nobody involved with its production thinks it's intelligent.

The film stars Justin Timberlake and Ben Affleck, who have to make money somehow I suppose, but the best line in the film is reserved for token-black-FBI agent, played unremarkably by Anthony Mackie.

"That's what you say to someone who is stupid. Do you think I'm stupid."

Hey, you read my mind. Whoever wrote this script definitely thinks we're stupid.

The film's female characters deserve attention, not for their acting but the way they're shamelessly draped across every scene, like a bikini stretched over a pair of perky, artificially enhanced tits, just to remind everyone watching it's a man's world at the top.

Runner Runner falls into the rapidly growing category of post-GFC films attempting to relate to the millions of Americans left unemployed and out on their ass because Lehman Brothers went all in with their savings and lost, yet it does nothing but rehash the embarrassingly outdated idea that anyone with a few brains and determination can 'make it in America'.

That Hollywood can still serve up this undercooked, horse-sh*t film and call it a 'smart, sexy thriller' makes me want to crash my car off a bridge.

'Making it' in this economy is hard enough without wasting any of your time on this worthless mind slop. Save your money, Runner Runner is a losing bet.