written by: Miles Hubley and Tommy White
produced by: Alan Ritchson, Todd Garner, Mark Fasano & Jeffrey Greenstein
directed by: Scott Waugh
rated: PG-13 (for strong violence, bloody images and some language)
runtime: 98 min.
U.S. release date: September 11, 2026

Former stuntman Scott Waugh has shown an interest in action movies over the years, including 2012’s “Act of Valor” and 2014’s “Need for Speed”, but hasn’t yet had a very memorable genre offering. The last two he directed, “Hidden Strike”, starring Jackie Chan and John Cena, and “Expend4bles”, led by Jason Statham, dropped in 2023, and neither of them did very well. His latest, “Runner,” is a curious endeavor: an action comedy filmed Down Under starring Alan Ritchson and Owen Wilson that is surprisingly violent, given that Angel Studios is distributing it and markets most of its movies as “values-based entertainment.” Written by the screenwriting duo of Miles Hubley and Tommy White, “Runner” will check all the appropriate boxes for those looking for an entertaining action flick.

Within the first couple of seconds, the camera focuses on Ritchson’s formidable shirtless torso from behind. Of course it does. Anyone who’s watched the actor in Prime Video’s “Reacher” series knows this guy is a mountain. Waugh is obviously aware as well, as he establishes that the strong, silent type he’s playing here (which the actor often plays) is a force to be reckoned with.

Later on in the movie, Ritchson’s Hank Malone, a former Navy SEAL and current delivery man (aka runner), mentions, “I’m not a man that people successfully mess with.” Of course he is. This is also a movie where Hank states, “I don’t hurt people anymore,” an unintentionally hilarious line early on that is an obvious flat-out lie and worthy of an eye roll.

Hank isn’t just a brooding hulk; he’s a man with a broken heart. Not long ago, his young daughter Isabelle fell ill at a young age and died not that long ago, and at the time he was finding therapy for combat PTSD at the bottom of a bottle. His ex-wife, Monica (Geraldine Hakewill), has remarried and is a new mother. While Hank’s relationship with her is tenuous at best, she is genuinely happy that he just received his token for being sober for a year. For work, Hank takes jobs assigned by his handler, Iggy (an unseen character heard only by phone), as a private courier, which sends him all over the city. Like many recovering addicts intent on “doing the work”, Hank is taking one day at a time, with a side focus of learning to speak French along the way.

During one particular assignment, Hank is tasked with picking up a special medical case and transporting it to the Gold Coast Children’s Hospital. It should be an easy job, but Hank is surprised to find Ben Bishop (Wilson) comes with the medical case, which has a liver that a young girl named Ellie (Scarlett Crabtree) desperately needs. Ben’s responsible for making sure the organ gets where it needs to go. To transport the organ, which is arriving from Hawaii, Hank has to take chatterbox Ben along and make sure Ellie and her mother, Kate (Lelia George, daughter of actors Vincent D’Onofrio and Greta Scacchi), get it within a very specific timeframe.

However, Kate and Ellie are not the only ones who need the vital organ. Local drug cartel leader, Damian (a wily Rodrigo Santoro), must have it for his dying mother (Adriana Barraza, “Babel” and “Blue Beetle”) and will use excessive violence, extreme measures, and a horde of goons to seize the prize, resulting in a manic chase using a variety of vehicles and on foot.

Curiously, “Runner” takes place in Australia, primarily Brisbane, yet there’s no discernible reason it’s set there. The geography isn’t a distraction or a deal breaker, but it is curious. Hank is based in Brisbane because at one point his life involved his ex, who is Australian. It may be as simple as that, but it is also kind of odd that there’s a Mexican drug cartel presence in the land Down Under, but I’m no expert in such affairs nor the criminal element Aussies have to contend with.

From the outside, it could seem like “Runner” follows the “buddy cop” action-comedy formula, but it’s more along the lines of the “race against time” subgenre. Ritchson and Wilson don’t have to play two characters who are at odds with each other, but rather two guys willing to do anything to see a job through to the end within a specific time constraint. There’s some comedy between the two, primarily because they are so different, but the pair eventually come to have a mutual respect for each other that develops over the short amount of time they work together.

As much as the movie is supposed to feel urgent, there are surprising moments when it feels like Waugh forgets the ticking-clock timeframe around the organ this young girl needs. The director leans into Ritchson’s strengths as an action star, whether he’s behind the wheel or taking down armed goons in close quarters, yet at times viewers will wonder why it’s taking so long. While this may be one of the more violent and intense releases from Angel Studios, deliberate editing choices turn what would normally be R-rated action into a PG-13 endeavor. These choices soften some of the on-screen viciousness and mean-spiritedness. It feels like Waugh holds back on the messiness of the chaotic action and goes mostly bloodless instead. Some sequences use questionable CGI and green-screen work, which makes the dizzying action veer into video game territory, and the soundtrack’s weak cover tunes aren’t exactly a good match.

“Runner” may focus more on physical activity than any compelling drama, but at least everyone’s motivations are clearly drawn out, even if they are quite basic. Overall, it’s an entertaining action flick that has its heart in the right place, even if it relies on too many cheap thrills and raises one glaring question throughout: Where is the police presence in all of this?

RATING: ***