Runner arrives with the kind of premise that knows exactly what it wants to be: a lean, crowd-pleasing action comedy with a ticking clock, a child in peril and two mismatched men forced into an uneasy alliance. Directed by Scott Waugh, the film gives Alan Ritchson another opportunity to lean into the physical authority that has made him such a compelling screen presence, while Owen Wilson supplies the conversational looseness and comic rhythm that keep the film from becoming all muscle and no wit.
Set in Brisbane, Australia, the story introduces Ritchson as Hank, a former Navy SEAL now working as a runner, a profession the film helpfully explains as someone who transports legal or illegal goods for clients. Hank is first seen in a quieter, almost absurdly domestic moment, learning French and eating a French sandwich before his boss, Iggy, sends him on a bizarre errand to collect a rare parrot from a tech bro who insists the bird be delivered to his ex-wife. The exchange is played with enough deadpan oddity to signal the film's comic intentions, especially when the tech bro frames his choice as being "between the bird and the Bentley" and returns to meditation with a serene "Namaste" while Hank looks on in growing confusion.
The plot quickly pivots from eccentric side business to urgent medical crisis. Hank is pulled into a time-sensitive assignment involving Ben Bishop, played by Wilson, a medical courier with a gift for chatter and self-regard. Ben is transporting a liver from Honolulu in a temperature-controlled box for Ellie, a young girl with a rare blood type and liver cancer. The mission becomes even more precarious when Hank is tasked with getting both Ben and the organ to the hospital in time. What begins as reluctant cooperation gradually becomes a comic partnership, with Hank irritated by Ben's endless questions and Ben unfailingly upbeat, even naming the parrot Spirit and offering only praise for everyone around him.
That chemistry is the film's strongest asset. Ritchson, who has built a reputation on playing formidable, no-nonsense characters, gets to play the straight man without losing his imposing edge. Wilson, meanwhile, leans into his signature affable cadence, turning Ben into a talkative optimist whose charm is both disarming and occasionally exasperating. Their back-and-forth gives Runner much of its energy, and the film seems to understand that the pleasure lies as much in watching these two men negotiate each other's personalities as in the action itself. A line such as "crankapotamus" lands because the film is willing to be silly without fully abandoning its stakes.
The action sequences are another clear strength. Waugh stages the confrontations with enough clarity and momentum to make the film feel brisk and entertaining, and there is genuine satisfaction in watching Ritchson dispatch bad guys with the kind of blunt-force efficiency audiences have come to expect from him. The Australian locations also add texture, giving the film a sense of place that keeps the chase-and-rescue structure from feeling too generic. Rodrigo Santoro, as the unstable Colombian cartel leader Damian, supplies the threat that keeps the story moving, while Leila George, as Ellie's worried mother Kate, grounds the emotional stakes in a way the script occasionally threatens to overstate.
Yet for all its easy pleasures, Runner stumbles when it matters most. The third act becomes overwrought, pushing the film toward melodrama when it had been working best as a nimble, lightly self-aware action comedy. An unwarranted character death further undercuts the good will the film has built, introducing a note of grimness that feels out of step with the movie's earlier tone. What had been a brisk, enjoyable ride begins to feel strained, as if the film is trying too hard to manufacture emotional weight.
Even so, Runner has enough going for it to make the journey worthwhile. Its '80s action-flick vibe, complete with one-liners, an odd-couple pairing and a rescue mission under pressure, gives it a familiar but effective appeal. It may not fully stick the landing, but for much of its running time, Runner delivers exactly what it promises: a solid, good-time entertainer powered by star chemistry, punchy action and a sense of playful momentum.