by
Julien
Faddoul
0
stars
d
– Brad Furman
w
– Brian Koppelman, David Levien
ph
– Mauro Fiore
pd
– Charisse Cardenas
m
– Christophe Beck
ed
– Jeff McEvoy
cos
– Sophie De Rakoff
p
- Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Davisson Killoran, Brian Koppelman, David Levien,
Michael Shamberg, Stacey Sher
Cast:
Justin Timberlake, Ben Affleck, Gemma Arterton, Anthony Mackie, Michael Esper, Oliver
Cooper, Christian George, Yul Vazquez, John Heard, James Molina
It
is common, backyard knowledge to the mainstream computer proprietor that
playing online poker is probably not a very good idea. What’s even more eminent
is that being cheated out of your money by a computer virus is not particularly
captivating to watch. Movies with people who wear ties or high heels and yell
at each other in rooms containing giant computer screens have been
contaminating the cinematic water supply for about two decades now. This
coincides with the arrow of time always pointing in the direction of escalating
telecommunications. So, naturally, movies would follow suit.
Despite
this, filmmakers have struggled to examine characters sitting in front of
computers typing with any sense of cinematic vitality. David Fincher is an
exception to this. Brad Furman, unfortunately, is not, and his new film Runner, Runner
is about the dullest “online-scam” movie one could imagine. It’s even duller
than Middle Men (2010).
Justin
Timberlake plays Richie Furst, a Princeton student who is hoodwinked out of his
tuition money by playing online poker games. When he ascertains that the site
is governed from a secluded island position (in Costa Rica), he goes to
confront the site's corrupt and ruthless owner, Ivan Block played by Ben
Affleck. For reasons that are beyond trivial, Furst is lured into becoming
Ivan's acolyte and right-hand man. Their relationship starts to reach a boiling
point and Richie becomes involved with the FBI as an informant of Ivan’s dirty
doings.
Mr
Furman lacks any kind of oscillation that would make what is essentially a B-Movie
script with a lot of long words at all exciting. And to be fair, the screenplay
by Brad Koppelman and David Levien (who also produced the film) is not terrible
and the first few scenes when Timberlake and Affleck meet hinted at an
adventure of interest. But Mr Furman packages the picture with a catalogue of deluxe
accommodations and vehicles and computers and yachts and jets and furniture and
more computers so that nothing can resonate, least of all the actors. Amongst all the bashes
laden with skimpily clothed womenfolk, there is no connotation or nuance that
helps at all understand, or even enjoy, what Richie is going and why he would
proceed.
The
final act of the film’s plot is brazenly absurd but it’s absurd in a way I don’t
think I’ve encountered before. Without revealing too much, Richie is required
to “turn the tables” on his boss. He discovers how he can do this. However, his
overall plan is so stupidly over-elaborate that the amount of time the movie
gives him to complete the task is outside of the realm of human capacity. No one,
not even a superhero (unless he had super-computer-typing powers) could
accomplish what Richie does here. But he does and I was left in hysterics. But what
do I know. There sure were a lot of computers and computers can do anything
right?
Mr
Furman’s previous film The Lincoln Lawyer (2011) also had plausibility
problems, but in that film’s case they were easier to get over. The reason
Runner, Runner is deprived of that luxury is because the film in question is such a colossal bore that one can’t help but think of the fantastical machinations
of the plot just to stay awake. And that is the film’s biggest sin: not that it’s
unrealistic, but that it’s unenjoyable.
