Critic Reviews

Runner Runner starts off with a solid draw, then folds on the flop.

Could have been a fun film, but instead merely displays the trappings of one.

The best parts of Runner Runner feel like a Rounders facsimile—right down to the metaphor-heavy narration—and the worst seem like a case of mission drift, as if the filmmakers set out to make a behind-the-curtain thriller about online gambling, but got hung up in paying off the plot.

Runner Runner is content to stay high gloss, with no filler.

One of the film's biggest problems is that Richie is an unsympathetic and rather dim character. The badly drawn role does the likable Timberlake no favors.

In different hands, Runner Runner might have worked as sleazy tropical noir, but director Brad Furman (The Lincoln Lawyer) never quite embraces the tawdriness of his material.

The struggles in the movie are with the moments when life and liberty are on the line. The ones that should put you on the edge of your seat are more likely to have you glancing at your watch.

After an intriguing setup, “Runner Runner” devolves into a by-the-books thriller.

The ultimately forgettable Runner Runner is, for a gambling film, markedly risk-averse.

Even the best player can only go so far with a bum hand.