Runner Runner: Poker Movie Review

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nucky888

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Runner, Runner is a poker term which is a hand made by hitting two consecutive cards on the turn and the river. How the movie gets this title isn’t evident throughout this 100 minute movie. When I set out for the first show of this movie, I was upbeat about watching a thrilling round of poker games, some poker jargon and a whole lot of insight into the online poker industry. I didn’t get any. What I got was glossy locations, charming star cast and an over rated movie which is a long shot from being called a poker movie. The nearest it comes to being called a poker movie is its base story and the fact that it is written by the same guys who wrote the story of Rounders, the best poker movie ever made.

Justin Timberlake is Ritchie, a bright Princeton student who loses all his tuition fees to an online gambling site. He heads to Costa Rica where the website is based to confront the Boss Ivan Block played by Ben Affleck. Block gets so impressed by Ritchie that he decides to make him his wing man. From being the casino pit boss to parties on the boat to charming the boss’s ex-girl Gemma Artherton, Ritchie shows a lot of moves.

While Ritchie is enjoying his new found money and fame, the bigger plot on Block’s mind is to move the website to Antigua and leave Ritchie high and dry in the hands of US Fed Anthony Mackie. The movie picks pace here as if it has to run around somewhere. Thus the title perhaps.

The script though has the background of online gambling written across it but nowhere does the whole look of the movie make you feel it is a poker movie. The lines thrown across the tables aren’t poker jargon they are quotes from Native American sayings. At the end of it all, the lay man goes back home with an average thriller-drama movie. The poker player goes back bored and unimpressed.

Verdict: 2 for the movie and 0.5 for the Poker title. A total of 2.5/5.
 
woody19

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it was an awful movie, waste of time watching it, well that my opinion anyways
 
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I hate when films about poker is full of nonsense.
 
TeUnit

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movie wasnt that good, but reminds you how the olden days were
 
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cotta777

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I was dissapointed with this having expected an in depth modern story line relating to online poker I had hoped and anticipated it modernising rounders to the online boom.
I was very sad to find this wasn't the case.

it was an awful film but it had a handful of good moments and clips in the film but it let itself down towards the end,
I would rate it as average but given my expectations of poker It really felt alot worse
 
mamutmamut

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I also liked it. :) Little dissapointed that it wasn´t about poker (just in the beggining) but the film wasn´t bad at all. 3,5/5 is my rating. It supposed to be a fun movie with a lot of action...and it was. :)
 
blakewyte

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I expected a lot more poker in it and was pretty disappointed.

The plot's really cliched. Why can't they make poker movies like Rounders and High Roller?

Most fun one to watch still is Deal.
 
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thanks for expressing your thoughts on the movie. With the price of movie tickets these days, its nice to hear some unbiased POV on the worthiness of spending our time and money to catch this in the act.
 
horizon12

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The story of the film has turned out quite chaotic, but overall the film looks on the same wavelength, becomes bored, happy soundtrack and beautiful views of Costa Rica.
I do not think that this film could be reviewed several times and each time to admire it again and again. Very average, but for Timberlake is kind of acting breakthrough, not everyone in '32 can play such an ambitious student with a faith in justice.
 
ruben35

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I really enjoyed the movie, but i wish the poker conyent went was a little more. But overall i enjoyed the movie.
 
jazzaxe

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Sounds to me they couldn't think of an appropriate title for their movie. Raking a percentage of each pot doesn't sound real exciting.
 
DrazaFFT

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I watched it last night with my wife, who btw doesn't play poker but watched rounders, allin bet raise fold and drawing dead short ver. and the first thing that got me is sorta powerful name, runner runner, not one of the most known poker terms and it might sound stupid but expected a lot because of the name... Sad thing is that the name was misused imho into a totally different meaning and also movie itself dont bring a lot, if you ever watched any scammer got scammed kind of movie you dont need to watch this movie, this is poker movie just by accident, because of trend, could have been on online betting, adds clicking, affiliating and still would be the same movie...

Disappoint at least in my book... but it might be just me expecting to much...
 
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I never put together that it was a poker movie LOL. I thought it was called Runner Runner because he was running from the Fed.
 
thegirl11111

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That movie is nothing special.... THe trailer is better than the movie ofcourse
 
curtinsea

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I liked it. It wasn't about poker, and that seems to be what disappointed the poker players. Once you get past that, and watch it for what it is, it's alright.
 
ckickenking

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Decent movie. You can say it was more a poker movie by name then it was a poker movie by story. The beginning had a poker quality then through the movie it took a different path to semi-thriller movie.
 
Jostone6

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I did not like ! people who do not know poker can end up having a wrong impression.
It has a bit of action, trickery , nothing more.
 
shanest

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Going to watch this tonight but not too encouraged by the reviews here :/
 
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jsh169

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It was by no means a great movie, but no where as bad as the majority of the reviews given to it. I would say it is a slightly better then average film, like 3 out of 5.
 
jazzaxe

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It never fails that they use a sport or competition as a hook to get you in and hardly show any of it.
 
S3mper

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I didn't mind it.. I think Ben Afflack just wanted to be in a poker movie because Matt Damon was... 0.o

Also the movie made me want to move down to Costa Rica with all those girls

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