Movie Review: Runner Runner (+trailer)

Ben Afleck (left) and Justin Timberlake are hampered by a paint-by-numbers plot.

It has been a little while since there has been a decent gambling movie on the silver screen and it looks like we may still wait a while, with the new flick Runner Runner failing to wow.

In this crime thriller, Justin Timberlake stars as Richie First, a poor college student and gambling whiz who confronts the man who cheated him in an online poker game that was destined to pay off his spiralling tuition fees.

Enter the world of luxury.

Timberlake, who did well in The Social Network, does okay as the main star in this movie but is let down by weak and lazy production.

Scenes that could have had you on the edge of your seat waiting to see what terrifying move will be played next, fizzled and left you feeling a little underwhelmed.

Clever use of music and directorship could have helped create a real nail-biter.

I wanted to like this movie, I really did. The makings were all there, mostly.

Location in Costa Rica, FBI, attempts at tricking a trickster, seedy underworld, even Hollywood everything-man Ben Afleck - who was awesome in Argo and The Town.

But the plot was predictable and paint-by-numbers and Afleck, starring as the sly, smooth-talking gaming mogul Ivan Block (whoever came up with the names in this flick should be shot) was far from his finest.

It's a shame.

Many movies are let down by crappy plots or one bad actor but sometimes everything else is done so well it makes up the balance. But not in Runner Runner.

Runner Runner
(M) 105 minutes
Rating: 2.5/5