Poker Film "Runner, Runner" Receives Negative Reviews From Critics

The much-anticipated poker movie “Runner, Runner” has already been  released in numerous countries, including Belgium, France and the Philippines, and is expected to first screen in US cinemas come October 4, 2013.
The story revolves around Princeton student Richie Furst (Justin Timberlake), who loses his money gambling on a corrupt online poker website called Midnight Black, before then heading off to Costa Rica to confront the site’s devious tycoon owner Ivan Block (Ben Affleck). Costing $30 million to make, “Runner Runner” was written by the same people who created Rounders (1995), namely Brian Koppelman and David Levien, with their latest poker movie including an impressive cast of actors, such as Ben Affleck, Justin Timberlake, and Gemma Arterton.
Nevertheless, despite its impressive credentials, early indicators show that the movie is already falling well short of expectations, and as in addition to receiving a meager 5.5 rating on IMDB, “Runner Runner,” also holds a disappointing 22% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Here are some of the less than spectacular reactions coming from the critics at this early stage in the film’s release:
film4.com: “Like a game of online poker, the thrills in Runner Runner come in small increments. Pretty but vacant, it’s unremarkable and entirely forgettable.”
telegraph.co.uk: “Runner Runner starts off with a solid draw, then folds on the flop.”
theguardian.com: “Take a gamble on it and odds are you’ll have forgotten most of the film before the end credits finish rolling.”
film.list.co.uk: ” Once all of the film’s cards have been revealed, it’s hard not to feel a little cheated.”
variety.com: “Yet despite his stacked deck of a cast, “Runner Runner” adds up to little more than a charmless, paint-by-numbers thriller unlikely to escape the forces of “Gravity” in its early October release.”
On the plus side, at least a few critics had something good to say about “Runner, Runner,” with Jim Schembri from 3aw.com describing in as follows:
“A nifty, fast-talking, energetic film that dares turn the virtual – and virtually unfilmable – world of on-line gambling into a high-stakes thriller full of fights, gringos, hungry crocodiles and a perpetually pouting, glammed-up Gemma Arterton.”
If any readers out there have had a chance to see “Runner Runner” yet, we would be interested to hear your comments on the movie.