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Rune marks the first film I’ve seen from Angel Studios, and it’s finally going to be an action/buddy film set in Australia. Although they don’t reinvent the wheel, the film turns into a funny, fun romp thanks to the chemistry between the two leads, resulting in a fun and engaging action romp despite its flaws.
Rune Alan Ritchson stars as Hank Malone, a former US Navy SEAL living in Australia, working as a high-level courier. No violence, just odd jobs and supporting VIPs as a thing. While working a random concert featuring a bird, he receives a phone call about an urgent job that needs to be done right in that second place: pick up a package from the airport and make the delivery. Easy, right? In fact, this work ends up being anything but. The package is not only a man – Owen Wilson’s Ben Bishop, a very talkative man, well, Owen Wilson. It involves a rare liver transplant to a Gold Coast hospital for a little girl, and the clock is already ticking. But the cartel is also on the path of the organism, which, due to its rarity, can be worth up to a million dollars on the black market. So all kinds of violent people really want that package, and it’s up to Hank and Ben to get the liver to the hospital in time while avoiding the baddies and figuring out the larger plot, like how did the cartels even know about the package and where it was going and when?
As mentioned in the introduction, the film is a good dose of dumb fun which is made enjoyable thanks to the two leads. Neither is particularly stretching their limits here; Ritchson taps into the familiar groove he’s established on the Accessibility appear as a strong, quiet type. There’s a little more nuance to his character’s backstory that makes him more than just the guy with the muscles. At the same time, Owen Wilson goes into that very talkative, reactive part that he does so well. Fortunately, the two actors work well together, so that they carry the film. The criminals are very limited and unstoppable; they’re basically there to be a physical threat to the characters, but credit where credit is due, they found a more creative motivation for all this banter to happen. I could have used more layers on this said cake, as there was potential to use more moral dilemmas, but the film chooses to skip that to just do bad guy stuff. Rodrigo Santoro as Damian Zaldívar is ahead of the criminals, while they are Furious at Goran D. Kleut is his lieutenant, a ruthless member of a biker gang. Completing the cast is Leila George as Kate, the mother of the girl who is waiting for the transplant, who teeters on the edge of despair and confusion about the delay and the violence that accompanies this delivery.
The action is fun and beefy, but also tempered by its PG-13 rating. Blood has a strange color, often looking more brown than red, and very often, the action cuts away to free you from violence. It feels very obvious, as if the film knows it’s violent, but is covering your eyes for you. Shotgun to the face, but let’s put the camera away quickly to save your attention. But the choreography is fun and continues to be Ritchson’s truck of a man. It is also well framed and fully edited, making it easy to follow along with the action. That may be due to director Scott Waugh’s previous experience as a stuntman. Some of the VFX could be touched up; said that. But for a B-movie style feel, I’ll get over that hump. Rune It’s also a very quick 90 minutes, never overstaying its welcome and keeping things tight and focused, something I can appreciate in an era where many films feel like they’ve gone on 20 extra minutes for no good reason.
Rune It’s not trying anything new here, but it’s a fun, dumb time if you want to see some chaos in a beautiful Australian location. It’s clear that Ritchson and Wilson are having a blast, and that thankfully elevates this movie that otherwise feels like a 90s B movie you’d have seen on the shelf of the video store one night you’d watch with some friends. If that sounds like a fun time, you might enjoy going into it with that in mind.
