Angel's New Action Film

A New Action Film with No Apologies for Being a Good Story

Patrick Bowen, Declan Bowen, Mary Bowen, Faustina Bowen, Becket Bowen and Vivian Dahlsrud at the Runner premiere
Spetember 6th, 2026 in Boise, ID

We were very excited to attend the Runner premiere here in our home state! Not only did our director Mary Bowen and I attend but the Gofers Becket, Patrick, and Declan also joined us along with their special guest.

Owen Wilson's Special Message at Runner premiere

After enjoying the themed food, we all headed over to play the escape room game with themes from the movie and, Patrick noted, references that he caught in the film!

Once we cracked the code, we decided to check out the media interviews on the red carpet. (This was rather boring, I must admit!)

We were under the impression that Owen Wilson was going to be there, so we waited to see if we could get a quick picture with him. But alas! The image here shows the only presence he had during the night (apart from the film itself, of course).

After we watched the press interviews for a bit, we moved into the theater to watch the film with complimentary mocktails and popcorn! 

Runner Overall Rating

We've rated this film at a 8.6/10. The main reason this film lost points was because there is a heart transplant as a final feel-good note. This kind of organ donation is forbidden by the Church and so that makes this a pretty big problem for the film.

Although some organ donations are acceptable, when the surgery requires an organ to be transplanted by a living person who will die as soon as that organ is removed, it cannot be considered. 

There was also a normalized divorced and remarried situation.

Other points were lost for language and violence. 

But overall, the film ranks pretty high because of the strength of the cinematography, the acting, and the story. Plus, it didn't have any distracting feminine characters so often included in this type of films. This is not to say that there aren't any important lady roles. On the contrary, there were many prominent women.

The difference with this film and Hollywood action films was their tasteful portrayal.

What Is Runner About?

Runner is the newest Angel Studios release planned to hit theaters this 9/11. This 97 minute action film is set in modern-day Australia and features Owen Wilson and Alan Ritchson as the two couriers of an important delivery.

They are transporting a liver which will save the life of a young girl. But this little girl isn't the only one waiting for a liver. The leader of the cartel is also a match and her son will do whatever it takes to intercept the package. 

What follows is a thrill ride as Ben Bishop (Wilson) and Hank Malone (Ritchson) try to evade the cartel.

And these men couldn't be more different from one another. 

Owen Wilson in Runner
Angel 2026

An Unlikely Pair on the Same Mission

Hank Malone is a former Navy Seal who has retired to Australia. After losing his daughter, he and his wife have separated and he has built around himself a protective layer of privacy. He now works as a private hand doing...whatever needs to be done.

When he is hired to pick up a medical package and deliver it to a nearby hospital, he has no idea what he is signing himself up for.

Enter Ben Bishop, "the medical package".

This chipper (and curious) courier is the exact opposite of Hank. Excited, chatty and not at all experienced on the street fighting front, he jumps in the cab with his package and settles in for a long car ride.

Hank is, needless to say, irked to have a passenger who won't shut up on his delivery. He is even more frustrated when he learns that instead of the nearby hospital, the package needs to be delivered to a hospital 3 hours away.

But it doesn't take long for him to realize this inconvenience is about to pale in comparison to the wild ride they are about to go on. Soon after picking up the package, it becomes apparent that Hank and Ben are being pursued because "they want what we have".

What follows is everything from high speed car chases, gun fights in the streets, knife fights in the slums to hand-to-hand combat in the hospital.

But will they deliver the package before it is too late?

Owen Wilson and Alan Ritchson in Runner
Angel 2026

What Makes Runner Worth the Watch

This film was so much fun!

The contrast between Ben and Hank made for moments of intensity as well as humor as they try to work alongside each other. Also the villain had a great motive compared to the stereotypical money or power-hungry villain. Instead he had this humanly understandable motive to save his mother. This made the whole story very strong.

Just as Hank is trying to save this little girl to make up for not being able to save his own daughter, the villain, Damian, is trying to not only save his mother but also prove that he is not a failure. This pull made the whole story extremely true-to-life feeling. 

The cinematography was amazing. 

In the behind the scenes that we were treated to at the premiere, the filmmakers talked about how the cars were specifically designed to make the audience feel like they were in the car with the characters. Since he is such a quiet character, Hank's feelings are mostly expressed through his eyes and so it was necessary to have this close quarters storytelling.

And the expressions that Owen Wilson is giving his character the whole time! That would have been lost as well if the movie had been filmed differently. 

Alan Ritchson in Runner
Angel 2026

Why I Loved the Film

Early onto seeing the film's trailers and promotional material I thought, "This film might replace Sahara for me. In the very least, it won't have the bikini scene!"

I'd say the film delivered on this expectation. Another thing that supports the film's storytelling was the fact that there wasn't a love interest in the film. Instead, the film depended on the bromance between Ben and Hank, showing two vastly different people becoming friends by sharing a common goal.

The film did not pretend to be telling a Christian story. It was really just an action film that avoided the usual Hollywood mistakes of having a woman character playing an inappropriate part or being the love interest without enough clothes on.

This particular story choice felt like a stroke of confidence on behalf of the filmmakers. It showed that they were confident that their story was strong enough to stand on its own without ticking some sort of "equity" box.

My Favorite Parts From The Premiere

The premiere itself was definitely a low-key event. The dress code was business chic or red carpet glam. And there was a sprinkling of both.

For our group, we went with business chic: ladies in nice dresses, but nothing too fancy and guys in button ups and nice pants. 

We enjoyed the activity provided as well and even got a picture with the bird (you'll have to watch the movie to understand). 

I also rarely watch movies in the theater so that is always a very special experience for me.

I really enjoyed the interviews after the film. After watching the film, it was really interesting to hear what the filmmakers had to do to make the film a reality, whether it was making the call on which characters died, how to film the car chases or even where to film. (Early planning was Spain, but they would not be allowed to close any roads. Since it was a car chase film, this wasn't going to work!)

And that effort does deserve to be enjoyed in the atmosphere it was attended: in theaters. So plan to go with your friends when it comes out today!

Was Runner Worth the Trip to the Theater?

I gave Runner an 8.6/10, but would your score be higher or lower? Did you enjoy the characters, cinematography, and action as much as I did?

Let me know what you think in the comments!