Prime Video’s latest action thriller starring Gal Gadot wasted no time becoming a streaming hit. After 24 hours, it quickly became the #1 movie in the United States and now, it’s officially a global smash despite being slammed by critics. Released on Sept. 2, the new movie stars Gadot as a woman on the run (literally) to save her kidnapped son.
Gal Gadot Stars in an Action Thriller With a Familiar Premise
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Gal Gadot as Maya in ‘The Runner.’ Prime Video -
Damian Lewis in The Runner Prime Video -
Gal Gadot in The Runner Prime Video
Directed by Kevin Macdonald (State of Play, The Last King of Scotland), Gadot plays Maia Marten in The Runner, a successful London defense attorney and single mother. Whilst out on her morning run, she gets a mysterious phone call informing her that her son has been kidnapped, and if she wants him back she’ll have to sprint across London and carry out increasingly dangerous tasks. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Maia is instructed to follow the caller’s demands to the letter and not tell anyone what’s happening, or else her son will die.
If the plot seems familiar, it’s because it is. We’ve seen it many times before in movies like Carry-On, Speed, Nick of Time, and Eagle Eye, where an ordinary person is placed in an extraordinary situation that forces them to do the bidding of someone else lest people die. The Runner simply just places things on foot, and tosses in a dash of Run Lola Run for good measure.
It’s mostly due to its derivative plot that The Runner has been blasted by critics for bringing nothing new to the table. The film holds just a 9% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with Erik Childress from Movie Madness Podcast saying: “When Lola ran we felt exhilaration and purpose through some exciting filmmaking. When Gal runs, it’s just running with bad acting.” Brett Arnold from Yahoo.com added that The Runner is “a decidedly B-movie that fails the modest assignment of delivering engaging, cheap thrills.”
Sadly, it appears that The Runner has also failed to connect with the vast majority of viewers, as its audience score on Rotten Tomatoes isn’t much better at 34%. Still, despite all the negativity, Gadot’s latest has managed to become a massive hit for Amazon MGM Studios, as is evident by its placement on the streaming charts.
‘The Runner’ Sprints to Streaming Success
As mentioned, The Runner became a #1 hit in the United States less than 24 hours after its release on Prime Video, sprinting up to the top of the charts to overtake Eva Longoria’s latest, The Last Sunrise, Joel Kinnaman’s Icefall, and Masters of the Universe.
Now, four days after its debut, The Runner is also #1 on Prime Video’s Global Top 10 list, officially making it the biggest streaming hit in the world. Per Flix Patrol, the new action thriller has managed to blow past Project Hail Mary, Henry Cavill’s In the Grey, Jason Statham’s Shelter, and Luc Besson’s Dracula, to name a few.
Next up for Gadot is the biographical thriller titled Bitcoin, which is directed by Doug Liman (Road House, The Bourne Identity). Filming on the new movie wrapped in April, and no release date has been set.
- Release Date
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September 2, 2026
- Runtime
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84 Minutes
- Director
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Kevin Macdonald
