The Runner (2015)

Here we have Nicolas Cage trying to prove he can be a serious actor by taking on the role of a politician who is trying to walk the line between personal and professional morality.

Set just after the BP oil spoil in the Gulf of Mexico, we have Cage playing a saintly congressman who is fighting the fight for the local businesses and people who’s lives have been destroyed by this disaster. Lots of impassioned speeches and rousing cries to defeat the corporate machine.

However, all too good to be true, and even though he is under the shadow of his father’s political record as Mayor (played by the legend that is Peter Fonda), he has a few skeletons in his cupboard.

So it all spirals out of control and he is soon without office, without support. But is prepared to pick up his cause and continue to fight for the people doing pro bono work.

BLAH BLAH BLAH

Sadly this movie has no surprises at all. Every single story line weaved here you have seen a hundred times before in every other political movie. We even have

Connie Nielsen as the troubled wife, playing pretty much the same role she played in the HBO series,

Boss.

This was one of those, Netflix what the hell lets try it, movie choices and after viewing it, one can see how it bypassed the cinema and went straight to Netflix. ‘Straight to Netflix’ seems to be the new version of that derogatory term we used before ‘straight to video’; signal when a movie was just not worth spending the marketing money.

Move along, nothing to see here.

#97 in the series