The Runner (2026)

September 3, 2026 (US) • Thriller, Action • 86m

Overview

Maia Marten, a brilliant London lawyer, has her life shattered by a single call on her morning run: her son has been taken. To get him back, she must keep running, obey every ruthless command, and trust no one-each second a test of how far a mother will go to save her child.

Director

Kevin Macdonald

Writer

Mark Gibson

Top Billed

Gal Gadot

Keywords

mother london, england kidnapping son child kidnapping nervous abduction child rescue mother son relationship child abduction serious intimate attorney

Where to watch

Free / Included

Amazon Prime Video

Amazon Prime Video with Ads

Top Billed Cast

Gal Gadot

Maia

Damian Lewis

The Caller

Rory Wilmot

Noah

Alfred Enoch

Ted

Phoenix Di Sebastiani

Tafa

Nathan Kirby

Wiry Dude

Hélder Fernandes

Buddy

Will Austin

NCA Officer 1

Mark Hampton

NCA Officer 2

Stevie Binns

NCA Officer 3

John Leader

Forensics Officer

Kenton Lloyd Morgan

Boat Captain

Simon Nader

Hotel Security

Jessie Cave

Alice (School Mum)

Michael Raymond Fox

Waterloo Bridge Police Officer

Simon Shorten

Ulysses Suite Police Officer 1

Miles Mitchell

Ulysses Suite Police Officer 2

Raquel Appiah

Canal Mum

Lorenzo Martelli

Business Man

Clive Kneller

Old Man at Canal

Tanvi Joshi

Woman on Stoop

Aaron Gill

Mr Orwell (Serious Young Man)

Ava Galindez

Brandy (Student 1)

Natassia Bustamante

Lou (Student 2)

Jahaziel Agyemang

Chasing Boyfriend

Millicent Wong

Fashionista

Alexandre Dewen

Paramedic Tending to Noah

Umit Ulgen

Tourist Shop Owner

Alexander Scrivens

Canal Boat Owner

Toni Peach

Harassed Mother on Tube

Jack Irving

Mr Neon Shoes

Daniel Copeland

Builder

Rich Keeble

DCI Philips

Samson Cox-Vinell

Police Detective

Colm Gormley

Vicar

Rosie Akerman

Paramedic

Callum Coates

Reporter

Ross Forder

Maia's Father

Raquel Silveira

Maia's Mother

Ed Horrocks

Choir Master

Ruby Di Sebastiani

Woman with Cue Cards

Crew

Kevin Macdonald

Director

Mark Gibson

Writer

David Kosse

Producer

Anthony Dod Mantle

Director of Photography

May Davies

Supervising Art Director

Jane Robertson

Executive Producer

Amy Paquette

Executive Producer

Elliott Kleinberg

Executive Producer

Claire Willats

Executive Producer

Tom Hodge

Original Music Composer

Sam Rice-Edwards

Editor

Kevin Timon Hill

Production Design

Michael O'Connor

Costume Design

Richard May

Unit Production Manager

Marc A. Wilson

First Assistant Director

Julie Dartnell

Hair Designer

Julie Dartnell

Makeup Designer

Julie Dartnell

Prosthetic Designer

Yves-Marie Omnes

Production Sound Mixer

Glenn Freemantle

Sound Designer

Glenn Freemantle

Supervising Sound Editor

Ian Neil

Music Supervisor

Isabella Odoffin

Casting Director

Samantha Winter

Post Production Supervisor

Reiko Shimazaki

Post Production Supervisor

Paul Kennington

Stunt Coordinator

Tom Coates

Art Direction

Rebecca Sutton

Standby Art Director

Dan Anderson

Assistant Art Director

Andrew Vanneck

Second Assistant Director

Jonathan Guy Lewis

Dialect Coach

Rachael James

Stand In

Ella O'Neil

Production Coordinator

Christiaan Bettridge

Stunt Double

Imogen Leaver

Stunt Double

Lauren Jamieson

Stunt Double

Indija Anderson

Stunt Double

Cathy Featherstone

Set Decoration

Eliora Darmon

Assistant Set Decoration

Zoe Gold

Set Decoration Buyer

Kai Bodenhamer

Petty Cash Buyer

Jack Garwood

Property Master

Dan Milton

Assistant Property Master

Anthony Dod Mantle

"A" Camera Operator

Myron Mance

Camera Operator

Telfer Barnes

First Assistant "A" Camera

Amy Yeats

Second Assistant "A" Camera

Jack Sands

First Assistant "B" Camera

Ewan Sadler

Second Assistant "B" Camera

Michael Thompson

Camera Trainee

Dan Carling

Digital Imaging Technician

Stephane Malenfant

Boom Operator

Ian Sinfield

Gaffer

Charlie Bell

Best Boy Electric

Terry Williams

Key Grip

James Ray Leary

Best Boy Grip

David Reeves

Rigging Grip

Katie J. Newham

Costume Supervisor

Joanne Mosley

Assistant Costume Designer

Claire Burgess

Hairstylist

Laura Pollock

Key Hair Stylist

Laura Pollock

Key Makeup Artist

Joanna Sturrock

Casting Associate

Ceri Bedingfield

Casting Associate

Motunrayo Sowunmi

Casting Assistant

Shylar Bredewold

Unit Manager

Ruben Alves Pereira

Location Manager

Felix Pery

Location Manager

Florence Cleverdon

Location Manager

Maleik Cadogan

Assistant Location Manager

James Ashley

Assistant Location Manager

Emily Hoy

Assistant Location Manager

Tom Newton-Chance

Construction Manager

Isabel Joiner

Construction Coordinator

Jason Troughton

Special Effects Supervisor

Ben Hudson

Transportation Captain

Miya Mizuno

Still Photographer

Wendy Kidd

Unit Publicist

Michael Wood

Second Unit Director of Photography

Dan Maslen

Second Unit Director

Calif Chong

First Assistant Editor

Marnie Clark

First Assistant Editor

James Finlan

Visual Effects Editor

Simon Changer

Music Editor

Danny Wareing

Assistant Music Supervisor

Ben Barker

Supervising Sound Editor

Gillian Dodders

Supervising Dialogue Editor

Gillian Dodders

Supervising ADR Editor

Howard Bargroff

Sound Re-Recording Mixer

Andrew Caller

Sound Re-Recording Mixer

Danny Freemantle

Sound Effects Editor

Nick Freemantle

Sound Effects Editor

Rob Malone

Sound Effects Editor

Dayo James

Sound Effects Editor

Mark Heslop

Sound Effects Editor

Naomi Graham

Dialogue Editor

Arthur Turner

Dialogue Editor

Ian Morgan

Dialogue Editor

Francesca Bourne

Foley Mixer

Olly Freemantle

Foley Editor

Kirsty Graham

Foley Editor

Zoe Freed

Foley Artist

Rebecca Heathcote

Foley Artist

Mary Stroumpouli

Visual Effects Supervisor

Tommy Leigh

Visual Effects Producer

Alex Grau

CG Supervisor

William Davies

CG Supervisor

Rodolphe Chabrier

Visual Effects Supervisor

Neal Patel

Visual Effects Supervisor

Charine Bederar

Visual Effects Producer

Adam Glasman

Colorist

Laura Pavone

Additional Colorist

Georgina Cranmer

Online Editor

Reviews

Brent Marchant

⭐ 4/10

September 3, 2026

Pulse-pounding deadline-based thrillers have become a common source of action-adventure viewing over the years. These largely formulaic offerings are often fairly predictable, with their outcomes frequently obvious well in advance, the only variable generally being the routes their narratives take to arrive at their final destinations. So it is again with this latest effort from director Kevin MacDonald, a typically capable filmmaker who comes up woefully short with this release. When London-based criminal attorney Maia Marten (Gal Godot) goes on her usual morning run before her latest big court case, she’s interrupted in mid-sprint by a cell phone call supposedly from her young son, Noah (Rory Wilmot). However, when she answers, she discovers it’s not from him but, instead, from an anonymous mystery caller (Damian Lewis) who has kidnapped Noah and threatens to kill him unless she follows his instructions to the letter. Specifically, the kidnapper wants Maia to murder a key witness in the case against his former employer, a high-profile mobster accused of killing two young women. But, to ensure that she complies with his directives, the caller says he’s tracking her movements by tapping into the geolocator on her cell phone. This requires her to remain out in the open, on the street, a plan that calls for the former champion pentathlete to run five miles across London in an hour to the hotel where the witness is in protective custody prior to his transfer to the courthouse. This setup thus launches the protagonist into her trek across the city, a journey filled with twists, turns, thrills, spills and the revelation of a variety of highly personal details, including long-held secrets. But is she up to this task? (You get three guesses.) As this scenario unfolds, though, the story is peppered with an array of credibility-stretching implausibilities that not even Wonder Woman herself is realistically capable of pulling off. Indeed, while tales like this typically call for viewers to suspend belief, many of the developments in this plot hole-ridden story are just plain difficult to accept. Admittedly, the narrative is stylishly dressed up in a superbly edited, fast-paced package with some inventive cinematography that shows off street-level London exquisitely, but such window dressing still can’t conceal the plethoric flaws in the script. With better writing and plot scrutiny, “The Runner” might have made for some late summer escapist fun, but it’s hard to fathom it as being much more than a paycheck for the principals involved and yet another in an ongoing string of substandard outings for Amazon Studios.

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The Fixate & Binge Podcast, w/ Joe Curdy

⭐ 2/10

September 11, 2026

You've seen this film before.

When it was 1995's **NICK OF TIME** and **DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE**, 2002's **PHONE BOOTH**, 2003's **OUT OF TIME**, 2005's **RED EYE**, or even Netflix's **CARRY-ON** (2024) -- well, you get the idea.

Films like **THE RUNNER** do not happen in a vacuum. And the formula is clearly working, as director Kevin Macdonald's film (wisely released direct to streaming on Amazon Prime) is already one of the platform's top films.

Starring Gal Gadot as high-powered London barrister Maia, whose child is held for ransom by a mysterious Caller (Damian Lewis) in exchange for assassinating the star witness of a local mob trial -- it's a premise that sounds increasingly preposterous the more you think about it.

Despite its **RUN LOLA RUN** pacing, with endless clips of Gal Gadot sprinting across every tourist locale in London, from St. Paul's to Canary Wharf, the implausibility of running the London Marathon in 84 minutes strains credulity.

The always-one-step-ahead omniscience of Lewis's character, effortlessly bending hacked technology to his whims, is another worn-out trope that refuses to die.

As diabolical and meticulous as Lewis is, one wonders why he doesn't just carry out the assassination himself instead of putting Gadot through a series of ridiculous time trials during the hustle and bustle of mid-day London.

And while Gadot gamely carries the physical desperation of a single mother trying to save her child, unfortunately, the film leans into her limited range as an actress, with dull dialogue and pointless conversational exposition.

As a tense action thriller, **THE RUNNER** will probably appeal to anyone unfamiliar with any of the aforementioned films in this subgenre. But for anyone else, this is a paint-by-numbers slog through familiar terrain that will do nothing for Gadot's post-**WONDER WOMAN** career.

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The Runner (2026)

Where to watch

Top Billed Cast

Crew