Runner Runner (3 Stars)

"The love of money is the root of all evil".

This is probably the Bible verse that I quote more than any other. It's so full of wisdom. It's absolutely true. Sit and think for a moment. Who's the most evil person you know among your personal acquaintances? Then ask yourself what motivates him (or her)? It's the love of money.

The most evil person I know is my brother-in-law, Wolfgang Hengel. He pressured his father into giving him his inheritance early, property worth 6.2 million Euros. When his father died in 2014 the remaining inheritance, property worth 1.5 million Euros, was to be given to his sister, my ex-wife Brigitte, but he claimed he'd been disinherited and demanded a quarter of it, as well as insisting that she should pay the sole costs of the care of her mother for the rest of her life.

My ex-wife's lawyer advised her to take the matter to court, but she was intimidated by her brother and made an out-of-court settlement against the advice of her lawyer. Part of the settlement was that 200,000 Euros should be paid to her mother, but Wolfgang has control of her bank account, and we strongly suspect that he's stolen the money. 

Money. When money is involved, people lie, cheat and steal. Wolfgang is no different to criminals all over the world.

"Runner Runner" is about big money. Millions. Ivan Block is the owner of an online poker site. He hires the Princeton student Richie Furst to run his daily business, tempting him to abandon his degree with a large salary.

The company is based in Costa Rica. It's a corrupt country where everything is dealt with by bribes. Police officers receive small bribes, and government officials receive large bribes, just so that the poker website will be allowed to continue to operate. Richie begins his work as a naive, honest man, but he gets seduced and drawn ever deeper into the web of corruption.

When the film begins we think that Ivan Block is an honest man. At the very least, he claims to be honest. Always be wary of people who claim to be honest. (Yes, I know that includes me, because I claim to be honest as well). As the film progresses, we see that Ivan isn't content with the millions of dollars that he possesses; he wants more, much more. Money is addictive, especially if you love money. The more you have, the more you want.

Success Rate:  + 0.1

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