I didn't have an issue with Cage's acting on this one. Indeed the production quality is pretty good. I just found it a dull slog.

Nicolas Cage plays a Louisiana politician working for the people when he gets caught up in a scandal and needs to step down from office. Cage is pretty reserved in this role and his character is a whirlwind of good intentions and destructive flaws. We don't get or really need the over the top manic Cage that we're used to seeing. Sometimes we forget that he's actually a pretty great actor as well. Good film that lacks a better hook. Sarah Paulson, Connie Nielsen and Peter Fonda co star.

_The Runner_ is a political soap opera that doesn't have much originality, but at least it reveals something about how politicians water down their ideologies in order to keep the big money interests happy. Nicholas Cage plays it straight here, no insane antics like we've seen in some of his better films. He plays Colin Pryce, a Louisiana congressman, married to a high powered lawyer (Connie Nielsen). Pryce, an advocate for green energy, is working to expedite BP's compensation to the local working people for their losses due to the 2010 oil spill. Unfortunately, he can't keep a certain organ in his pants, and is exposed for having an affair with a 27 year old lady who is married to a fisherman. The fisherman has lost his business due to the spill. Not looking good. Pryce resigns his office and starts a foundation to help the locals. He also separates from his wife and starts having an affair with his former campaign manager (Sarah Paulson). Meanwhile a BP power broker is trying to convince him to run for senator, offering to finance the campaign-----if Pryce changes his political platform. It's all rather predictable, but pretty well acted, with an especially gritty performance by Peter Fonda as Pryce's cynical father, an ex-mayor of New Orleans. Problems with the film include a wasted setting that doesn't show much of the city, and a rather dispassionate approach to the tragedy of the BP spill. We don't really see or feel the angst of the thousands of people whose living relies on the Gulf waters. Instead, the focus is on Pryce's personal melodrama. The ending is tragic. It makes us hate politics, and it makes us question anybody who has chosen politics as a career. Cage's performance is not bad; it's kind of middle of the road. Maybe we're just not used to seeing him play a non-lunatic.

I want my time spent watching this movie back. I struggled to stay awake...

Another made-in-Louisiana Nic Cage film rolls off the assembly line. However, this one is not about a vengeful father/husband. Cage plays it straight as a flawed politician trying to do good in the aftermath of the BP oil spill. No gonzo Cage freakouts here. Just a ho hum drama with a decent cast.

In the aftermath of the 2010 BP oil spill, an idealistic but flawed politician is forced to confront his dysfunctional life after his career is destroyed in a sex scandal.

It's hard to stay true to our convictions.

Tells the truth about politics. It may not be popular, but it is the truth.

A good cast but uneventful and lacking in message. No socially conscious plot or satirical content whatsoever. Falls incredibly flat.

Tepid political drama as a congressman fights a noble environmental cause but his personal life is in turmoil.

This should be a lot better than it is, the premise is good but the story is very underdeveloped, and whilst Nicholas Cage is fine in the lead role, I'm others could have done a better job here.

good film could have been longer Nicolas cage is a good actor would watch again

i would give this movie a strong 2 out of 10.. yes its that boring, The worst ive seen out of Cage who i still rate highly .. its been done better and the plot was a bit obvious ... i will consider the 90 mins i watched this time spent reckedly

"I'm running for Senate to move things forward, not only for this great state of Louisiana, for this great country." Every time I tend to give Nicolas Cage yet another chance to prove to me why I admired him in the past. What a pleasure it was to see him at work in "Matchstick Men". How impressive he was with his unforgettable role in "Leaving Las Vegas". Admittedly, in the past there were also a few crappy films with him starring in it. Recent years he manages to participate in one failure after the other. Just look at "Ghost Rider", "Tokarev" and "Outcast". The only noticeable better movie between all these is "Joe" (although I still need to see it). The rest is just sad. That's why Cage looks more sad in each released movie. Just look at the cover of "The Runner". Those tired, tormented, sad eyes speak volumes. "The Runner" isn't really such a movie that introduces the revival of Cage's film career. And yet I respect Cage for his courage to participate in a politically charged film like this. Because to be honest, politic isn't really an exciting topic to fill a feature film. Politic is boring, sometimes unworldly, incomprehensible and uninteresting to me. It's therefore not surprising that these are also the characteristics of this political drama. The title of the film is a bit misleading. It's not that Cage runs around to provide financial support for local fisheries. Nor that he swiftly runs from one lover to another. Or that it has a symbolic meaning when it comes to his flight out of alcoholism. It simply refers to the daily habit of Congressman Colin Price (Nicolas Cage), to put on a pair of running shoes every morning, so he can go jog a bit. It's all about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico where an explosion on an oil rig caused oil streaming into the sea for months. Southern states like Louisiana and Alabama were hit by this oil spill. Price is a congressman in Louisiana and he's concerned about the fate of the local fishermen and industries. In an emotional plea during an television interview, he draws attention to the economic consequences of this environmental disaster. At once he's the center of attention and his employees see this as an opportunity to let his political career grow. Unfortunately some surveillance recordings are revealed with compromising images of this congressman with an African American young lady in an elevator. Price is truly concerned about these fishermen because she's the wife of an African American fisherman. His political career hits rock bottom and before he knows it, he's looking again at the bottom of a whiskey bottle. Typical American. At least the man tries to do something for the hard-working working man and before you know it, the media comes up with some facts related to the man's private life. The only ray of light in this unnecessary film, filled with political drivel and unabashed corruption, is the magnificent acting by Peter Fonda. He plays Colin's father and he's also a former politician who has swum through difficult waters (oil-free in his case). He also has an enormous alcohol problem. The relationship between both hard-boiled politicians isn't so good. And you can say that's an understatement. There are some wonderful acting moments between father and son. But for the rest, this film is as dead as the fish in the oiled seawater. Apparently politicians are energetic. A trait this film really doesn't possess. Lets hope Cage looks a bit more cheerful in his next film ! More reviews here : http://bit.ly/1KIdQMT

An amazingly strong drama with Nicolas Cage, one of his best movies to date. He plays a politician who tries to save the lives of fishermen in Louisana. He takes on BP after the oil spill. Cage is great in this movie!

I'm so used to Cage's awful movies these days but this one is not bad at all.

Review: What a totally boring film! I was expecting something slightly interesting about this political drama but it just turned out to be another let down from Nicolas Cage. The pace of the film is slow and I personally lost interest, 5 minutes into the film. Cage plays politician, Colin Pryce, whose fighting for help from BP and the US government during the 2010 BP oil spill. Due to his womanising, he's forced to leave his political life behind and he seeks comfort from alcohol, which he previously had problems with. After splitting from his wife, he tries to help the families who are struggling to make a living in the fishing industry but no one takes him seriously because of his widely publicised personal life. He then gets the funding from a rich benefactor who wants him to go back into politics so he can help BP during the spillage crisis, so he's left with the decision to either help the people or to continue his political career against his own personal morals. And that's were the movie ends... Very uninteresting! Cage does show a little bit of emotion, during a speech about the problems that the BP spillage has caused the families but apart from that, the performances were extremely average. The storyline doesn't really go anywhere and the director didn't introduce any interesting characters to perk up the bland concept. Anyway, this movie definitely gets the thumbs down from me but on the plus side, my expectations wasn't that high because Cage hasn't made a decent film for ages. Disappointing! Round-Up: I'm starting to think that Nicolas Cage doesn't read his scripts before he stars in these low budget movies because they have all been pretty awful. At 52 years old, but looking much older, he still has time to regenerate his career to an Oscar standard but he has to stop starring in this mediocre movies, alongside C-Class actors. He does have another National Treasure in development but apart from that, he doesn't have any promising projects in the pipeline. It just seems like he's thrown in the towel at a time when Hollywood needs some decent actors. Anyway, this movie was directed by Austin Stark who has only directed 2 shorts in his whole career. You can tell that he hasn't had that much experience behind the camera because he missed out key elements in the storyline. For his first project, he was lucky to get Nicolas Cage on board but he didn't take full advantage of the opportunity. Budget: $6million Worldwide Gross: N/A I recommend this movie to people who are into their dramatic movies starring Nicolas Cage, Sarah Paulson, Peter Fonda and Connie Nielsen. 2/10

There are bad nick cage movies but this is a BORING Nick Cage movie. The movies heart is in the right place but it drags along at a snails pace with dull dialogue and Cage giving a snooze worthy performance.

So boring. Full disclosure, I watched like only 20 minutes of this and holy shit I started falling asleep. I expect Nic Cage's films, whether they're good or bad (mostly the latter these days, but that's neither here nor there) to be entertaining. I wouldn't call this a bad film, although I might have ended up feeling that way had I watched the whole thing. It just doesn't do a good job of keeping your interest.

Nicolas Cage's fall from grace is astonishing. So astonishing that he's resorted back to a Southern accent for this role. Be warned: Nicolas Cage and accents never mix well. Someone clean this sludge up.