Gal Gadot's latest action thriller, The Runner, has sprinted onto Prime Video, but critics are not exactly cheering. The film has debuted with a brutal 9% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, making it one of the worst-reviewed movies of 2026 and the lowest-rated of Gadot's career. The early critical consensus? Overwhelmingly negative.
The movie casts Gadot as Maia, a lawyer whose routine morning jog turns into a nightmare when her son is kidnapped. The abductor, known only as The Caller, forces Maia to race across London completing a series of tasks to save her child. It's a premise that echoes classic thrillers like Die Hard with a Vengeance or Taken, but according to critics, the execution falls far short of those benchmarks.
Directed by Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland) and written by Mark Gibson, The Runner also stars Damian Lewis (Homeland) as The Caller, along with Alfred Enoch, Rory Wilmot, and Aaron Gill. The film's technical pedigree—with cinematography by Anthony Dod Mantle and a score by Tom Hodge—hasn't been enough to save it from the critical drubbing.
This 9% score places The Runner well below Gadot's previous disappointments. Her live-action Snow White sits at 39%, Heart of Stone earned 31%, and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice holds a 28% rating. Even her earlier flop Keeping Up with the Joneses managed a 19%. The new film has set a new low watermark for the actress.
Critics have been harsh. Variety called it "energetic but uninspired," while The Guardian criticized its derivative story and Gadot's performance. RogerEbert.com went further, describing the film as "truly abrasive." The consensus is that The Runner fails to deliver the tension and excitement that the genre demands.
For fans of action cinema, this is a stark reminder that not every high-concept thriller hits the mark. If you're looking for more reliable adrenaline fixes, check out our list of the most flawless action movies since 2010. And for those curious about Gadot's future, she recently shared that James Gunn personally told her Wonder Woman 3 is happening.
Despite the critical backlash, The Runner is now streaming on Prime Video, where it joins the platform's September lineup. If you're still interested, you might want to check out Prime Video's September binge guide for better options. Otherwise, you might be better off revisiting Gadot's earlier work—or just about any other action thriller.
