Gal Gadot's 'Taken' Replacement Becomes Surprise Prime Video Hit

Gal Gadot has starred in some great movies, including the Fast and Furious franchise, Shawn Levy's Date Night, Kenneth Branagh's Agatha Christie adaptation Death on the Nile, John Hillcoat's underrated Triple 9, and more. But perhaps fans worldwide know her best for Wonder Woman and her subsequent appearances in Zack Snyder's DCEU.

Gadot brought a lot of metal to her portrayal of Diana, aka Wonder Woman, and she fit the bill perfectly. Patty Jenkin's Wonder Woman was a breath of fresh air in the superhero genre dominated by male characters. The feature earned $824 million worldwide on a $149 million budget and became one of the stronger entries in the DCEU. However, the sequel, Wonder Woman 1984, tanked at the box office owing to bad performances and gaping plot holes. She last revived Diana for The Flash and moved on to roles like Netflix's Heart of Stone, playing the Evil Queen in Disney's new Snow White, but these films didn't match the impact of her previous hits.

Recently, she was seen in The Runner, a real-time action thriller directed by Kevin Macdonald, written by Mark Gibson. The feature follows Maia Marten (Gadot), a high-powered London prosecutor and former pentathlon champion, is in the middle of bringing down a major crime boss. After dropping her diabetic son, Noah, off at school, she receives a call from an anonymous assailant (Damian Lewis). The "Caller" has kidnapped Noah, hacked his electronic insulin dispenser, and threatened a fatal overdose unless Maia obeys a series of ruthless commands. The straight-to-streaming movie again didn't sit well with either the critics or audiences, who gave it an 11% and 33% Rotten Tomatoes rating, respectively, with critics' consensus deeming, “An empty, relentlessly frantic thriller, The Runner's real-time gimmick and flat-footed plotting generate more headaches than suspense.” However, the movie is turning out to be a win.

The Runner is Running Wild on Streaming

The Runner is going strong on Prime Video charts for 30+ days on Amazon Prime, as per FlixPatrol. The feature was at the top spot on the streamer's global top 10 list in the first week of its release, and has not left the charts yet. Despite bad reviews, The Runner got a chance with the audience at home and has proven its worth. It joins a long list of movies that failed at the box office but found their audience on streaming, like In the Grey, Masters of the Universe, Crime 101, and more.