The Runner has given Gal Gadot an unwanted career milestone after the new Prime Video action thriller opened to a deeply disappointing score on Rotten Tomatoes.

The 2026 film, directed by Kevin Macdonald, debuted on Prime Video on September 2 and quickly became one of the most talked-about new streaming releases for an unusual reason. Rather than earning praise for its fast-paced action, the movie attracted attention for its extremely low critical reception.

At the time of reporting, The Runner sits at around 9% on Rotten Tomatoes, making it the lowest-rated movie of Gadot’s career according to the site’s critics score. RRotten Tomatoes+1

That result is particularly striking because Gadot has built much of her modern film career around action-heavy productions. From her breakthrough as Wonder Woman to movies such as Red Notice and Heart of Stone, physical action has remained a major part of her screen identity.

However, The Runner appears to have pushed that formula in a direction that critics have not embraced.

The Runner Rotten Tomatoes Score Falls to 9%

The most significant headline surrounding The Runner is its Rotten Tomatoes score.

Early reviews placed the film at just 9% on the Tomatometer. The score has fluctuated slightly as more reviews have been added, but the early consensus established the film as one of Gadot’s weakest critical performers. RRotten Tomatoes+1

Rotten Tomatoes currently describes the film as an action, mystery and thriller production with an 84-minute runtime. Gadot plays Maia Marten, a successful London lawyer whose ordinary morning run turns into a desperate race to save her kidnapped son. RRotten Tomatoes

The premise is deliberately simple.

Maia receives instructions from a mysterious caller after her son is taken. She is ordered to keep moving, follow commands and avoid asking for help. Every decision becomes part of a larger race against time.

The setup gives the film a straightforward hook: a mother must cross London while attempting to save her child.

Critics, however, have questioned whether the execution matches the strength of the premise.

Why Critics Are Rejecting The Runner

Several reviews have focused on the movie’s screenplay, direction and approach to action.

The Guardian criticized the film for relying on familiar thriller ideas and said its frantic filmmaking style ultimately worked against the intended suspense. The review also argued that Gadot’s physical commitment could not completely compensate for weaknesses in the material. TThe Guardian

Variety and other critics have similarly pointed to the film’s technical style while questioning whether the visual energy gives the story enough substance. Review coverage compiled by Dark Horizons shows that several critics acknowledged Gadot’s physical effort while remaining unconvinced by the overall movie. DDark Horizons

That distinction is important.

The criticism has not necessarily been that Gadot failed to perform the physical requirements of the role. Instead, several reviews suggest that the film itself does not provide enough compelling material around those action sequences.

In other words, running harder does not automatically create more suspense.

An 84-Minute Action Thriller

Another unusual feature of The Runner is its short runtime.

The film lasts approximately 84 minutes, making it significantly shorter than many contemporary action thrillers. RRotten Tomatoes

A short runtime can be an advantage for a movie built around a single escalating premise. There is little room for unnecessary subplots, and the story can theoretically maintain momentum from beginning to end.

That appears to be exactly what director Kevin Macdonald intended.

The movie follows Maia through London as she attempts to comply with the mysterious caller’s demands. The structure is designed to create a sense of continuous movement, with the protagonist constantly facing another obstacle or instruction.

Yet the reviews indicate that the rapid pace did not universally translate into tension.

Some critics felt that the movie’s frantic editing and visual approach became distracting rather than immersive. TThe Tab+1

For a thriller, that is a significant problem.

The central objective is to make audiences feel that every second matters. If the filmmaking becomes exhausting rather than suspenseful, the movie can lose the emotional connection that makes the race meaningful.

Gal Gadot Faces Her Lowest-Rated Movie

The Rotten Tomatoes result also puts The Runner in an uncomfortable position within Gal Gadot’s filmography.

Gadot’s career has included both major commercial successes and critically divisive projects. Her portrayal of Diana Prince in Wonder Woman remains one of the defining achievements of her career, while several later productions have received considerably more mixed reactions.

According to the current Rotten Tomatoes listings and reporting around the film’s release, The Runner has fallen below her previous low points. RRotten Tomatoes+1

That makes the film’s score more significant than an ordinary negative review cycle.

The number is now part of the conversation surrounding Gadot’s post-Wonder Woman career.

Her superhero role gave her a globally recognizable identity as an action star. However, playing an iconic comic-book character also offered advantages that are difficult to reproduce in original thrillers.

Wonder Woman already had decades of audience recognition.

Maia Marten does not.

With The Runner, Gadot has to convince viewers to care about a completely new character while simultaneously carrying a story that depends heavily on momentum and physical action.

That is a much harder task.

The Story Behind The Runner

The film follows Maia, a high-powered London attorney and mother whose son is kidnapped during what begins as a normal morning run.

The caller gives her a series of instructions and makes it clear that stopping could cost her son’s life. Maia therefore has to navigate London while following increasingly dangerous commands. RRotten Tomatoes

The premise deliberately places the audience inside a compressed timeline.

There is no elaborate mythology or complicated superhero universe. Instead, the movie depends on a single question: how far will Maia go to save her child?

Damian Lewis plays the mysterious Caller, while Alfred Enoch is also part of the cast. Kevin Macdonald directs from a screenplay by Mark Gibson. RRotten Tomatoes

Macdonald is an experienced filmmaker whose credits include The Last King of Scotland, Black Sea and The Mauritanian. That background made the critical reaction to The Runner particularly unexpected for some observers.

The movie had the ingredients of a respectable thriller: an established director, recognizable stars, a high-concept premise and a major streaming platform behind it.

The response suggests that those ingredients were not enough.

Not Everyone Hated The Runner

Despite the brutal Rotten Tomatoes score, the critical response is not completely uniform.

Some reviews acknowledged that the movie moves quickly and contains effective set pieces. The Hollywood Reporter, for example, noted that the pace can help audiences avoid dwelling too heavily on some of the story’s implausibilities. RRotten Tomatoes

That observation highlights an interesting aspect of The Runner.

A movie does not necessarily need a perfectly logical plot to work as a thriller. Audiences will often forgive exaggerated situations if the filmmaking creates sufficient excitement.

The problem for The Runner is that some critics apparently did not believe it generated enough excitement to overcome its weaker elements.

That leaves the film in an unusual position. Viewers looking for a short, uncomplicated action movie may find its compact runtime appealing, while audiences expecting a sophisticated thriller could be disappointed.

The Prime Video Factor

The movie’s release strategy also matters.

Unlike a major theatrical blockbuster, The Runner arrived directly on Prime Video. That means audiences can watch it immediately without waiting for a traditional cinema run.

The streaming model can be both an advantage and a disadvantage.

On one hand, viewers may be more willing to try an 84-minute thriller from home than spend money and several hours on a theatrical release.

On the other hand, streaming films are increasingly competing for attention against thousands of other titles. A movie needs a strong hook to break through.

The low Rotten Tomatoes score has ironically provided The Runner with exactly that kind of attention.

People who might otherwise have ignored the movie are now curious about why it has received such harsh reviews.

That can create a strange streaming phenomenon: a film can be critically unsuccessful while still generating significant audience interest.

The Runner Is Still Attracting Viewers

Poor reviews do not automatically mean that a movie will fail with audiences.

Streaming platforms operate differently from traditional theatrical markets. A viewer does not necessarily need to believe a film is excellent before pressing play.

Sometimes curiosity is enough.

In the case of The Runner, the combination of Gal Gadot’s star power, an 84-minute runtime and an unusually low Rotten Tomatoes score creates a compelling reason for viewers to investigate the movie themselves.

There is also an important difference between critics and audiences.

Professional reviewers generally evaluate factors such as screenplay quality, direction, performances, originality and technical execution. A casual streaming viewer may simply ask whether the movie is entertaining enough to watch on a Friday night.

Those are different standards.

Therefore, the 9% critics score should not be interpreted as proof that every viewer will dislike The Runner.

It is a measurement of critical consensus, not a universal judgment.

Why The Rotten Tomatoes Record Matters

The significance of The Runner goes beyond one movie’s score.

Gadot remains one of the most recognizable action stars of her generation. A film starring her and directed by an acclaimed filmmaker arriving with a high-profile Prime Video release would normally be expected to generate at least moderate critical interest.

Instead, the movie has produced one of the most damaging critical scores of her career.

That creates a larger question about the kinds of roles that make the most sense for Gadot moving forward.

Her greatest success came from a combination of physical presence, charisma and an iconic character. Projects that depend more heavily on subtle emotional performance require a different set of strengths.

The response to The Runner may therefore encourage further discussion about how Gadot chooses her future roles.

Her upcoming projects will be watched closely as a result.

What Happens Next for Gal Gadot?

A single bad movie rarely defines a major star’s career.

Gadot has already demonstrated that she can lead global blockbuster productions. She also remains attached to major projects, including Fast Forever, which is scheduled for release in 2027. PPeople.com

That means The Runner is unlikely to be the final word on her career.

Instead, it is another data point.

The actress now has an opportunity to move beyond the increasingly familiar action-thriller formula and explore material that gives her a different opportunity to connect with audiences.

That could mean a character-driven drama, a comedy or another genre that relies less on constant physical action.

For now, however, The Runner remains the immediate story.

The Runner’s Strange New Legacy

There is an ironic quality to the movie’s situation.

The entire story is about a woman who cannot stop running.

Now the film itself appears to be running toward an unwanted place in Gal Gadot’s filmography: the bottom of her Rotten Tomatoes rankings.

The movie’s short runtime and straightforward concept were designed to make it a fast, accessible thriller. Instead, its reception has turned it into a major entertainment-news story.

The 9% Rotten Tomatoes score will likely remain one of the first facts mentioned whenever The Runner is discussed.

Yet the film may ultimately have a second life with streaming audiences.

Viewers are often more forgiving of movies when they can watch them at home, particularly when the film lasts less than 90 minutes. Some may even find the exaggerated premise and frantic action entertaining precisely because the movie does not take itself too seriously.

For those viewers, the critical score may be less important than the experience of watching it.

Final Verdict

The Runner has arrived with an unfortunate distinction for Gal Gadot.

The 2026 Prime Video thriller has earned a career-low Rotten Tomatoes critics score of around 9%, making it one of the most poorly reviewed movies of her career. RRotten Tomatoes+1

The film has several elements that should work on paper: a recognizable star, an experienced director, an urgent premise, London as a dynamic setting and an extremely compact runtime.

Critics, however, have largely argued that those strengths are undermined by a weak or familiar story and an overly frantic filmmaking style.

Still, the movie’s streaming release gives it a chance that many poorly reviewed theatrical films never receive.

Audiences can make their own decision from home.

Whether viewers agree with the critics or discover an entertaining 84-minute action thriller, The Runner has already secured an unusual place in Gal Gadot’s career.

It may not be the record she wanted.

But it is certainly one that has people talking.

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The Runner starring Gal Gadot in the 2026 Prime Video action thriller

Suggested External Links

• Rotten Tomatoes — The Runner (2026): Rotten Tomatoes — The Runner
• Source article: CBR — Gal Gadot’s The Runner Rotten Tomatoes Record

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