"Runner Runner" Is A Gambling Movie With A Moral Dilemma [Trailer + Pictures]

Despite his undisputed success with The 20/20 Experience, Justin Timberlake is still actively working in his film career, most recently with the crime thriller Runner Runner. The movie, which also stars Ben Affleck and Jemma Arterton, centers around Richie Furst (believable names clearly weren’t a priority here), a gifted college student, who excels at mathematics and puts his talents to use playing online poker.

Justin Timberlake goes from a poor college student to an international criminal over the course of this movie.

His mostly harmless hobby later evolves into a much more sinister affair, as Richie struggles to pay his school fees – a situation, painfully familiar to many students. When he discovers an algorithm, which cheats players, he decides against blowing the whistle, instead opting to travel to meet the website's owner Ivan Block who offers him a job with a guaranteed 7-figure salary in just a few months.

Check out the Runner Runner trailer below.

Unfortunately for Richie, when something seems too good to be true, it usually is and our likable, if morally confused protagonist soon finds himself in over his head. In the interview you can watch below, Justin Timberlake went further into his character’s motivation in the film.

Justin Timberlake and Ben Affleck team up for a dark reimagining of the American dream.

“Richie is a guy in the wrong world, trying to do things the right way,” he says in the featurette. 'It's a fast paced world, [Ivan] Block sees someone he finally relates to. As the movie progresses, it becomes this sort of mentor-apprentice role. The deeper he gets into the story, the darker and darker it gets.'

He also supplied his own thoughts on the human nature behind the story.

'It's the new American Dream', he says. 'The more access we have to things the faster we want them.' A story about a poor student, turning to high-stakes gambling, which explores the weaknesses of human nature? Sign us up! The fact that it stars everyone’s favorite suit wearer can be just a pleasant bonus. Runner Runner will premiere in the UK on September 27, while US folk will have to wait until October 4 to catch the film in theatres.

Besides an intriguing premise, this movie also boasts some fabulous scenery