Alan Ritchson is funnier when he plays the brute politely and convincing when he keeps the acting economical. We rate his restraint, though his physical presence cannot do the work of a script.
Fi1m perspective
In The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024), Alan Ritchson greets people warmly before attacking them with an axe. As Anders Lassen, he makes courtesy funny by keeping it ordinary, without signalling that we should enjoy the contradiction. Guy Ritchie gets something useful from the difference between Ritchson’s size and his manners. It is a strong comic performance in a film we do not recommend: the repeated violence has so little consequence that even this agreeable company wears thin.
His early casting often put the physique first, from Arthur Curry in Smallville (2005–2010) to Raphael, performed through voice and motion capture, in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014). Reacher (2022–) was the turn, making him the lead as Jack Reacher and bringing wider recognition. The economical acting there matters as much as the physical credibility; he need not advertise how formidable he is. We are less persuaded by the films around that breakthrough, including Fast X (2023), in which he plays Aimes.
Runner (2026) gives him a useful partner in Owen Wilson, and their exchanges are its most dependable source of humour. Ritchson plays Hank Malone with more presence than Tommy White and Miles Hubley’s writing has earned, while Wilson’s Ben gives him someone to disagree with. We enjoyed their company because the humour comes from the two actors responding to each other, even when the script offers little beyond another disagreement. Neither can make those exchanges tell us enough about the men themselves. Once the action pauses, there is too little character to sustain our interest.
Director Scott Waugh is more convincing with the car stunts than with the fights, and Lorenzo Senatore’s cinematography helps give the moving vehicles their force. Those passages also expose the limit of treating Ritchson’s physical presence as sufficient excitement in itself. He can hold our attention, but the staging still has to make a confrontation worth watching. We would like to see him given a comedy with characters worth getting to know. Start with Reacher; save Runner for an evening when car stunts will be enough.
Biography
Alan Ritchson is an American actor. Born on 28 November 1982 in Grand Forks, North Dakota, he studied at Okaloosa Walton Community College and began his career in the mid-2000s.
He made his acting debut as Arthur Curry / Aquaman in the series Smallville (2005–2010). Ritchson starred in Blue Mountain State (2010–2012) and later as Hank Hall / Hawk in Titans (2018–2021). He gained wider recognition as Jack Reacher in the Amazon Prime Video series Reacher (2022–present).
His film roles include Gloss in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013), Raphael in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films (2014 and 2016), Aimes in Fast X (2023) and Anders Lassen in The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024). He made his directorial debut with Dark Web: Cicada 3301 (2021).
