Walking Tall

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures presents a Hyde Park Entertainment/Mandeville Films production

Starring: The Rock, Johnny Knoxville, Neal McDonough and Kristen Wilson

Directed by: Kevin Bray

Rating: ***

Plot: A special forces soldier named Chris Vaughn (The Rock) comes back to his home town after being gone for years. He comes home and everything seems since until he realizes that the old mill closed down and now the town is controlled by an old high school buddy of his who owns a big casino in town. The Rockman meets up with some friends and goes to the Casino to find out that everything there is just wrong, drug dealing, rigged tables etc. Rock tries to make a point and beats up some security guards but then is over taken and beat up and then tortured. After that he decides to run for sheriff and clean up his home town. The Rock beating the ever loving shit out of people with big piece of wood ensues.

Acting: The Rock is the Rock, he's a bad ass and he knows but he also seems like a good guy. Now he doesn't have major acting chomps but I think he is pretty good hero if he sticks to these type of movies. The Scorpion King was not the best movie ever made but he made it fun, and The Rundown was a pretty good time. In this film the Rock basically just has to be cool and beat people and give the stare down. So he did a great job. Now the rest of the cast well whatever they did their thing I guess. Johnny Knoxville played Vaughn's buddy who was like a drug addict or something who came back and is now clean. His character was really just pointless and he said some funny stuff I guess but the Rock out did him there too. The bad guy Neal McDonough just had to be an uptight bitch, and he did well at that. Now Kristen Wilson basically played the love interest but she did not stand out or really do much of anything in the movie so it was basically eye candy for the guys I guess. It's kind of sad to say that the Rock basically out acted everyone in the film. I guess that is why the poster for the movie was just him with a big piece of wood.

Directing/Writing: Speaking of big pieces of wood, this movie does have some great action sequences. In one scene the Rock finds his little nephew or some kid did some drugs and almost over dozed. So the Rock goes to casino with a big piece of wood and literally beats the shit out of like five guys. That one scene really made the movie, it's one of those moments where you just cheer and also go "God danm" when the Rock like totally ownz some guy. Sadly though this movie really does have only two really good fight scenes and the rest of the movie falls flat, it becomes a generic simple movie. This is basically a popcorn movie you don't need to think about anything just watch the Rock kick ass and take names. I guess I came into the movie expecting just what I got so I left happy. It is just annoying because this movie could have been more. I mean it's a short movie that really leaves you shrugging your shoulders saying "I guess that was good". They should have just filled this entire movie with insane fights and having the Rock just tear the town apart, now that would have been a movie. Instead they try and give you a family feel and have a stupid kid in the movie who really never learns a lesson even though he almost died, that pissed me off it's this little shrimp kid who gives the Rock a hard time. Then the kid almost dies and the Rock beats the shit out of everybody and still at the end the kid is still a little basted, what the hell? I guess that doesn't matter that much but it stood out to me. Also I would have enjoyed some depth to the bad guys they were just some random white guys out to do bad things with no purpose in mind. That stuff gets old in movies fast but whatever. Oh also I thought this was hilarious, in the movie The Rock's parents are played by a white and a black guy, which is cool besides the fact that I thought the Rock was Samoan not black or white. I just thought that was funny.

Overall: It's fun but in a way I wouldn't waste my money on. It is a rentable film on a day where you just need some action I guess. It does have one great line where the Rock after going to court for beating the casino guys up, well somehow he gets away without charge, and in the court they used the big piece of wood as evidence. Well in this one scene the Rock walks up to the judge taking the wood and he says "This is mine" or something I just thought that was too cool.