Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
Y’know, I want to see Dwayne Johnson find the right films and really connect with some good material. I think he’s got the goods to be a decent action star, but he’s got to be careful about the films he makes. So far, I haven’t heard any reactions to his WALKING TALL remake at all, so let’s see what these two thought of it. First up...
Hey Harry just got home from a screening of Walking Tall and decided to let you know what I thought, there are some minor spoilers.
Now I'm old enough to remember the original Walking Tall movies about Sherrif Bufford Pusser and I always liked the first one it's a really good tough guy who takes no ones crap ass kicking kind of movie. Anyway I'm sure most people already know this movie has nothing to do with Bufford Pusser, instead they say it's inspired by a true story. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson(all though in this movie he's only billed as The Rock) stars as Chris Vaughn, a former special forces member returning home for the first time in 8 years. When he gets to his hometown which looks like it's located somewhere in the Pacific Northwest, he finds things aren't the same as when he left. The town's economy is now dependent on the local casino and the town is full of drugs and corruption.
After Vaughn is nearly beaten within an inch of his life and his nephew almost OD's on crystal meth he decides to take a stand. He gets himself elected sherrif and sets out to take down the owner of the casino where much of the problems seem to come from. The main villain of the movie is played by Neal McDonough(of NBC's cancelled Boomtown) anyway he is easily one of the most non threatening villains I can remember in the last few years. When he threatens The Rock it seemed to barely register, not for once did I think The Rock or his family were in any danger. Somebody forgot to tell him villains are supposed to be menacing he might as well have been ordering The Rock a pepsi.
As far as The Rock goes I think he has definetly proven that he has leading man qualities but they're wasted in this movie. This movie is such a throw away it's like The Rock had nothing better to do in between shooting The Rundown and whatever his next film is. Also this film hints at some subplots but they're either boring or cliched. Such as why Vaughn's father refuses to pick up a gun or why he disapproved of his son's decision to join the army. It's obviously supposed to make a big deal when he picks up a gun at the end of the movie to defend his family. Except we never learned why he refused to pick up a gun in the first place. Johnny Knoxville stars as The Rock's sidekick and he does add some comic relief but who cares this movie is so forgettable I'm sure by tomorrow it will be an afterthought.
This is the kind of movie that when someone asks you what you thought you just shrug your shoulders because you don't want to say what your really thinking. As I walked out of the theater I heard around 10 different people say "at least it was free" or "it was okay but I wouldnt pay to see it". Also because I guess every leading man needs a leading lady they throw in an ex-girlfriend who know works as a stripper, I mean dancer at the casino. She might as well have been played by a department store mannequin her character is so meaninless and insignificant to the story. By the way she is played by Ashley Scott who some will remember as The Huntress on the WB's travesty of a show Birds of Prey.
To anybody who reads this save your money or go see something else. This movie is not so terrible you'll run out of the theater screaming but you'll just feel like you've wasted your time. On a final note as the end credits start to role there is a dedication to the memory of Bufford Pusser which only proved to me how pointless this psuedo remake truly was.
Maybe the next guy’s got more positive things to say about it...
Hello Harry , Swavill here I haven't seen any reviews of this on the site yet so I thought I'd chime in.
I just got back from a screening of the Rocks latest attempt to replace Arnie and Sly as the action hero Du Jour. Walking Tall is a reimagining of a classic movie based on a true story. Before I go any further if there is anyone reading this who has not seen the original stop reading shut off the computer and run don't walk to the video store and rent it . It truly is a classic. Joe Don Baker plays the lead of Sherriff Buford Pusser with just the right amount of border line psychotic "I'm gonna beat the piss outta you with this big Goddamn stick and love every fucking minute of it." The sequels starring Bo Svenson were also quite good.
Any way Dewayne Johnson AKA "THE ROCK" plays a Buford Pusser wannabe named Chris Vaughn. The film is directed by Kevin Bray (All About The Benjamins. ) . The longer I sit here and think about this film the more I hate it. I'm trying to decide if they actually filmed an "R" rated action movie and then left half of it on the cutting room floor or if they only had like one day to shoot the damn thing. When the film was over my reaction was like "thats It?". The movie started at 7:00 when I got to the lobby and checked my watch it was only 8:16. Making this one of the shorter feature films I have ever seen . I am more inclined to think that they cut the shit out of it to get a "PG" rating . It seemed like the film was missing a few unimportant things like plot and character development. Note to director : Frowning a lot is not character development. It reminds me of the first time I saw the original Walking Tall on network television back in the seventies. It was so badly cut that you couldn't follow the plot. This movie has that kind of feel to it . It may play well to people with a very short attention span. It has 3 action sequences and very little else.
Johnny Knoxville plays Vaughns comic relief side kick. and he actually gets a few laughs mostly from getting the shit beat out of him . In fact there were quite a few people laghing through the fight scenes even the ones not meant to be comical. The casino in the movie is supposed to be a sleazy strip joint and gambling parlor complete with peep shows that don't show anything. Thats right folks no nudity. Girls sliding up and down poles fully clothed . Its set in the present but the soundtrack is a few late sixties early seventies tunes . Since its edited like a music video the least they could have done was include some contemporary music. I'm not entirely sure who the target audience is for this thing . But I know it wasn't me. Wait for it to come to cable.
Swavill
... or maybe not. Ouch.
"Moriarty" out.
