Walking Tall (2004)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Kevin Bray

Writers (WGA):

Mort Briskin (based on a screenplay by)
David Klass (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

2 April 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Biography | Comedy | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

One man will stand up for what's right.

Plot:

A former U.S. soldier returns to his hometown to find it overrun by crime and corruption, which prompts him to clean house.

Plot Keywords:

Casino | Sheriff | Trial | Football | Jury

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Dwayne Johnson	...	Chris Vaughn (as The Rock)
Johnny Knoxville	...	Ray Templeton
Neal McDonough	...	Jay Hamilton
Kristen Wilson	...	Michelle Vaughn
Ashley Scott	...	Deni
Khleo Thomas	...	Pete Vaughn
John Beasley	...	Chris Vaughn Sr.
Barbara Tarbuck	...	Connie Vaughn
Michael Bowen	...	Sheriff Stan Watkins
Kevin Durand	...	Booth
Andrew Tarbet	...	Jimmy
Patrick Gallagher	...	Keith
John Stewart	...	Rusty
Eric Breker	...	Deputy Ralston
Ryan Robbins	...	Travis

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense violence, sexual content, drug material and language.

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | Malaysia:18SG | Denmark:15 | Sweden:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Canada:14A (Canadian Home Video rating) | Finland:K-15 | Germany:16 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 (No. 39989)

Filming Locations:

Richmond, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Director Kevin Bray wanted to update the "Pusser stick" by making it a baseball bat instead of a piece of wood but there were objections, so the compromise was to just add a handle.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Chris is smashing up the casino, he starts out by hitting a slot machine and the plastic cover comes off revealing the inner lights, which are out. In the next shot, the lights are on.

Quotes:

Chris Vaughn: I'm not gonna let this stand.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Fight the Good Fight (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

She Loves Animals

The time has come to admit that the Rock is just plain cool (***)

I hate wrestling, but when I saw "The Rundown" last year I had to admit, The Rock is one cool guy, and a perfect action star. He's big and tough, but most importantly he's charismatic and has a sense of humor and a certain softness that actually makes him seem somewhat vulnerable. This is what sets him apart from someone like Vin Diesel, who was all set to be the next big action star but never was because he has no personality or sense of humor.

"Walking Tall" is a remake of a 1973 based-on-fact film about a man who fights back against corruption in his town by becoming sheriff and waging war on the bad guys. I haven't seen the original, but I'm willing to bet it's closer to the truth than the 2004 "Walking Tall", which is packed with more machine guns, axes, exploding trucks, and gunfighting strippers than anything that's "based on fact" could possibly be.

Here, Vaughn returns home after years of being away to find his hometown in shambles and dependent on a corrupt casino run by drug-dealing, knife-wielding thugs. After he receives a brutal beating and his nephew (Khleo Thomas, from "Holes") nearly overdoses on crystal meth bought there, the war is on. My inner 12 year-old says "Woohoo!".

Yes, this film is ridiculously over the top. It's also completely predictable. But it's FUN. A lot of fun, in fact. It's extremely fast paced, well-acted, the action scenes are excellent, and at just under 80 minutes, it's exceptionally lean too. Not one unnecessary or drawn-out scene.

"Walking Tall" doesn't aim to be anything except old-fashioned popcorn entertainment, and it succeeds, yet it has been made with surprising artistry as well. The cinematography is very good, and there are some interesting things done with sound and unexpected fade-outs. Also, Vaughn is an interestingly complex hero (complex as far as these movie go, anyway). At one point, when he clearly wants to bring a loaded shotgun into a fight with him, he hesitates, and brings a less-deadly 2x4 instead. It's a neat moment.

So it's not going to be winning any awards any time soon. But I had a really good time, plain and simple, and the audience I saw it with did too.