Walking Tall (2004)

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 | Jury | Cheating

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:

The film takes place in Kitsap County, Washington. The Kitsap Penninsula is across Puget sound from Seattle, and is home to both the Bremerton Naval Shipyards and the Bangor Submarine Base. A large part of the population are military personnel, and unlike in the movie, the area has a very low crime rate.

Goofs:

Continuity: As Chris and Jay are fighting, Jay has an ax that he is attempting to hit Chris with. Chris tackles Jay and they tumble down a hill. As they are tumbling, the ax disappears for one sequence. When they stop rolling, the ax reappears in Jay's hand.

Quotes:

[Chris has just lost a football game]
Pete Vaughn: Maybe next time, eh?
[Chris walks over]
Chris Vaughn: Maybe next time, I won't catch you smoking weed in the bleachers.

Movie Connections:

References A Dirty Shame (2004)

Soundtrack:

Feelin' Alright

The Rock is a Star

The Rock is the next great action hero. He has all the requisites. He is handsome, an amazing athlete with an awesome physique, charismatic, intelligent, and funny. His star power carries Kevin Bray's "Walking Tall".

The Rock is great in an entertaining movie. "Walking Tall" though great fun to watch, and capably produced and directed also punctuates that The Rock needs to work on more edgy and quality projects. He is definitely a movie star, who can become a solid actor.

"Walking Tall" has to overcome a very convoluted writing credit. This is not a retelling of the Bufford Pussor story, although its original screen writer, Mort Bristein, is acknowledged. This "Walking Tall" by David Klass, Channing Gibson, David Levien, and Brian Koppelman tells the story of returning Special Forces war hero Chris Vaughn (The Rock), who comes home to a small town outside Seattle. The town mill has been closed down, and his old high school bud, Jay Hamilton (Neal McDonough), owns the new town casino and pretty much owns the local police too. Jay is not the man he remembered from his youth. Chris is forced to raise his hand reluctantly against Hamilton's men. They leave him for dead, and fortunately Chris survives. So Chris is out to right an injustice, and exact revenge with extreme prejudice. This "Walking Tall" resembles "First Blood" particularly in it's local and plot setting.

Props to Director Kevin Bray for delivering on the story line as Chris exacts his revenge. Bray has a clean and lean style. The action sequences are crisp and dramatic. The Rock truly excels in the fight sequences. For one thing he is an big strong guy, and when he is laying "the smack down" on the villains it is believable and thoroughly enjoyable. The bad guys truly get what they deserve.

The supporting cast is solid. Ashley Scott (almost unrecognizable from the short-lived "Birds of Prey") is good as the stripper with a big heart who is Chris's love interest. Johnny Knoxville (of "Jackass") is funny and charming as Chris's bud and deputy Ray.

I completely enjoyed "Walking Tall". It is a brisk 75 minutes of cool action, and has the star power of The Rock. I look forward to seeing more movies starring The Rock.