The Next Big Thing...

You've got to give The Rock some credit... he has shed most of the stigma of the WWF wrestling persona, and all the ridicule that comes with it, to emerge as the leading candidate to replace Arnold Schwarzenegger (a candidate in another competition right now) atop the action-hero mountain. The Rock (real name Dwayne Johnson) has enough brain to offset the brawn. He has overflowing charisma that translates to fantastic screen presence. And, perhaps most surprisingly, he can act! To be honest, The Rock reminds me more of Bruce Willis than Ah-nald. Get used to him, because he is going to be hanging around the multiplexes for a long time.

The Rock plays Beck, a retrieval expert, who is sent to Brazil to kidnap Travis (Seann William Scott), a treasure hunter who happens to be the son of Beck's employer. If he can accomplish this retrieval, he will be paid $250,000 and be free to pursue the dream of opening his own restaurant. Unfortunately, the task is a lot more complicated than he first thought.

Christopher Walken plays Hatcher (in another hilarious role that suits him to a tee), the head of a gold mining corporation that uses slave labor to line his pockets. Hatcher becomes aware of the treasure that Travis is searching for and won't let Beck complete his retrieval until the treasure is found. Soon, Beck's conscience kicks in and it won't allow him to leave the rainforest without freeing the enslaved people under Hatcher's control.

There are two main reasons why 'The Rundown' is far better than the bulk of other action flicks released each summer. It is very funny and it is tremendously well directed. The Rock and Seann William Scott have tremendous chemistry as a comedic action team, and Christopher Walken has a penchant for delivering every line of dialogue in a way that will have you in stitches. Barely a minute goes by in this film without a chuckle to be had.

Director Peter Berg does a really nice job with this film. He never goes overboard with the action. The thing I admired the most was his ability to show the fight sequences and action scenes with rather shocking clarity. I have often complained that what a lot of bad directors do during actions scenes, to cover up the fact that they have no idea what they are doing, is to use ridiculously quick cuts, unintelligible close ups, distractingly loud music, and introduce dust, smoke and fog to hide the details of the shots. Berg should be applauded for avoiding these crutches throughout. This is a great looking action film.

Nine out of ten 'summer action flicks' are mindless trash... but every so often, you can find one that will appeal to those of us who aren't sixteen year-old boys with attention deficit disorder. 'The Rundown' is worth the time and money, and I honestly didn't expect to say that when I first heard about the film and saw the previews. Is it an action classic along the lines of 'Die Hard' or 'The Hunt for Red October'? Nope, that would be too flattering. But it is probably one of the best action flicks of 2003 and it easily earns a recommendation from this hard-to-please critic.

© Written by TC Candler

How We Rated This Film TC Candler - B+ Richard Propes - C Jacob Hall - B

Richard Propes' Comment

The Rock continues to grow as an actor, and may actually make the full break out of his WWE Wrestling persona yet. "The Rundown" is a funny, action-filled flick that teams Rock up with the smirky antics of Seann William Scott. Both actors have a rather unique screen presence, but their buddy work is surprisingly effective and their chemistry convincing. "The Rundown" is nothing special, but it's a surprisingly watchable action flick with a few laughs and decent scenery. Plot is never a focus for films such as this one, and the relative absence of one here is hardly a distraction.

Jacob Hall's Comment

Dwayne Johnson, AKA The Rock, has more charisma in his little finger than Vin Diesel does in his entire body. The former WWE wrestler makes a fantastic film debut ("The Mummy Returns" doesn't count) in "The Rundown," where he shows that he not only has the capability to be a great action star, but that he is also an extremely funny and entertaining performer. He co-stars with Sean William Scott, who somehow manages to not be annoying, and the two of them are a surprisingly fantastic duo. Considering the number of bad "buddy" action/comedies out there, it's refreshing to see one this entertaining and fun. The plot is secondary, of course, but the thrills are first rate, and the laughs are frequent and hearty. The only major flaw that detracted from my enjoyment of the film was a supporting character, a Scotsman (or an Irishman, I can't tell, the accent is so bad) who is not funny and is entirely unnecessary. His running commentary during the otherwise exciting climax nearly ruins the scene for me. Flaws aside, this is one of the best popcorn movies to come around for quite some time, and I hope The Rock gets around to making more movies.