MOVIE REVIEW: ‘Walking Tall’ another pointless remake
Grade: C
For those of you that have seen “The Rundown,” I’ll make this review real simple for you: The difference between “The Rundown” and “Walking Tall” is that “Walking Tall” expects you to take it seriously. That’s pretty much it.
For those of you that haven’t seen “The Rundown,” or for those of you who for no particular reason are just interested in reading some more, here’s a more in-depth analysis.
“Walking Tall” is a remake of a movie from the 1970s that was based on a true story. As a second-generation telling, it’s pretty obvious that this year’s product is a fairly serious departure from the original material.
The story centers on The Rock as he returns to his hometown in rural Washington* after eight years in the military. When he gets back he finds that the quaint small town of his youth has been replaced by a poor man’s Las Vegas. The mill that used to employ the town has been closed, and the new source of local employment is a flashy casino that supplies the adults with guilty pleasures and the local kids with drugs. If that isn’t bad enough, the Rock’s old girlfriend is one of the casino’s strippers.
The rest of the plot isn’t tough to figure out, but then again, it’s not meant to be. Obviously Rock sets about the rest of the film beating up pretty much anyone in sight. First he goes in the casino and starts a fight, then after beating the jail sentence he’s threatened with as a result, he becomes town sheriff and starts beating people in an official capacity.
A movie like this could just be brainless fun, but the film won’t allow itself to settle into this role. For some reason, this little town seems to be an island in society, completely unaccountable and unattached to the outside world. It’s like “Deliverance” with Blackjack instead of inbreeding. I kept waiting for state authorities to get involved, but apparently no one else in Washington cares. The over-the-top action and unbelievable string of events that movies like “Rundown” and “Walking Tall” use make sense when the movie is set in South America. But in rural Washington? Nope, even the Rock can only suspend reality so far.
Plus, the “Rundown” was very aware of how silly it was. It had Christopher Walken telling South American mercenaries about the Tooth Fairy. You got the impression that the filmmakers were just having a good time chuckling along with the audience. The folks behind “Walking Tall” don’t seem to grasp that. Not only is it too over-the-top to buy, but the seriousness of it all makes the violence much more difficult to stomach. It’s kind of like comparing “The Three Stooges” to “Saving Private Ryan.”
That being said, it’s still a fun dollar movie. Johnny Knoxville of MTV fame plays Rock’s best buddy/loyal deputy, and one of the cops from “Minority Report” does a decent job as the bad guy/casino owner. Rock’s girlfriend is really tall. And Rock himself is fun to watch, even if he may not be getting any Oscar nods. Of course, until they start adding categories like “Best Brutal Beating with a Chunk of Wood,” I don’t think he’ll care.
*State, not DC. Rural Washington DC would probably be the lawn in front of the White House
Joshua Terry is a graduate student in the American Studies program. He can be contacted via e-mail at jterry@english.usu.edu.