“Walking Tall” (MGM)
Several years ago Joe Don Baker starred in “Walking Tall”, the story of Sheriff Buford Pusser. Now the Rock has taken the basic outline of that film and made a new version of “Walking Tall.” His character is not called Buford Pusser but he does carry a big stick.
Chris Vaughn (The Rock) has been away in the military for eight years. When he returns home he finds there have been a lot of changes. The main one is the closing of the town mill and the creation of a gambling casino. This casino is run by Vaughn’s old friend Jay Hamilton (Neal McDonough).
Chris soon finds that drugs are being sold out of the casino and that his nephew has been partaking of them. This sends him into a frenzy and he goes into the casino and cleans house. This gets him in trouble with the law. But Chris decides if he can’t count on the law to do what he thinks is right, well he will become the law.
After a short campaign he becomes the sheriff and his main goal is to shut down the casino. But that is easier said than done. In trying he might jeopardize not only himself but also his family and friends,
The movie is a vigilante justice type that can be a lot of fun. Plus the Rock, Johnny Knoxville and McDonough are all good actors. They make their roles believable. The problem is with the movie itself. It is poorly photographed with some of the fight scenes being totally jumpy and frazzled. You can barely tell who is hitting whom.
The sound editing is also bad. Lines overlap which causes difficulty in their being heard and understood. Plus the film jumps from one scene to the next with very little transition. One moment Chris is on trial and the next scene he is the sheriff.
The film is rated PG-13 for profanity and violence.
This could have been a very good movie, because the Rock is very good in his role. But all of those defects named add up to make it less than average in enjoyment. The Rock will survive this film and it is bound to make some money on his name alone. But with a better script, better execution, and better transitions in the story The Rock could have headed up a blockbuster.
The Rock can’t walk too tall about this movie, but he doesn’t have to hang his head in shame either. It isn’t a disaster but it isn’t the winner it should have been .
I scored “Walking Tall” a stumbling 4 out of 10.
