The Rundown

Review - The Rock's 2nd big screen adventure, The Rundown, is a giant leap forward from the likes of 2002's The Scorpion King.  And I thank the Lord for it.  After first viewing the trailer a few weeks ago I let myself hope that this would be a good movie.  I was rewarded nicely.

The Rock plays Beck a hired man who's an indentured servant to a local crime boss.  Beck is offered his last job, to extradite the crime boss's son from a third-world jungle and return him to his father.  Once completed Beck will be free.  However, Christopher Walken, amongst others (including monkeys) stands in the way.

The Rundown, directed by Peter Berg (an actor from Shocker, Late For Dinner, and TV’s Chicago Hope) fails on few fronts.  Basically the story never gets you to care much for the 'adventure' aspect of the film.  Does that matter? No.  Because the film succeeds with so much else.  The dialogue is well above par, the characters are vivid, interesting, and the interpersonal connections between them really come across.  Every character in the film is easily likeable and easy to care about.  Kinda surprising to me actually.

The Rock, William Scott Thomas (American Pie, Bulletproof Monk), Christopher Walken, and Rosario Dawson (MIB II) do a wonderful job collectively of entertaining you for 90 minutes.  Ewen Bremner (Trainspotting, Pearl Harbor, Black Hawk Down) and Ernie Reyes Jr. (Ultimate Fight, Pool hall Junkies, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2) deliver a pair of supporting roles that back up the main cast solidly and both are having a blast here.

Everything that's good about The Rundown shines through.  It's entertaining value can't, and shouldn't, be missed.

-m-