Walking Tall (2004)

"...plenty of the same macho mayhem that made the original a drive-in hit...   Mark Kermode, Guardian Unlimited
"Exciting stuff...  Jonathan Foreman, New York Post
"Dwayne Johnson -- call him the Rock if you want to wrestle -- is the real deal in a movie action hero.  Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Editor's Note WALKING TALL, a remake based on the popular series of 1970s films by the same title, is all about The Rock. He is larger than life, buff, beautiful, and mad as hell--ready to fight a wave of corruption, gambling, and drugs that have infiltrated his hometown. He plays Chris Vaughn, a man who is returning to his family in Tennessee after serving in the military. But right off the bat, he can tell something is fishy. The lumber mill has closed down and now there are kids on the streets doing drugs. Chris confronts his high-school rival Jay (Neal McDonough), who replaced the honest lumber business with a highly illegal casino, and is almost killed for doing so. Chris reports Jay's dirty business to the cops, only to learn that even the sheriff is on Jay's payroll. The final straw comes when Chris' nephew overdoses on crystal meth bought at the casino, and Chris decides take Jay down vigilante-style, breaking all the rules and fighting for what is right. Massive brawls with The Rock at their center, toting a large 2 x 4 as his only weapon, provide for some highly destructive, very violent face-offs. Ray (Johnny Knoxville) stands by Chris' side, providing comic relief throughout the relentless fighting, and the blond and bronzed Kristen Wilson provides some risque allure as Chris' love interest. WALKING TALL offers a little something for any fan of The Rock.

	Ashley Scott
	Dwayne ÒThe RockÓ Johnson
	Johnny Knoxville
	Kristen Wilson
	Neal McDonough
	Ashok Armitraj - Producer
	George Bowers - Editor
	Glen MacPherson - Cinematographer
	Graeme Revell - Musical Score
	Keith Samples - Executive Producer
	Kevin Bray - Director
	Mort Briskin - Screenplay

New York Times
"[T]he Rock seems to be less about anger and revenge than about justice and self-discipline, a nuance that is also a saving grace." 04/02/2004 p.E25

Los Angeles Times
"[T]he Rock's combination of physicality and charisma is always welcome." 04/02/2004 p.C6

Chicago Sun-Times
"This is an action movie, pure and simple..." 04/02/2004 p.38

Uncut
"[T]he fight scenes are efficiently assembled..." 07/01/2004 p.136

James Berardinelli's ReelViews 6 of 10
The Rock's on a roll. Anyone who doubts Dwayne Johnson can be the new millennium's answer to Arnold - James Berardinelli

San Francisco Chronicle 6 of 10
The original "Walking Tall'' was propelled by moral indignation, as well as a pervasive fear of encr - Mick LaSalle

Chicago Sun-Times 6 of 10
The Rock comes out of the movie more or less intact, career-wise. I've felt from the beginning that - Roger Ebert