The Rundown Review
by Van Roberts (zardoz AT ebicom DOT net)October 3rd, 2003
Sometimes, you can't judge a movie by its title. Take the new tongue-in-cheek, tough-guy thriller starring the Rock entitled "The Rundown." Essentially, the title tells all in this predictable but lively B-movie with breathtaking mountain scenery, a blockbuster A-movie budget, and Oscar-winning thespian Christopher Walken as a wickedly evil adversary. Imagine "Romancing the Stone" minus the tears and romance but rippling with testosterone-drenched action and adventure, and you've got a fair idea what "The Rundown" delivers. Usually, Hollywood hypes its larger-than-life heroics with superlatives. Countless actioneers qualify their titles with adjectives such as "Big," "Deadly" or "Final" to enhance the significance of the violence. Not only does a lackluster title like "The Rundown" (*** out of ****) forego anything in the way of freshness, but also it suggests what follows must rank as downright ordinary and totally unimaginative. Indeed, just about every hard-knuckled Hollywood hero from Stallone to Schwarzenegger to Seagal has starred in this kind of derivative derring-do. Nevertheless, you don't usually see it staged with the flair that actor-turned-director Peter Berg brings to this formulaic fodder. Incredibly, "The Rundown" boasts wit to spare and action to bear. What the Rock, a.k.a. Dwayne Johnson lacks in acting chops, he more than compensates for with his charisma and crackerjack comic timing. Between the heroic Rock and hard-placed Christopher Walken stand co-stars Seann William Scott of "American Pie" fame and Rosario Dawson of "Kids." Don't try to count the bullets that riddle this highly improbable but hugely entertaining hokum. If the "Scorpion King" (2002) made the Rock into a leading man, "The Rundown" should solidify his stardom as an action hero par excellence. Meanwhile, action movie enthusiasts who don't object to a modicum of plot in their films may applaud the outlandish plot reversals and the delicious irony with which Berg and scenarists R.J. Stewart of "Major League 2" & TV's "Xena: Warrior Princess" and James Vanderbilt of "Basic" and "Darkness Falls" endow this exciting epic.
"The Rundown" opens with an amusing slam-bang barroom brawl. Berg and his scribes quickly establish the offbeat character of our sympathetic hero, 'retrieval expert' Beck (Dwayne Johnson of "The Mummy Returns"), as he negotiates with a recalcitrant NFL football quarterback who owes Beck's boss a $50-thousand gambling debt. At first, the QB takes Beck for a fan out for his autograph. When Beck continues to butt into the QB's business, our hero arouses the wrath of the formidable offensive linemen who have accompanied the quarterback to the nightspot. Respectfully, Beck apologizes for his intrusion, retreats beyond ear shot, and calls his boss. Beck asks Harvey if he can forego busting knuckles with the footballers, because they have an important game in the offing. Beck's boss Harvey refuses to accept no for an answer, so our protagonist reluctantly interrupts the QB again. Beck demands the expensive ring as collateral, but the QB balks. When the offensive line confronts Beck, our contrite hero gives the QB Option A or Option B. This hilarious routine recurs throughout "The Rundown" and gives the Rock's character some hilarious dialogue foreshadows inevitable fisticuffs. Option A always allows the easy way out, while Option B guarantees similar results as Option A with headaches in store for those foolish enough to reject Beck's first option. Unfortunately, nobody takes Beck seriously until he decimates the opposition with his fast moves and bare fists. "Guns take me to a place I don't want to go," Beck explains his aversion to firearms. Nevertheless, Beck secures the QB's ring as collateral and leaves behind the offensive linemen crumpled up unconscious on the floor. In the next scene, we learn Beck dreams of owning a restaurant. He wants to retire from the strong-arm business. Beck's boss Harvey (Jon Gries of "Men in Black") agrees to wipe Beck's slate clean if he will perform one last service. He wants Beck to wing his way down to South America, plunge into the Amazonian rain forests and find his long lost son, smart-aleck goof-off Travis Walker (Seann William Scott of "Bulletproof Monk"), and haul him back to L.A. No sooner does Beck land in Brazil in a propeller-driven plane held together by duct-tape, than he finds himself imperiled. Initially, Beck humbly approaches the local strong man, Hatcher (Christopher Walken of "True Romance"), who runs El Dorado, a company town near a sprawling gold mine, like a ruthless tyrant. Beck agrees to pay him $10-thousand, as a courtesy so he can venture into Hatcher's bailiwick with ruffling Hatcher's feathers. Meanwhile, Travis convinces bar owner Mariana (Rosario Dawson of "The 25TH Hour") to loan him her boat. He claims to know the location of a fabled treasure, the statue of a golden cat. Before Travis can launch Mariana's boat, Beck collars him by surprise. Suddenly, Hatcher appears with his henchmen. Hatcher welshes on his earlier deal with Beck. Hatcher believes Travis knows the whereabouts of the priceless artifact. Hatcher wants Travis, but Beck refuses to hand him over. Once again, Beck gives his opponents either Option A or Option B. Predictably, Beck and Travis manage to escape, careening through the jungle in a jeep with Hatcher's henchmen nipping at their heels. "The Rundown" blends humors throughout our heroes' flight and Hatcher's relentless pursuit. At one point, Beck and Travis stumble onto a guerrilla camp, and Beck battles it out with a man half his size, Brazilian martial artist Manito (Ernie Reyes, Jr. of "Rush Hour 2") before Hatcher and his henchmen arrive and turn everybody into Swiss cheese.
Clocking in at a trim, vigorous 104 minutes, this enjoyable PG-13 rated programmer
never bogs down. Sophomore director Berg (whose first directorial effort was "Very Bad Things") and his writers keep our heroes jumping through one flaming hoop after another until fade-out. Berg coaxes flavorful performances out of everybody, especially the Rock who consciously avoids using his signature hoisted eye-brow scowl. Actually, the Rock looks comfortable and convincing as the hero. At least, he can deliver his lines without botching them, and he says them with enough conviction you neither take his character nor him lightly. Not unexpectedly, Christopher Walken adds another rogue to his gallery of scoundrels and provides the Rock's Beck with a worthwhile enemy. Walken's speech about the Tooth Fairy to his native guards and their lack of comprehension stands out as a memorable moment in the middle of the chase to recover Travis. Scenic Hawaii with its picturesque mountains splendidly substitutes for Brazil and the aerial photography will make your gasp. Move over, Vin Diesel, you've got competition.
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