Walking Tall

December 10, 2004

Rated: R Runtime: 87 min Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

The Rock uses a nice piece of hickory to layeth the smack down. Unfortunately he should have also used that stick on the writers.

Walking Tall

Walking Tall is a remake of a movie that was based on a true story. In other words, this has very little to do with what actually happened and instead was “inspired by” the actual events. Doesn’t really matter though as we could care less if the story is true or not as long as we’re entertained. That’s where some problems creep in. Yes, The Rock kicks some ass in the movie. Yes, there’s a lot of gunfire. Yes, there’s a good looking girl. But no, it didn’t really come together very well.

The basic premise is that Chris Vaughn (Rock) comes home after doing time in the army (special forces even) only to find out that the sleepy little logging town he left has been corrupted by the evils of sex/drugs/gambling. I’m sure there was some Rock ‘n Roll too, but we didn’t get to see it. Let’s say he came back on March 1st. We don’t really know when, but just go with me on this, I have a point to make.

The local sheriff gives him a ride back home to his parents house, and when Chris is getting out of the car he hands him a pamphlet. It’s election month, and he want’s Chris’ vote. In the next day or so Chris meets up with his buddies and they play some football. After the game, Chris is invited up to the casino by the owner, who’s parents owned the local sawmill, etc. Anyway, things don’t go perfectly smooth at the casino and he get’s into a fight. He gets his ass kicked and the doc says it “would have killed a weaker man.” Let’s say it’s now March 5th.

Apparently while they don’t teach guys to fight well in the Special Forces these days, they do teach them how to heal up quickly. Chris does some recuperating on the family couch, and after some sit ups goes to get his vengeance. I’m leaving some stuff out, don’t really want to ruin the plot or anything, but I’m making a point as I said earlier. How long to heal up do you think? Let’s give him 10 days, so now it’s March 15th.

He got arrested and thrown in jail, posts bail, then goes to trial. He makes a moving speech where he claims that if he’s found innocent he’ll run for sheriff and clean the town up. It’s the worlds fastest legal system! Let’s be generous and give it another 10 days, so now it’s March 25th. 6 days left in the month for him to get on a ballot, do some campaigning (I’m sure the entire town wasn’t in the courtroom) and win the election. You all know he won from the previews, ain’t like there’s some suspense here or anything.

In the movies we’re always asked to suspend our disbelief in order to enjoy people who can shoot guns accurately while doing barrel rolls down the street, or who can run up walls as if gravity didn’t apply to them. Sometimes we get an explanation for these action, but most of the time we just have to accept it. So I’m not sure why it bothered me so much that the timeline in Walking Tall was so stupid, but it did. Maybe it’s because it would have been such a simple problem to avoid. Instead of it being “election month” all the sheriff had to say was “election coming up in a few months, I’d like your vote” and timeline wouldn’t have been an issue at all. We wouldn’t have been forced to believe Chris heals like Wolverine and that the legal system up north moves like greased lighting for people other than the Kennedy’s.

Other than that the movie was pretty good. Rock looked good and did a fine job of acting. Johnny Knoxville does quite well in his supporting role, and should continue his rise in Hollywood. It’s a good popcorn flick, just turn your brainpower way way down when you take your seat.

Posted by John | Filed Under 3 Stars, Action, Ashley Scott, Dwayne, Johnny Knoxville, Kristen Wilson, Neal McDonough, R, Theatrical