| Not a half bad remake. |
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| written by Moriarty |
June 20, 2005 - 6:14 AM PDT |
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1 out of 1 members found this review helpful
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This was pretty much your typical revenge flick. The Rock comes home after 8 years away in the military to find his home town taken over by a corrupt casino boss who just happens to be his old friend/rival. Nothing really new or unique.
But I was surprised to find I liked this movie. A lot of it had to do with The Rock. Believe it or not, he actually gives a pretty good performance here. While there's no great dramatic range, he basically goes from charming to angry and back again, it works for this movie. I think The Rock has a natural charm that comes across in this movie. I also liked Johnny Knoxville's character. He's the typical old buddy character who's a former junkie and loser. But unlike some other loser buddies in other flicks who are borderline depressing, he's also pretty likable. And the source of most of the movies laughs.
This movie doesn't waste a lot of time on a lot of backstory or character developement. It gives you enough to like the good guys and hate the bad guys. It's fairly quickly paced but doesn't feel rushed. The action isn't too overdone and the comedy works.
This isn't a bad one for a Friday or Saturday night. And I think whether or not you're a fan of The Rock, you may find this one is ok. |
| Walking a bit better than average |
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| written by talltale |
September 6, 2004 - 11:37 AM PDT |
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3 out of 3 members found this review helpful
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| WALKING TALL is a lot more fun than I imagined it would be. I actually enjoyed this more than the original Joe Don Baker version. (Maybe I ought to go back and check that one out.) Mr. Rock--or "The" if we are allowed the familiarity of his first name--gives what is probably his best performance so far. He's relaxed, pleasant, and very easy to watch. This is a tight, well-scripted and -directed revenge movie with a good cast and fight/action scenes that don't overstay their welcome. (Johnny Knoxville is particularly fun: note his memorable line describing the denizens of the local casino.) If the believability quotient is no higher than most of this ilk, it's also no lower than necessary for full enjoyment, with the scene in court particularly amusing and gratifying. Most surprising is the economy here: the film wastes little time with unnecessary exposition and runs just 74 minutes before the credits start to roll. It does offer an unconscionable 12 minutes' worth of those credits, however, so that it can qualify for a total running time of one hour and 26 minutes and thus appear to be "full-length." Such are the vagaries of moviemaking today. |
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