TB4000
04-03-2004, 10:47 PM
by Terry aka TB4000
I like The Rock. I swear to God I like the man. I’ve seen him interviewed; he seems like a very cool dude. I’ve been a fan since his beginnings in the WWF, WWE, or whatever the hell they’re calling themselves nowadays. Because I like the man, I should technically have a biased opinion on whatever endeavor he takes on, and to an extent I kinda do. The Scorpion King, semi-decent movie. The Rundown, a semi-decent movie that was a little better. Next year he’ll be taking on the lead role in the live action version of the classic arcade game Spy Hunter, which I will promptly have my ass in a theatre chair for if only to see one of my favorite games realized. Until then, though, I have to sit through Mr. Johnson’s mediocre preceding movies, the most mediocre of them all being Walking Tall.
I have never seen the 1970’s original version that this remake, excuse me “re-imagining” is based on; though my dad tells me it’s a classic. In the original, the story features a man named Buford Pusser(heh, heh…pusser…I know, I’m an immature fool) who returns to his southern grass roots home from the army only to discover that it’s laden with corrupt peoples whom he decides to take a stand against. In this version, the character is named Chris Vaughn, as calling him Buford, let alone Pusser would garner way too many snickers from the audience. He’s been overseas in the military for about 8-some years, and returns to his Wisconsin town to discover that his once thriving boyhood home is now populated with porno shops, loan sharks, hookers on every corner, and drugs overflowing the general populace. Most of these difficulties stem from the casino owned by Jay Hamilton, the obligatory bad guy who basically runs the town from behind the mask of businessman. After a scuffle in the casino, Hamilton decides that Chris is a thorn in his side, and decides to have his boys take care of him, Wisconsin style (whatever that means). After being beaten nearly to death, Chris vows to run for sheriff, in an effort to clean up the town.
I checked out a few clips from the original to compare notes with this newest one, and although the basic story is the same, with the exception of Chris being a product of an interracial black/white couple (though technically he’s Samoan and black, but hey…whatever) and his use of a 2x4 as opposed to the original character’s baseball bat, it’s bland. I know, I know…how in the hell could a movie featuring the people’s champion be bland? Because I’ve seen Steven Seagal, Charles Bronson, and even Jean Claude “why the fuck am I not working at McDonald’s” Van Damme do it in every single one of their movies, and I really pray that The Rock is not going down the same path as they are. The fight scenes aren’t really more intense than one of those syndicated action shows that have horrible weekend time slots, and the only kind of comedic relief you get is in the from of Chris’ best friend played by Johnny Knoxville, who basically gets pummeled by the various villains as he tries to help. Looks like that expertise being on Jackass has really paid off in getting you those sought after dramatic roles, Johnny boy. The movie is very…light PG-13. With subject matter such as drug use, strippers and smashing people in the face with wood, you’d think it’d be a little more hardcore, yet it’s the same thing you’d see on basic cable or even just network TV.
I can’t really say Walking Tall is a good movie, because I don’t feel a lot of work went into this one, even with The Rock giving it his all. Hopefully Spy Hunter will get him out of that slump (please lord let the movie be as tight as that concept art below), and back where he needs to be.
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0304/04/spyhunter.jpg
I like The Rock. I swear to God I like the man. I’ve seen him interviewed; he seems like a very cool dude. I’ve been a fan since his beginnings in the WWF, WWE, or whatever the hell they’re calling themselves nowadays. Because I like the man, I should technically have a biased opinion on whatever endeavor he takes on, and to an extent I kinda do. The Scorpion King, semi-decent movie. The Rundown, a semi-decent movie that was a little better. Next year he’ll be taking on the lead role in the live action version of the classic arcade game Spy Hunter, which I will promptly have my ass in a theatre chair for if only to see one of my favorite games realized. Until then, though, I have to sit through Mr. Johnson’s mediocre preceding movies, the most mediocre of them all being Walking Tall.
I have never seen the 1970’s original version that this remake, excuse me “re-imagining” is based on; though my dad tells me it’s a classic. In the original, the story features a man named Buford Pusser(heh, heh…pusser…I know, I’m an immature fool) who returns to his southern grass roots home from the army only to discover that it’s laden with corrupt peoples whom he decides to take a stand against. In this version, the character is named Chris Vaughn, as calling him Buford, let alone Pusser would garner way too many snickers from the audience. He’s been overseas in the military for about 8-some years, and returns to his Wisconsin town to discover that his once thriving boyhood home is now populated with porno shops, loan sharks, hookers on every corner, and drugs overflowing the general populace. Most of these difficulties stem from the casino owned by Jay Hamilton, the obligatory bad guy who basically runs the town from behind the mask of businessman. After a scuffle in the casino, Hamilton decides that Chris is a thorn in his side, and decides to have his boys take care of him, Wisconsin style (whatever that means). After being beaten nearly to death, Chris vows to run for sheriff, in an effort to clean up the town.
I checked out a few clips from the original to compare notes with this newest one, and although the basic story is the same, with the exception of Chris being a product of an interracial black/white couple (though technically he’s Samoan and black, but hey…whatever) and his use of a 2x4 as opposed to the original character’s baseball bat, it’s bland. I know, I know…how in the hell could a movie featuring the people’s champion be bland? Because I’ve seen Steven Seagal, Charles Bronson, and even Jean Claude “why the fuck am I not working at McDonald’s” Van Damme do it in every single one of their movies, and I really pray that The Rock is not going down the same path as they are. The fight scenes aren’t really more intense than one of those syndicated action shows that have horrible weekend time slots, and the only kind of comedic relief you get is in the from of Chris’ best friend played by Johnny Knoxville, who basically gets pummeled by the various villains as he tries to help. Looks like that expertise being on Jackass has really paid off in getting you those sought after dramatic roles, Johnny boy. The movie is very…light PG-13. With subject matter such as drug use, strippers and smashing people in the face with wood, you’d think it’d be a little more hardcore, yet it’s the same thing you’d see on basic cable or even just network TV.
I can’t really say Walking Tall is a good movie, because I don’t feel a lot of work went into this one, even with The Rock giving it his all. Hopefully Spy Hunter will get him out of that slump (please lord let the movie be as tight as that concept art below), and back where he needs to be.
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0304/04/spyhunter.jpg