Now, before we get started, let me give you some info. As you may or may not know, I am a wrestling fan. I think Dwayne Johnson, or The Rock, is one of the most talented indiviuals on the mike. Maybe not in the ring, but on the mike he's hard to beat. Of all the wrestlers active today, he probably does have the best hope in Hollywood. And someone, namely Vince McMahon, saw that. He did some television, namely That 70's Show and Star Trek Voyager, then moved on to movies. Now, I hated The Mummy Returns, his first foray into movies. The follow-up, The Scorpion King was probably the best pure action film of 2002. So, it turns out he's got potential.
This brings us to The Rundown, who's original title was Helldorado, and my expectations were.....not that high. Really, how good could a movie be starring a wrestler, Stifler, and Rosario Dawson (I hate her)? Well, it was all right. It follows the adventures of a bounty hunter named Beck, and his last job is to track down his boss's son in Brazil. Well, things go horribly wrong when the master of the village Eldorado, a perfectly over-the-top Christopher Walken, decides Travis, the prey, is too important to let Beck, the Rock, take him. Hilarity ensues when we learn the local bartender, Dawson (I hate her), is leader of the freedom fighters against Walken.
Travis is after an artifact that will bring in enough money to free the indiginous people. They find the artifact, and Walken gets it after kidnapping Dawson (I hate her). This leads to Beck, who apparantly has a concience, to take on Walken and save the day. He succeeds.
The movie was actually pretty enjoyable, albeit slightly overdone. But what movie in Hollywood isn't a little overdone. It has some excellent comedy, thanks to the odd pairing of Sean William Scott and The Rock. And the best part is Cristopher Walken. He relishes this role and it shows. So over-the-top, and he does it so well. It was an absolute pleasure to watch him. The best heavy in the business.
The action was a little on the fakey side, and there are some obvious wire stunts. But The Rock pulls it off, and pulls it off with gusto. The only part I really hated was Rosario Dawson (I hate her), mostly because I hate her. I hated her in Josie and the Pussycats, I hated her in Men In Black II. She's just bad news. Period. But, I'll overlook her for the good of the movie. And having Christopher Walken in this more than makes up for it.
Anyway, I'm giving this one an 8 of 10. Go see it if you want a good distracting action flick.