Not very good. Review on The Rundown Movie

So far, movies starring The Rock have been abysmal (think the Scorpion King) so I have avoided any other films with The Rock in it. But my friends and I were bored yesterday and decided to rent ''The Rundown'' out, mostly because Christopher Walken was in it. Here are my thoughts and the story line.

The Rundown is about Beck (The Rock) a expert ''retriever'' (of objects, not golden) who owes some rich criminal guy Walker (played by William Lucking) big for some past transgression Beck had committed. Walker tells Beck that he has one more job for him, and if Beck is successful, Walker will give Beck enough money for Beck to start his dream...owning a restaurant and Beck can retire from ''retrieving''. The retrievee? Walker's son Travis (played by Sean William Scott). Beck is really good at what he does (as the films first 15 minutes shows) so down to Brazil he goes to find Travis and bring him back.

Travis is pretty easy to find, but Beck has to seek out the boss of this part of the jungle, Hatcher ((I guess nobody believes in first names in this film) who is played by Christopher Walken) to ask permission to conduct operations there. Hatcher double crosses Beck and lots of fighting ensues, along the way there is a idol to be found but really nobody cares. This is a beat-em up action movie, no doubt about it.

The Acting

The Rock is growing as a actor there is no doubt about it, he still is not a good actor but he doesn' t stink anymore like he used to. He did a lot of his own stunts, so that was a plus. He really was handcuffed, like all of the cast was by bad dialog. Sean William Scott was ok, Christopher Walken was disappointing, he is not as off-beat as he usually is, but again that may be a script issue. Everyone else was O.K, except for the airplane driver, he was supposed to be Irish, but it was the absolutely worst accent I have ever heard it sounded like he had a can of dog food stuck in his throat.

The Story

The Rundown was missing a ton of plot points. We never find out why Beck owed Walker favors, or what bad thing Beck did, We never find out why Beck is so good at his job, or why he dislikes guns, we never find out why Walker wants Travis retrieved, or what kind of criminal Walker is, I found that very disappointing, You dont need much, just a extra line here or there would explain all of those things. Also, there were some really weird things in this film. They made me laugh, But they were so off the wall, and had nothing to do with the story. One example of this is near the end, the Irish guy is blowing on bagpipes and yelling stuff, which since he has such a bad accent we cannot tell what he is saying, and that goes on for a full minute...Surreal!

The Action

I do enjoy action movies, and the Rundown has lots of action, they are well done, if not very believable, (At one point Travis and Beck fall down a 2000 ft side of a mountain, and get up and brush themselves off) At least those scenes were entertaining.

Wrapup:

This movie was barely worth the rental. It was short, had no story or plot, and Christopher Walken did not say enough So As Beck says ''I'll give you two options''

Option A You listen to my advice and pass on this film

Option B You watch the film anyway

You wont like option B.