Review of Walking Tall (2004) by Bryant H — 16 Mar 2011

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson definitely has the goods to be a kick ass action hero, even in parody form (see The Other Guys). In 2004's Walking Tall, Johnson proved he can do action schtick and still be the heart of a movie, even if the movie can't keep up with his talents.

Walking Tall is a remake of a 1973 movie of the same name from Phil Karlson, which in turn was a movie version of the true story of Buford Pusser, a Tennessee sheriff who literally cleaned up his town by carrying a big stick.

The update puts the action in Washington state, with Johnson wielding a two-by-four, but unfortunately, actual truth gets whacked with the two-by-four. Johnson is Chris Vaughn, a U.S. Special Forces soldier just home to see gambling corrupting his town.

'Looks to me like it's full of fake boobs and real assholes' Chris says before banging up the place. Then he's elected sheriff and swears in his pal (Johnny Knoxville, funny if not misplaced) as his deputy.

Ashley Scott stars as a stripper wanting to get it one with Chris. Director Kevin Bray, previously known as a music video director directs without any of the rawness of the original. Too bad. Good thing he's got The Rock around to jazz things up.