Review of Walking Tall (2004) by Simon W — 26 Mar 2009

"I grew up in this town, people used to walk tall in this town, they wouldn't have traded the mill for a crooked casino and they wouldn't have stood around while drugs were being sold to kids." - Chris Vaughn.

Walking Tall is Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's fourth foray into major motion pictures, and different turn then his previous three trips to the box office. The movie is an enjoyable action movie with good a plot, decent characters and acting, and some hard-hitting action sequences. It is Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's movie first and foremost, and his natural charisma and personality are what carries the movie at its core. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson plays Chris Vaughn and delivers as well as can be expected, after four movies he is definitely looking more in his element. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson is supported wonderfully by the surprising Johnny Knoxville who turns in a wonderfully solid and funny performance as Ray. Neal McDonough plays the main villain of the picture and although he doesn't have much to work with outside of being just "the bad guy", he handles it well, and is matched well against Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. This movie is decidedly heavier then Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's previous outings, dealing with more significant topics like prostitution and drugs, which gives it a more serious edge. The action scenes are solid and are a firm connection to the plot. The fight scenes are more traditional realistic looking fights. But Walking Tall was a little bit thin. First and foremost, it ran at a meagre 85 minutes, which was simply not enough time for a movie like this. Although all the necessary plot points were properly established, I felt the movie needed another 20 minutes or so to breath. Everything progresses logically, just much too quickly to build the level of suspense and anticipation I think the movie was capable of. As a result, leading up to the climax of the movie, it almost feels like a race to the finish. More character development and background was definitely warranted, as well as greater explanation on certain plot points.