Approximately one hour after seeing Walking Tall, your head will
spin. As a college student, you are educated enough to be astounded
that this rural revenge film, starring a bi-racial lead character,
contains not a single racial epithet–even from the bad guys. You
will probably wonder where half the characters introduced in the
film disappear to, once fists start flying and people start
dying.

You will criticize the simplistic attempts at social commentary
about moral decay in United States. But then you will remember that
this is an action film, and that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson looks
darn good kicking butt on the silver screen.

Deeply entrenched in ’70s “hixplotation” culture, Walking Tall
is a remake of a film loosely based on the life of renegade
sheriff, Buford Pusser. Obviously, The Rock doesn’t look like a
“Buford,” so the role has been adapted into Chris Vaughn, a United
States Special Forces veteran.

Chris returns to his childhood home from an eight-year stint in
the military, with the simple aspiration to work alongside his
father at the local lumber mill. Alas, the town has fallen on hard
times because Jay Hamilton (Neil McDonough) closed his father’s
mill to open a seedy casino. Chris discovers the casino uses loaded
dice, and is nearly killed by security in the ensuing bar
fight.

After a quick recovery, Chris’ teenage nephew overdoses on
crystal meth supplied by none other than the kindhearted folks at
the casino. Realizing that Jay owns the police force, Chris decides
to take the law into his own hands.

Despite a paint-by-numbers plot and haphazard editing, Walking
Tall is a delightful throwback to the steroid-fueled action romps
of the ’80s. The Rock wields an exceptional stage presence,
combining elements of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s larger-than-life
persona with Bruce Willis’ “average Joe” likeability.

Jackass star Johnny Knoxville provides the comic relief as
Chris’ best friend Ray. Knoxville and The Rock complement each
other perfectly; their interactions are comparable to Tom Arnold’s
classic work with Schwarzenegger in True Lies. With a brisk running
time of 75 minutes, one can only wish there was more of the
Rock-Knoxville dynamic.

Walking Tall is a fun actioner worth the price of admission.
Those expecting anything other than a medium-budget, low-risk film
designed to pad The Rock’s r�sum� will be sorely
disappointed. The Rock has yet to find his Terminator, the role
that establishes him as a major player in the Hollywood landscape.
But, as with 2003’s The Rundown, The Rock shows that he is capable
of making lemonade from lemons.

The oven may be on pre-heat for now, but Dwayne Johnson is one
blockbuster away from having the entire world smell what he’s
cookin’.