U.S. Release Date: September 26, 2003
Distributor: Universal
Director: Peter Berg
Writer: James Vanderbilt
Composer: Harry Gregson-Williams
Cast: The Rock, Christopher Walken
Running Time: 1 hour and 44 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for adventure violence and some crude dialogue)
Review:
Here's the lowdown on The Rundown. It's probably the best action movie of the year and shouldn't be missed by any moviegoer. The flick also marks The Rock's graduation to bona fide action hero.
The Rock plays Beck, a "retrieval" expert, who works for West Coast loan shark Walker (veteran character actor William Lucking). Beck owes Walker an unspecified debt and wants to wipe the slate clean so he can leave the violent world of "retrieving" and open a French bistro. Walker agrees to square the debt if Beck goes down to South America to retrieve his son Travis (Seann William Scott). Beck agrees, finds Travis fairly quickly, but crosses local goldmine owner and all around bad guy Hatcher (Christopher Walken at his maniacal best). What follows is a chase across the Amazon with Beck and Travis being joined by the feisty rebel leader Mariana (Rosario Dawson) to retrieve a priceless artifact that will help liberate the local population.
The Rundown is not a particularly original concept, incorporating elements from other movies like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, 48 Hours and Romancing the Stone, but screenwriters James Vanderbilt and R. J. Stewart don't allow the story to get bogged down in its antecedents. Instead they breathe new life into the genre by offering a breezy, fun story that has just the right measure of plot and action. Hopefully, Vanderbilt and Stewart will start giving seminars to some of their writing colleagues in the biz.
The action sequences themselves are worth the price of admission, particularly the two set piece fight scenes at the beginning of the picture and about halfway through. The end sequence is over the top, but cleverly executed and ties together all of the elements that are introduced early on.
Director Peter Berg also deserves special credit for keeping The Rundown moving, and the running time at less than two hours. This is a big budget flick that also feels spare and lean—almost unheard of in today's action market. His style is frenetic, but also extremely visual. For instance, before Beck beats up a pro-football offensive line at the beginning of the picture, he runs down who each man is, which is punctuated visually with quick highlight films from their careers and their stats. Again, Berg, like his writers, is not a visionary in the sense that he's doing anything new, but his execution is so flawless that it is refreshing.
But the real breath of fresh air is The Rock. Here is an action actor who can act (though it's doubtful he'll be doing Shakespeare anytime soon). His Beck is intelligent, confident, tough, honorable and funny—in other words a fully realized human being instead of some automaton who shoots and punches his way through two hours of incomprehensibility. If this doesn't put the pro-wrestler on Hollywood's A list, nothing will.
Scott does his typical annoying but lovable routine, and has a nice chemistry with his hulking co-star. Dawson is likewise very good in her role as the rebel leader. Walken is a force in his own right, and his final rambling speech, which references both Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is a treat. Also be on the lookout for Arnold Schwarzenegger early on as he metaphorically passes the action genre baton to the nascent star.
There are a few minor flaws in the script, but they're not really worth mentioning. Bottom line, The Rundown is probably the best time to be had at the movies this season. C.A. Wolski
The Rock plays Beck, a "retrieval" expert, who works for West Coast loan shark Walker (veteran character actor William Lucking). Beck owes Walker an unspecified debt and wants to wipe the slate clean so he can leave the violent world of "retrieving" and open a French bistro. Walker agrees to square the debt if Beck goes down to South America to retrieve his son Travis (Seann William Scott). Beck agrees, finds Travis fairly quickly, but crosses local goldmine owner and all around bad guy Hatcher (Christopher Walken at his maniacal best). What follows is a chase across the Amazon with Beck and Travis being joined by the feisty rebel leader Mariana (Rosario Dawson) to retrieve a priceless artifact that will help liberate the local population.
The Rundown is not a particularly original concept, incorporating elements from other movies like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, 48 Hours and Romancing the Stone, but screenwriters James Vanderbilt and R. J. Stewart don't allow the story to get bogged down in its antecedents. Instead they breathe new life into the genre by offering a breezy, fun story that has just the right measure of plot and action. Hopefully, Vanderbilt and Stewart will start giving seminars to some of their writing colleagues in the biz.
The action sequences themselves are worth the price of admission, particularly the two set piece fight scenes at the beginning of the picture and about halfway through. The end sequence is over the top, but cleverly executed and ties together all of the elements that are introduced early on.
Director Peter Berg also deserves special credit for keeping The Rundown moving, and the running time at less than two hours. This is a big budget flick that also feels spare and lean—almost unheard of in today's action market. His style is frenetic, but also extremely visual. For instance, before Beck beats up a pro-football offensive line at the beginning of the picture, he runs down who each man is, which is punctuated visually with quick highlight films from their careers and their stats. Again, Berg, like his writers, is not a visionary in the sense that he's doing anything new, but his execution is so flawless that it is refreshing.
But the real breath of fresh air is The Rock. Here is an action actor who can act (though it's doubtful he'll be doing Shakespeare anytime soon). His Beck is intelligent, confident, tough, honorable and funny—in other words a fully realized human being instead of some automaton who shoots and punches his way through two hours of incomprehensibility. If this doesn't put the pro-wrestler on Hollywood's A list, nothing will.
Scott does his typical annoying but lovable routine, and has a nice chemistry with his hulking co-star. Dawson is likewise very good in her role as the rebel leader. Walken is a force in his own right, and his final rambling speech, which references both Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is a treat. Also be on the lookout for Arnold Schwarzenegger early on as he metaphorically passes the action genre baton to the nascent star.
There are a few minor flaws in the script, but they're not really worth mentioning. Bottom line, The Rundown is probably the best time to be had at the movies this season. C.A. Wolski
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