Was able to catch the sneak of
Walking Tall. I should say up front that I was aware of the original and a bit of the source story, but was mostly walking through clean. I can't comment on how it compares.
It has been some time since we had a vigilante movie, of which I think I would consider this. It is a pretty fun movie, and the audience I was with seemed to get into it.
For those that don't know, the story focuses on a man, fresh from a few terms of special forces military service, comes back to his blue-collar town to find its descent into vice and villainy. Taking the reins with a wooden beam, he becomes sheriff and beats some justice into the town. That's about it, but they have some fun getting there. The symbol of the towns destruction is the crooked casino run by Neal McDonough and his unworldly Meg Foster eyes.
Rock is a good choice for this, as he has the charisma needed to keep the very sparse story from showing through. Johnny Knoxville finally has a role that he seemed well suited for (at least better than MIB2 or Big Trouble), and brings in a sizeable amount of laughs as Rock's sidekick. Knoxville has one of the longest and funniest battles I've seen in a long time.
The fights are hard hitting, but fun to watch. It veers into a bit more viciousness than I expected at one point, but generally keeps things at a PG-13 level, keeping it fun.
The biggest problem is that the film is so short. It is over almost before it gets any steam on the vigilantism angle. The conclusion is staged so very badly and requires such a degree of psychic ability and patience on the part of one character that it is laughable. It really plays like the screenwriter didn't want to write anymore.
Still, ending and running time notwithstanding, it was a fun time to be had. I'd say it was about a
(out of four) (almost making it to three).
