Movie Review

The Rundown

In life it is often good to have a career that combines your talents and interests, as there can be nothing more frustrating than not being able to utilize your talents to their full extent.

For Beck (The Rock), his talent for finding people who do not want to be found has made him a very in-demand individual, albeit reluctantly. Beck longs to get out of the business and start his own restaurant, but a poor decision from his past has caused him to work for until his debt is repaid.
Hope arrives for Beck when he is sent to South America to retrieve his son, Travis (Sean William Scott), who has caused issues for his father and must return to make amends. Beck is promised $250,000 and a complete erasure of his debt upon completion of the assignment.

With the chance to at last open his restaurant in sight, Beck arrives in El Dorado and locates a mining town that is run with an iron fist by a man named Hatcher (Christopher Walken), and his army of goons. Beck is allowed to take Travis home for a fee, but things do not go as planned, as Beck and Travis seem find themselves at odds with Hatcher and running for their lives into the dense jungles.

What follows are some humorous segments as Beck and Travis verbally and physically spar with one another, along with rebels and over amorous monkeys as the two attempt to avoid Hatcher and reach the airfield. What makes "The Rundown" work is the solid chemistry between The Rock and Scott, who seem to have had a great time making the film. The action in the film is fun and blends in well with the humor without being forced. Walken is good as the comedic yet evil Hatcher, and gets the majority of the films best lines.

Yes, the story is not that deep, but director Peter Berg keeps things moving at a steady pace and makes "The Rundown" a pleasant surprise and should establish The Rock firmly as an action star to contend with.

Gareth's Grade: B

A	6.0%
B	44.0%
C	40.0%
D	10.0%
F	0.0%