Walking Tall

What a disaster of a movie. I had wanted to like it (based on a true story; The Rock was looking good), but it’s no more than a vigilante film.

 

I have not wanted to bolt from a movie theater in a long time, but the violence was so over the top and senseless, I could hardly stay to the end (so I could inform you that you don’t need to even wait for the video on this.)

 

Chris (The Rock) returns home after eight years in Special Forces. The mill is closed and a casino is open – which is involved in all kinds of vice activities. The cops are crooked and the mill hides a meth lab. Chris notices the dice are loaded and when he calls the dealer on it, a fight breaks out. The security guards brutalize Chris… and he ends up going to trial for messing the place up and wins. He runs for sheriff and wins. You get the picture. And his weapon of choice is a 2X4.

 

He has a monster truck… trucks and sleek cars, the extensions of man. Chris emasculates his opponents by destroying their truck; and they try to do the same to him when they blow up his truck.

 

What a disappointment. Could have developed all kinds of themes in an intelligent way… inter-racial marriage, the economic-political dynamic of rural towns. But no. Violence is so much more dramatic. Too bad its not smart.