Walking Tall

Based on the eponymous 1973 film, Walking Tall follows The Rock’s Chris Vaughn as he arrives home after an eight-year military stint and quickly discovers that his community has changed dramatically since he’s been gone – with the presence of a sleek new casino bringing with it drugs, corruption, and a general atmosphere of lawlessness. It’s a familiar yet promising setup that is, for the most part, employed to perfectly watchable effect by director Kevin Bray, with The Rock’s charismatic turn certainly going a long way towards immediately luring the viewer into the proceedings. The pronounced lack of subtlety within the narrative (eg the villains are almost comically evil) is admittedly not as problematic as one might’ve assumed, as it does become more and more difficult not to root for the central character’s righteous cause. It’s also worth noting that Bray, for the most part, does a nice job with the movie’s action sequences (eg Chris attacks a variety of thugs with a big hunk of wood), with the effectiveness of such moments heightened by the presence of naturally sinister performers as Neal McDonough, Kevin Durand, and Michael Bowen. (Having said that, the film’s PG-13 rating ensures that there’s an absence of violence here that often borders on the ridiculous – with the bloodless vibe obscuring the death of at least one major character.) And although it runs a slim 85 minutes (73 without credits!), Walking Tall suffers from a few demonstrable lulls that are compounded by a decidedly underwhelming climax (ie Bray overuses handheld cinematography to a rather disheartening extent) – which ultimately cements the movie’s place as a passable yet forgettable action extravaganza.

**1/2 out of ****