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by Willie Waffle



Walking Tall

The Rock always struck me as the type of guy who walks softly and carries a big stick (to WHOMP on some bad guys!). I just wish I could do that thing where he is battered and beaten, lying on the ground in extreme pain, then, after hearing the cheers from the crowd, flips up onto his feet to kick some booty. I tried that once. Believe me, my doctor told me I won't do it again.

The Rock stars as Chris Vaughn - a former Army Special Forces sergeant who has returned home to his small hometown after 8 years. While he has matured and become a righteous (and the ladies will say studly) man during that time, it has been 8 tragic years for the town. The mill, which used to employ most, was shut down after Vaughn's former nemesis, Jay Hamilton (Neal McDonough), inherited it, then boarded it up. He replaced the community's main source of income with a casino, which has changed the town's character by bringing crime and drugs along with it, but Chris isn't going to stand for that after he discovers cheating on the premises, and drugs being sold out the back.

Can Chris save his town from its moral decline and the evil Hamilton gang?

If it wasn't for The Rock, Walking Tall would be very run of the mill, but he saves it with his charm and magnetism. Unfortunately, director Kevin Bray and the writers (David Klass, Channing Gibson, David Levien and Brian Koppelman) fail to use this wonderful asset. At a very short 74 minutes (with the longest closing credits EVER - 12 minutes!), there is plenty of time to add some depth to the movie, but Bray favors the fighting, gunplay and explosions. He shortchanges The Rock's big, dramatic moment to win over the town with a stirring speech about how great they used to be and could be again, and doesn't develop Chris's relationship with his troubled nephew, Pete (Khleo Thomas).

Even though he is a one man wrecking crew, The Rock is fully capable of showing this other, softer side, which would make Chris a more compelling leader and inspirational figure. Also, I didn't like the extremely contrived ending that has one of the characters acting in an unbelievable and abnormal way.  However, don't feel you have to avoid Walking Tall.

For all that it is lacking, Walking Tall is a good movie full of action, a compelling story and mostly well-placed humor to lighten the mood at the right times. Bray does a good job filming the fighting scenes, so you can actually follow the action without getting dizzy. Without reason, the plot suddenly changes from a vendetta to eliminate the casino to stopping Hamilton's secret drug ring, but that won't matter much to anyone in the theater. They don't pay to see a well-written script. They pay to see The Rock kick some booty, and he does. That's good enough for me, too.

Walking Tall is rated PG-13, and lives up to it with plenty of violence and some blood. The kids will want to go, but you should dissuade the young ones.

2 ½ Waffles (Out Of 4)

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