Chris Vaughn (Dwayne Johnson, a.k.a The Rock), a war hero returns to his hometown. Home, however, isn’t the same as it used to be. The prosperous lumber mill has closed and his rich nemesis, Jay Hamilton Jr. (Neal McDonough) has opened a casino. Unfortunately the casino has now become the means of support for the town folk. With the casino, however, drugs, violence, a corrupt police force and other illegal activity have taken over the once, family-oriented hometown. One night at the casino, Vaughn is almost beaten to death by some of Hamilton’s henchmen. The last straw is when Vaughn’s young nephew, Pete (Khleo Thomas) almost overdoses on drugs supplied for by more casino henchmen. Vaughn goes on a rampage and tries to destroy the casino, with a 4 by 4.

Fast forward, Vaughn becomes the town sheriff and fires all of the corrupt officers. Yes folks, there is a new sheriff in town. The problem is that the bad guys don’t respect or really care. Unfortunately not even Vaughn’s own father, has the nerve to stand up to Hamilton, preferring to not make waves. Vaughn appoints Ray Templeton (Johnny Knoxville), an old high school buddy, as his deputy and they vow to take back the town. At what cost? His family? His new love interest?

Great movie moments:

Whether it’s comedy or action, Dwayne Johnson has a wide range of talent. In Walking Tall we get to see him effectively cover a wide range of acting skills. Besides that, he isn’t too bad to look at.

Several other characters give decent performances in their supporting roles including: Ashley Scott who plays Vaughn’s soon-to-be love interest, Kristen Wilson plays his sister Michelle.

Not-so-great movie moments:

The pace can be a little slow at times, especially for an action movie.

The really are no special effects to speak of.

Overall, Walking Tall is a good movie. There really aren’t any high speed chases, mostly gun violence and beatings with a 4x4.

My rating: 3 out 5 stars

Details:

Director: Kevin Bray
Rating: PG-13 – A lot of beatings with that 4x4. There are also many references to drugs, kids doing drugs, some language and a couple of sexual situations.
Running time: 86 minutes


You can find Walking Tall on Amazon.com

I rented this movie from the video store and have not been compensated for this review.