The Rundown



This afternoon, I sneaked into a theatre where i knew no one would recognze me, and engaged in the guilty pleasure of a silly action movie. I got what I expected--a movie aimed at 13 year olds that seemed to be written by one, too. regardless, I enjoyed myself--akin to a pig rolling in mud, one assumes.



The WWe wrestling star, the Rock, plays Beck, a bounty hunter who really just wants out of the business to start his own restaurant. He's a gourme, you see. Beck agrees to go on one last score--retrieve his boss' son (Travis) from a Brazilian jungle where he is searching for a priceless artifact. Travis has cut a deal with the movie's bad guy mine owner to split the value of whatever he finds. Rosario Dawson is a rebel leader who also wants the artifact, because it's sale price will help free her people who are enslaved in the mines.



Got all that?



Don't worry if you didn't, because at no point in this comic booky thriller does anyone other than Dawson take thing seriously. This was slam bang, "how in the world are they not now crippled" action from start to finish. It doesn't tread any new ground, but I can see how the Rock is becoming a box office draw. He's great in this film. Now, i'm no fan of wrestling, so I have no idea how this character relates with his wrestling persona, but i am assuming he's a lot edgier than Beck. That makes this character all the more enjoyable.



The stunt work was done in the exaggerated Matrix style, addin to the enjoyable cartoon feel. This was a pretty neat way to kill a Saturday afternoon.