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The Rundown
Review by Jane Robertson (Jane's bio)
Directed by Peter Berg
Story by R. J. Stewart
Screenplay by R. J. Stewart and James Vanderbilt
The Rock . . . Beck
Seann William Scott . . . Travis
Rosario Dawson . . . Mariana
Christopher Walken . . . Hatcher
MPAA: Rated PG for adventure violence and some crude dialogue.
By now you may have heard that The Rundown is a cut above your typical action movie. Believe it. There's the required number of explosions, plus the minimum allowable violence, though thankfully not much actual gore. There are chases, treasures being sought, and unlikely heroic exploits. But there are also some real compassion, some true courage—meaning that it's coupled with fear and sacrifice—some enjoyable plot elements, and, yes, some genuine acting.
That last may be hardest to believe. After all, The Rock is better known for his wrestling moves and his physique than he is for his facial expressions and his sensitivity, even with some major flicks on his resume (The Mummy Returns, The Scorpion King). Still, he does a more than adequate job here as a bounty hunter wanting out. As for Seann William Scott—there's hardly a way to heap too much praise on the scruffy head of this promising talent. As we were starting to see in Bulletproof Monk, Scott has left his American Pie days far behind. His quirky face and unconquerable energy dominate the screen, even against his granite costar. Not even the ever-new icon Christopher Walken (Catch Me If You Can, America's Sweethearts) can face down Scott.
If you see The Rundown, you'll be transported to a jungle where Travis (Scott) has managed to hide from his less-than-loving father. Beck (Rock) has the unpleasant task of hauling Travis home, after which he means to start a different life. What lurks in this particular jungle is a demented mine-owner named Hatcher (Walken), who holds much of the native populace as slaves. Mariana (Rosario Dawson, Men in Black II) is a leader of the secret rebellion against Hatcher. Everyone, for his or her own reasons—some justifiable and some not—is pursuing a priceless artifact, location unknown. That, of course, makes for a few unlikely allies and more than a few unsought enemies. Will Hatcher prevail? Will Travis prove himself the rat his father believes him to be? Will The Rock attain his dream?
The originator of this sometimes funny, sometimes scary story is R. J. Stewart, who started out with “Remington Steele” and came on strong as writer and producer of “Xena: Warrior Princess.” He co-wrote the screenplay for The Rundown with James Vanderbilt, who was responsible for Basic and little else so far. Peter Berg has far more credits as a medium-grade actor (Corky Romano, Dr. Billy Kronk on “Chicago Hope”) than as the man in charge, but here, sitting in the director's chair, he stands tall.
There are some obvious limits to who will like The Rundown. First and last, it's an action movie, definitely not for those who can't tolerate that genre. A few words are spoken that not everyone wants to hear, and a lot of people get either beaten up or slaughtered, though not necessarily before our eyes. As mentioned, the film is amazingly lacking in fake blood, and it does make a moral point or two. The best reason to see it, though, is the actors. Neither The Rock nor Seann William Scott is exactly a legendary master of his craft, but at least one of them is going to be.
Copyright 2003, Jane Robertson. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.
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About Jane Robertson: Jane contributed to Chicken Soup for the Soul Celebrates Mothers, the Dawkins Project's CeLEBRATIONS: Notes to My Grandfather, and Kimberly Ripley's next Breath Deeply collection, all forthcoming. An editor for the nature magazine Snowy Egret, Jane wrote about a Scottish immigrant in Hope Was Worth the Risk, published in 1995.
E-mail Jane |
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