Cop Out

Cop Out (2010) 

Directed by Kevin Smith

Written by Kevin Smith

Starring Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan, Adam Brody, Kevin Pollak, Seann William Scott

Release Date February 26th, 2010 

Let's get one thing straight, I am in fact a Kevin Smith apologist. I have loved all of Kevin's movies, yes even “Jersey Girl,” loved it. Thus, I remove any thought of objectivity from this review of “Cop Out.” I am a Kevin Smith fan and I liked “Cop Out.” While other critics seem to delight in trashing this harmless, filthy mouthed throwback to 80's buddy cop movies, I sat back and laughed uproariously.

“Cop Out” stars Bruce Willis and Tracey Morgan as detectives Jimmy Monroe and Paul Hodges. They seem like total opposites; Jimmy is laid back yet menacing while Paul is wild and outlandish. Yet, they have been partners for years with a notable reputation - good cops who tend to find trouble.

The latest trouble involves getting an informant killed and blowing a major undercover drug sting. This gets them suspended for a month. Meanwhile, Jimmy is trying to find the cash to pay for his daughter's (Michelle Trachtenberg) wedding. This subplots offer funny sidelights for Jason Lee and Sean William Scott.

The meat of the plot unfolds when Jimmy gets robbed of a valuable baseball card and he and Jimmy set out to retrieve it. Naturally, the card lands in the hands of the drug dealer who they were after in the first place and none of this is really all that interesting or important. The plot of “Cop Out” is secondary to Smith, Willis and Morgan hamming it up in homage to the great buddy cop movies of the 80's.

Kevin Smith is the perfect director for “Cop Out.” The film is both a send up of and a loving tribute to goofball buddy cop movies. Smith, being a virtual pop culture almanac, delivers on every beat of the buddy cop movies we love right down to a synth pop score that only Harold Faltermeyer could really appreciate.

Kevin Smith, Bruce Willis and Tracey Morgan dive headlong into the parody fun not with obvious, “Naked Gun” style gags but by doing exactly what an 80's buddy cop movie did but with Kevin Smith style language, filled with plenty of four letter words and references that will someday make a great drinking game.

Is “Cop Out” a great movie? No. The plot is slapdash, the subplot payoffs are meaningless and don't even start on the continuity errors. None of that however, really matters because “Cop Out” is what it sets out to be, a goofball tribute to the buddy cop movies that dominated the 1980's. Forget the “Filmmaker Magazine” critiques; this is fun stuff for an audience seeking a mindless toss back to the movies they loved in the 80's.

Movie Review The Dukes of Hazzard

Dukes of Hazzard (2005) 

Directed by Jay Chandrasekhar

Written by Gy Waldron, John O'Brien 

Starring Johnny Knoxville, Seann William Scott, Jessica Simpson 

Release Date August 5th, 2005 

Published August 5th, 2005 

Critics like myself are a pretentious lot. However when the majority of critics write a negative review of a TV remake like the Dukes of Hazzard it is not out of artistic pretension. Indeed the film in the classic critical sense is not very good. However there is something about Dukes that even this jaded and pretentious critic found very entertaining. Maybe it's nostalgia, I was a fan of the show as a kid, or maybe it's the enthusiasm of its creators and actors that comes off the screen in waves. Whatever it is, I liked Dukes of Hazzard.

Bo and Luke Duke (Johnny Knoxville and Seann William Scott) are good ol' boy cousins tearing around Hazzard County, Georgia in their bright orange '69 Charger, The General Lee. Whether they are running moonshine (do southerners still make moonshine?) for their Uncle Jesse (Willie Nelson), or defending the honor of their cousin Daisy (Jessica Simpson) in a bar fight, the Duke boys always seem to be getting in trouble.

The latest bit of trouble the boys are in once again involves their nemesis Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane (M.C Gainey) and his boss, County Commissioner, Boss Hogg (Burt Reynolds). In a plot that feels directly lifted from the TV series, Boss Hogg is stealing the land of Hazzard County farmers, including the Duke's farm, so he can strip mine for coal buried beneath it. Only the Duke boys can stop Boss Hogg by winning a dirt track car race and generally creating havoc throughout the land in the General Lee.

Director Jay Chandrasekhar (Super Troopers, Club Dread) is really not much of a director in the classic sense. He has no distinctive directorial style, no real sense of rhythm in his storytelling and, in the case of this film, leaves much of the real direction to the stunt coordinators who filmed the car chases that compose some 90 percent of the film.

That said, Chandrasekhar does have a talent for creating a good time atmosphere. For all of his lack of artistry Chandrasekhar in his previous films with his comedy team Broken Lizard created atmospheres that made obvious just how much fun both cast and crew had making the movies. That same enthusiasm radiates from Dukes of Hazzard in the joyous performances of stars Johnny Knoxville and Seann William Scott as well as the supporting cast that includes David Koechner from Anchorman and Broken Lizard member Kevin Heffernan.

Maybe the most important element of why I enjoyed Dukes of Hazzard is the nostalgia factor. Mr. Chandrasekhar's fealty to the TV show is astonishing. Where TV remakes like The Honeymooners and Bewitched ditched the source material, Dukes Of Hazzard embraces it's TV parentage with zeal. The plot is seemingly a direct lift from the show and Mr. Chandrasekhar's Hazzard County almost perfectly mimics the Hazard of memory. This won't do anything for non-fans but if you loved the show like I did as a kid you can't help but get caught up in the nostalgic vibe.

If I have one major issue with the film it is the casting of Jessica Simpson as Daisy Duke. There is an insidiousness to her casting and the way she is used in the film. Ms. Simpson seems taken advantage of, something that may just be my perception based on her well-cultivated dim bulb persona. Ms. Simpson simply cannot act-- not that a film that is ninety percent car chases requires acting-- but I really felt that she did not know what she had gotten herself into. The script and direction never ask her to perform anything close to acting, rather she is simply paraded in front of the camera in skimpy outfits as if she were there as an advertisement for a strip club rather than an actual member of the cast.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed ogling Ms. Simpson as much as anyone but the exploitation left me with a sickening feeling. Nevertheless, when Dukes of Hazzard is working its good time vibe as opposed to its exploitative one, it's a whole lot of fun. The car chases are spectacular and most of all the car itself is spectacular. Dukes of Hazzard is not a great movie, but as a nostalgic waste of a Friday night, it works.

Movie Review Role Models

Role Models (2008)

Directed by David Wain

Written by David Wain, Ken Marino, Paul Rudd

Starring Paul Rudd, Seann William Scott, Christopher Mintz Plasse, Elizabeth Banks

Release Date November 7th, 2008 

Published November 6th, 2008 

Paul Rudd had threatened to become a big star a couple of times. His work in Clueless received a great deal of positive buzz and his turn in Neil Labute's caustic drama The Shape of Things had a number of major critics talking about his dramatic chops. Rudd went a different direction. After a very funny role as Phoebe's boyfriend Mike on Friends, Rudd found his new home in comedy playing Brian Fontana in the wildly funny Anchorman.

Since then Rudd has been part of the Judd Apatow comedy repertory troupe, taking on supporting roles Knocked Up and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. And now Rudd moves into the lead of the new comedy Role Models. It's not quite the fulfillment of his leading man potential but it's a good start.

Danny (Rudd) hates everyone. He's been miserable much of his life but finding he has spent ten years at the same company, hocking horrible energy drinks to high schoolers, his misery becomes a full on meltdown of anger and desperation. He gets little help from his pal Wheeler (Seann William Scott) who only adds to Danny's stress with his constant smiling and good natured oafishness.

When Danny gets it in his head that marrying his girlfriend Beth (Elizabeth Banks) he is stunned back into his angry haze when she says no. Ticked off, depressed and high on energy drink, Danny gets kicked out of a high school assembly for praising drugs and insulting his own product. Then the company truck is being towed away so Danny jumps in and tries to run the car off the back of the tow truck.

He ends up shoving a police officer, recklessly endangering said cops life and property damage to the school when he drives his bull themed truck up onto the back of the school horse sculpture. Beth, a lawyer, manages to get the boys community service which is assigned to Sturdy Wings, a big brother style program where each will have to connect with a troubled kid.

Christopher Mintz Plasse, Superbad's charming McLovin, is Augie Fowler and Bobb'e J. Thompson is foul mouthed 10 year old Ronnie. If you think the two slacker doofuses are going to be energized and reborn through their connection to these two kids, well, you're right. Role Models is, if anything, a formula comedy. However, formula doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing.

Writer-director David Wain, best known for absurdist fare like Wet Hot American Summer and the little seen spoof The Ten, makes the formula feel fresher than you expect. Seizing on Augie's love of an elaborate role playing game, one where teens and adults dress up and play in the park with rubber swords and medieval costumes, Wain finds a twist on the formula that spurns your expectations of where you think Role Models are headed.

Keep an eye out for a nod to the Kiss Army that will have fans and non-fans rolling on the floor laughing.

Nearly stealing the whole show is a supporting performance by the sublime Jane Lynch. Playing the owner operator of this big brother program, Sturdy Wings, Lynch digs into her character's bizarre background to find big laughs. Constantly reminding whoever is listening the horrible things she did when she was a drinker and a druggie, Lynch's character takes no BS.

Her rants and Rudd and Scott's stunned, off balance reactions to them earn laughs that come in strings of unending giggles. It's fair to say that director Wain overindulges the comic wealth of Lynch's performance but it doesn't matter when it's so consistently funny.

As for Paul Rudd, his raging angry id is quite funny, especially his many pet peeves, but it's the restraint shown by Rudd and director Wain in not reveling in his anger that keeps Danny from turning into a downer. Yes, he's angry but that anger isn't his defining characteristic as it may have been in the hands of a less talented actor and director.

Role Models is a formula comedy that doesn't settle for the formula but improves on it. The final third of the film takes place during this medieval role playing game and you will be surprised by how natural and comfortable the ending in this setting is. Rudd, Scott, Plasse and Thompson work terrifically well together with Plasse delivering the heart of the film in his earnest passionate embrace of his geekiness.

Well observed with just enough big laughs to make you forget about the few issues in the plot, Role Models is worth checking out in theaters.

Movie Review Ice Age The Meltdown

Ice Age The Meltdown (2006) 

Directed by Carlos Saldanha

Written by Jim Hecht

Starring Ray Romano, Denis Leary, John Leguizamo, Josh Peck, Seann William Scott, Queen Latifah

Release Date March 31st 2006, 

Published March 30th, 2006 

When it comes to computer animation, if it's not Pixar it's not brilliant. The fact is -despite the success of Shrek, Shark Tale or Ice Age - no company creates computer animated films like Pixar. All others are merely pretenders feeding at the trough built by Steve Jobs and his company. Because of the empire Pixar created, movies like 2002's Ice Age were made and met with great success. Such success has bred a sequel to that pleasant if unmemorable prehistoric cartoon about ancient animal species coming together to become lifelong friends and learning to survive.

Ice Age: The Meltdown brings our friends Manny The Mammoth (Ray Romano), Sid the Sloth (John Leguizamo) and Diego the saber tooth tiger (Denis Leary) back together on the eve of the end of the Ice Age. While enjoying what they believe is a delicate spring warm up in their little valley, Manny and company discover the glaciers that surround their idyllic home are melting and soon the whole valley will be underwater.

They must lead their tribe of disparate creatures from their home to a mythical ark somewhere in the woods where they can float to safety on higher ground. Poor Manny is dealing with the sad fact that as far as he knows there are no other mammoths in the world. If he dies, his whole species dies with him. Manny however has a big surprise waiting for him.

As the group begins their trek they come across a couple of wiseacre possums (Sean William Scott and Josh Peck) who, while irritating the heck out of Diego, accidentally lead to the discovery of Ellie (Queen Latifah) a beautiful female mammoth with one unfortunate defect. After years of living with possums she has come to believe she is a possum. Manny must lead this new group to safety and along the way try and convince Ellie that she is actually a mammoth like him. He also must learn to come out of his gloomy shell if ever the effervescent free spirited Ellie is going to help him rebuild the mammoth species.

Ice Age 2 plays like a multi episode arc of a cartoon series including commercial breaks. However, instead of commercials we have Scrat the prehistoric squirrel who's sisyphean quest for the ever elusive acorn is by far the films strongest source of comedy. Scrat steals the entire movie with his little 2 and 3 minute segments during which he gains and loses his precious acorn. Scrat likely would not work in a film of his own but in small doses Scrat is minimalist brilliance. Film scholars and philosophers could muse for hours on Scrat's never ending quest for that acorn and the innumerable ways it eludes him.

The final grail-like quest in which Scrat nearly gains the ultimate acorn is a brilliant device that ties Scrat to the main characters. The rest of Ice Age: The Meltdown is pleasant but not all that memorable. The central story is sweet and good natured. The voice actors all do solid work. There is unfortunately nothing that sets Ice Age apart from any other product aimed at children.

The script by Peter Gaulke and Gerry Swallow is not all that clever or original. The gags with Scrat have their unique genius but only in small doses. The animation of Ice Age: The Meltdown is pretty standard stuff for the genre although I am told that animating as much water as is featured in the film was quite an impressive task in terms of the amount of work it took.

The animation pales in comparison to the elegant artistry of just about every film Pixar has ever produced. Trying to compare Ice Age 2 to anything Pixar is like comparing a velvet Elvis to the Mona Lisa. There is literally that much of a noticeable difference between what Pixar does and what everyone else in the computer animation genre is doing.

The bottom line on Ice Age: The Meltdown is that it is inoffensive and easy to watch. Exactly what parents are looking for on a Saturday afternoon with the kids. You won't find anything controversial or really all that memorable about Ice Age The Meltdown. Which is a good thing if you're looking for an electronic babysitter but not so good if, like me, you're looking to be moved intellectually or emotionally.

I recommend Ice Age: The Meltdown to the undiscerning audience. For those of you looking for true stimulation in kids entertainment go back to your Incredibles DVD or Finding Nemo or Toy Story, or.... well you get the point.

Movie Review Mr Woodcock

Mr. Woodcock (2007) 

Directed by Craig Gillespie 

Written by Michael Carnes, Josh Gilbert 

Starring Billy Bob Thornton, Seann William Scott, Susan Sarandon, Ethan Suplee, Amy Poehler, Melissa Sagemiller 

Release Date September 14th, 2007 

Published September 13th, 2007 

Billy Bob Thornton has managed the art of being a curmudgeon like no actor since the late George C. Scott. Thornton's every expression is a pained movement he is forced into by having to interact with others. This expertise in being a curmudgeon served him well as the drunken Santa Claus in Bad Santa. However, that same curmudgeon act was a bore in the 2005 remake of The Bad News Bears.

Now, Thornton brings his curmudgeon act to a new comedy called Mr. Woodcock and like Bad News Bears, the context fails to make the act funny. Rather, what we get in Mr. Woodcock is Thornton as a truly thorny character whom we never enjoy watching and who offers few moments of levity. Kind of an odd character for a comedy, don't you think?

John Farley (Seann William Scott) was traumatized as a kid by a sadistic gym teacher. That teacher was Mr. Woodcock (Billy Bob Thornton) and just over a decade since he delighted in tormenting chubby young John Farley, he's entering his life again. John, now a successful self help guru; with a popular book about letting go of painful memories, returns to his Nebraska home town to visit his mother (Susan) and to his horror, finds mom is dating Mr. Woodcock.

This sets up a confrontation between John and Mr. Woodcock that should be a hilarious battle of wills? Or, maybe a comedy of misunderstandings? No. Maybe? Hmm. How about a slapstick comedy or a gross out comedy? No. In fact, Mr. Woodcock isn't really much of a comedy at all. Don't get me wrong, I sensed an intent on the part of director Craig Gillespie for Mr. Woodcock to be a comedy, it's just not funny.

Billy Bob Thornton is believably cruel and sadistic as the evil old gym teacher. However, he is in fact so convincing and so dispiriting that he sucks the comic life right out of the movie. Woodcock is such a jerk that there is simply no joy to be taken from watching him. This leaves Seann William Scott's John to carry all of the film's humor and in this character he just can't do it, not many actors could.

Where, in the American Pie movies, and the underrated actioner The Rundown, Seann William Scott showed an energetic comic presence, in Mr. Woodcock, Scott is a wishy washy presence who we never have any respect for. Set up as some kind of Dr. Phil wannabe, Scott's John Farley is no match, at any point, for Billy Bob Thornton's Woodcock.

The only humor in Mr. Woodcock comes in the supporting performances of Ethan Suplee, as one of John Farley's former classmates, and Amy Poehler as John's alcoholic press agent. Yes, Suplee is basically doing  a small variation on his My Name Is Earl sidekick but he is nevertheless a humorous oasis in the comic desert that is Mr. Woodcock.

Ms. Poehler too is only doing a variation of characters we have seen before. What she brings to the role is a sharp energy that though not original, is at the very least funnier than anything else we have to deal with in Mr. Woodcock.

The biggest disappointment in Mr. Woodcock is also in the supporting cast. Susan Surandon plays John's mom and I was left wondering, why? This role holds nothing for Ms. Surandon to do other than be Susan Surandon. Her character has nothing funny to offer, aside from looking rather ridiculous in an oversized dress proclaiming her the Corn Queen of 1970, which admittedly made me smile, briefly.

However, this role could have been played by any number of different actresses without affecting the role in any way. Susan Surandon is far too big a star for such a throwaway role.

Mr. Woodcock is a mean-spirited, unfunny take on the same character Billy Bob Thornton has been playing since he escaped the world of the character actor. The character, to my estimation, is getting less and less funny with every outing and Mr. Thornton would do well to find himself a character who smiles once in a while or is, at the very least, not such a buzzkill.

If he must play a buzzkill there must be some way to make that funny. Mr. Woodcock never finds a way to make this buzzkill funny, he's just a jerk.

Movie Review American Wedding

American Wedding (2003) 

Directed by Jesse Dylan 

Written by Adam Herz

Starring Jason Biggs, Allyson Hannigan, Seann William Scott, January Jones, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Fred Willard, Eugene Levy

Release Date August 1st, 2003 

Published July 31st, 2003 

The first American Pie movie flew in under the radar in the summer of 1999 and with it's combination of sweetness and sickening humor charmed teenage audiences to the tune of well over 100 million dollars. The second film was not at all a surprise when it became a hit at the box office, but was surprising because it also managed to balance the sweet and sick as well as the original. Now comes American Wedding and you might think there is no way writer Adam Herz can do it for a third time but he does, a sweet sick, funny movie that while not as consistently funny as it's predecessors is still a disgusting, funny movie with a good heart.

Wedding finds our hero Jim Levenstein (Jason Biggs) just out of college and preparing to ask his girlfriend Michele to marry him. However in typical American Pie fashion things go horribly awry in Jim's restaurant proposal. Jim's penchant for very public humiliation finds him with his pants down, Michele under the table and his Dad (Eugene Levy) accidentally popping the question for him. Despite it all Michele agrees to marry him and were off.

Back for the sequel are Jim's friends Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas) and Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas). There job in the wedding will be to make sure their nemesis Steve Stifler (Seann William Scott) is kept as far away as possible. They fail that mission miserably and it's not long before the Stifmeister has worked his way into the wedding party and into the good graces of Michele's virginal sister Cadence (January Jones).

The amazing thing about this film series is this endlessly appealing cast. It's one of the great quirks of filmmaking that the producers of the American Pie films have lucked into one of the best casts ever. Each cast member is so likable that no matter how outrageous or stupid their exploits become we in the audience will forgive them anything. Jason Biggs is especially appealing as Jim. From the beginning Jim's haplessness has earned our sympathy, his every humiliation bringing him closer to the audience. Our embarrassment for Jim makes us cheer for him ever more to succeed in the end and Biggs is perfectly cast.

Thomas and Nicholas are somewhat shortshrifted in American Wedding, the plot doesn't leave them much to do other than observe, especially Nicholas who disappears numerous times throughout the film. Alyson Hannigan's role also seems slightly underwritten but in her scenes she like the rest of the cast is endlessly sympathetic and lovable.

Where the first two American Pie films could be considered ensemble works American Wedding is clearly lead by Biggs and Sean William Scott's iconic Stifler. The raging ID Stifler is in full on personality overload. Scott mugs and preens like Jim Carrey on crack. Stifler hasn't aged one day past junior high school and his hijinks are the films high and low points. If you thought Stifler beer and semen cocktail from the first film was bad, or his urine bath in number two, just wait til you see his homage to John Waters in American Wedding.

Missing from this sequel are Mena Suvari, Chris Klein, Natasha Lyonne, Shannon Elizabeth and Tara Reid and that their MIA status isn't even eluded to is one of the films few major problems for those of us who have invested in this franchise. That said the remaining cast is strong enough to carry on without them and they are helped out greatly by newcomer January Jones who helps to fill in the babe gap left by Reid and the rest.

The films staging and logic isn't as strong as the first two films. There are times when the film feels like less than a narrative or more like a series of sit comic sketches. That said, the key to American Wedding are these beloved characters and whatever the film lacks in cohesiveness is easily forgiven for the chance to hang out with these funny and memorable characters that some of us have grown up alongside during the American Pie franchise. 

Sometimes, a little goodwill goes A LONG WAY. 

Movie Review: Bulletproof Monk

Bulletproof Monk (2003) 

Directed by Paul Hunter 

Written by Ethan Reiff, Cyrus Voris 

Starring Chow Yun Fat, Seann William Scott, Jamie King, Karel Roden 

Release Date April 16th, 2003 

Published April 15th, 2003 

The question has been asked since Chow Yun Fat made his American leading man debut in Replacement Killers: Can the Orient's top gunslinging action star translate his popularity to American audiences? With the $100 million dollar success of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, you might think the question has been answered. But in reality it hasn't. Crouching Tiger was a departure for Chow Yun Fat, a familiar Asian face that made Crouching Tiger's mystical nature more palatable to American audiences who normally shun movies with subtitles. The real test for Chow Yun Fat's star power comes with his return to action leading man in Bulletproof Monk.

In Monk, Chow Yun Fat is the nameless protector of ancient scroll that if read aloud would give ultimate power to the reader to remake the world for good or evil. In 1943 our nameless hero gave up his name to become the protector of the scroll. He is immediately attacked by Nazi soldiers whose leader, Strucker (Karl Roden), is familiar with the scrolls. After fighting off the Nazis and making a daring jump off a tall mountain, it's off on a 60-year journey to protect humanity.

There is, of course, a catch to being the protector of the scroll. After 60 years you must turn the scroll over to a new protector. So now in New York 60 years later, the man with no name must seek out the scroll’s new protector while dodging the Nazis who have been tracking him the whole time. While running through the New York subway system attempting to evade Nazi captors, our hero meets a young pickpocket named Kar (Sean William Scott) who helps him save a little girl who has fallen on the subway tracks. 

Kar happened to be running from the police at the time. The two escape into the subway tunnels before either one can be captured. Our hero is impressed with Kar's selflessness in helping him, while Kar simply finds our hero to be strange and takes the opportunity to lift what he thinks is his wallet before leaving him in the tunnel.

Of course our hero is no dummy, he tracks Kar to a subway tunnel where Kar has accidentally wandered into the lair of a criminal gang lead by a man called Mr. Funktastic. No I didn't make that up though I wish I had. A fight ensues as our hero simply watches as Kar fights the gang including a girl named Jade (Jaime King) who is oddly attracted to him. Kar holds his own and escapes when Jade convinces the gang to let him go. What Kar doesn't yet know is that the fight holds special significance to our nameless hero who is convinced it's part of a prophecy and that Kar may be his replacement.

This sets up the film’s formula action, which is somewhat predictable. However what isn't predictable is the effective chemistry of Chow and Scott and the goofy energy that both bring to their cheesy dialogue. Thankfully, dialogue is kept to a minimum. Bulletproof Monk director Paul Hunter shows a strong control over what he's doing in his first feature, keeping the action pace up and playing to the film’s strength.

The action isn't anything you haven't seen before, there is plenty of Matrix style effects. What makes the action in Bulletproof Monk work is the energy and liveliness the stars bring to it. As they go through the obligatory teacher-student training session, both stars use their charisma and energy to make a very typical scene fun.

Chow Yun Fat has been accused of sleepwalking through his first few American films and he's not exactly ebullient here. Still, there is a little glint in his eye and a sly smile that he employs to great effect. He looks like he's having a lot of fun, especially in scene where he spars with Scott while eating a bowl of Cocoa Puffs. You can see he's very pleased with himself throughout the scene and it's really very funny.

The film has its troubles, such as the lame villains who are something from an 80's action movie. Former model Jaime King needs a little more work, as it is she seems to have a future in roles like this but not much more. The real disappointment comes from the character Mr. Funktastic, who is greatly underused. Why introduce a character with such a memorable moniker and then not use him?

I was really surprised how much I laughed during this film and very surprised that most of the laughs were intentional. By that I mean that's what the film was going for. So many modern action films are out of touch with the ridiculousness of their plots, but Bulletproof Monk knows it's goofy and plays to it.

Movie Review: The Rundown

The Rundown (2003) 

Directed by Peter Berg 

Written by R.J Stewart, James Vanderbilt 

Starring Dwayne The Rock Johnson, Seann William Scott, Christopher Walken, Rosario Dawson

Release Date September 26th, 2003 

Published September 25th, 2003 

After The Scorpion King made Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson a viable action superstar, many were quick to anoint him as the heir apparent to the Schwarzenegger-Stallone action star crown. The Rock need only prove himself in a film that wasn't connected to a previously successful vehicle (Scorpion King being a continuation of a character from The Mummy franchise).That proof of The Rock's star-power comes with his star turn in The Rundown, an action comedy that pairs the Rock's muscles with the motor mouth comedy of Seann William Scott for a fun action spectacle.

In The Rundown The Rock takes on the role of Beck, a henchman for some kind of mob figure. After failing to retrieve a debt for his boss, Beck is given the option of one more job. This job that will get Beck the money he needs to get out of the thug business and into his dream gig, owning a restaurant. However, this not your everyday gig for a thug. Instead, this job involves going into the dangerous jungles of Brazil to capture the mobster’s erstwhile son and return him to Los Angeles. 

On the surface, that might sounds simple enough but when Beck gets to the city of El Dorado, or as the locals have dubbed it, Helldorado, it's hot, it's dangerous and it's run by a whacked-out nut job played by Christopher Walken. Beck is quick to find the kid, Travis (Seann William Scott), but Walken's weirdo dictator and his wacky henchmen have plans of their own for Travis. Seems the kid has happened upon the whereabouts of a valuable artifact that could be worth millions.

Walken isn't the only one with designs on Travis either. Jungle rebels lead by the lovely Marianna (Rosario Dawson) also want to get their hands on the artifact so that they can get their people out from under Walken's tyrannous reign. This leaves Beck stuck in the middle of all of the fighting between Walken's thugs, the rebel’s, and in one scene some various amorous monkeys. And Beck is also fighting with Travis who's motor mouth is far more brutal than his fighting.

The Rundown is predictable, certainly not high minded or idealistic. What the movie does have going for it however, is some fun action scenes, some truly brutal looking stunt work, and a strong enough amount of wit provided by The Rock's put upon performance. Johnson's incredulous reactions to the numerous indignities visited upon his character is the film’s strongest source of comedy. That and it's physical humor which has the Rock hanging upside down, fighting monkeys and getting beat up by a group of Brazilian Little People. 

The films stunt work does press the boundaries of believability, such as an early scene where Rock and Scott roll down a hill and take a brutal amount of punishment. It's nothing a little suspension of disbelief can't get you past but it does feel a bit excessive. As directed by Peter Berg, The Rundown combines the kind of 80's style action movie where no one runs out of bullets with the 90's style action movie where you shoot and pause for an ironic aside before shooting again. It's clichéd but the actors make it tolerable with fun, witty, and knowing performances.

And then, Christopher Walken delivers yet another of his iconic weirdo performances. Be sure to watch out for a particularly peculiar rant from Walken's would be dictator about the tooth fairy. It's a bizarrely long monologue that is delivered in a way that only Christopher Walken could deliver it. Walken gives this monologue with his entire being, his fully physicality embodies this moment. It's completely outside of the movie and stops the whole story dead in its tracks but, it's worth it because Walken is incredibly entertaining. 

Even with a show stealer like Christopher Walken however, The Rundown belongs to The Rock, who I realize wants to be known as Dwayne Johnson but as a wrestling fan he will always be The Rock to me. Top lining his first stand-alone action vehicle, The Rock oozes the kind of star quality that you just can't teach. It's a great star making performance in a film that I hope will make him a star for good. The action genre needs The Rock's cool and charisma to carry it over clichéd plots and endless violence of stock action movies like The Ruindown.