is that Santa Claus is a jolly old fat man, and the hero of "The Rundown" is a young, lean, muscular, lethal weapon--the exact opposite of Mr. Claus' unflattering, universally-regarded image.And in case you need an introduction to The Rock, a.k.a. Dwayne Johnson, he is a well-known wrestler, son of Rocky Johnson. He is famous for his own unique slamming move and great skills. Obviously I don't know much about wrestling, as you can plainly gather from reading my rather short and uneducated bio of the man.But regardless of any of this, here he is in this movie. The Rock is Beck, a "retrieval expert." He is hired by rich people to seek out certain things--people, objects, etc.--and return them to the payer. In the opening sequence he walks into a crowded bar filled with football megastars. After politely demanding a ring from one of the husky players, he is thrown out of the bar by fellow football team members. So Beck gets on the phone with his boss. "Do we have to do this now?" he asks. "They've really got a chance this year!"The answer, of course, is that he must do it now, and what he does is a lot of fun--he beats them up, one-by-one, bare-handed and using only his fists as weapons--evoking a sort of Jean-Claude Van Damme image. Only...better.Prior to this scene, Arnold Schwarzenegger stops Beck while he's entering the bar. He tells him to have a good time with the typical Arnie grin, then leaves. That's when we realize we're about to have a fun time, and it only gets better from there.Beck's newest assignment is to locate Travis Seann William Scott , a young man who is residing in the Amazon and is worth a lot of money to his estranged father, who wants his son back--for unspecified reasons. Beck doesn't ask questions, he just retrieves what he's told to retrieve--like a golden retriever, I suppose.After making the trip to El Dorado, a.k.a. Helldorado, Beck finds himself being pursued by Hatcher Christopher Walken , a ruthless millionaire miner who owns much of the land surrounding the area--and wants Travis for himself, so that he can tell him where an ancient artifact lies.So, on the run with Travis and being pursued by Hatcher and his men, Beck is left with few options. There's option A and option B. A is leave Travis and return home, forget his job and open up a new restaurant he's been saving up for. Option B is confront Hatcher, bring Travis back to his father, collect his reward and open his restaurant.He does, of course, choose the latter of the two options.There's a brilliant scene at the end of this movie that sent a strong chill up my spine. Travis is being shot at, calling for help, and Beck is scared to pick up weapons to defend his friend. The director Peter Berg, the former actor, raises the tension by splicing together various images at exceeding speed. And then finally they all immediately stop and we see Beck rise upwards, in typical slow motion, holding two guns in his hands. The audience is quiet and a chill is sent throughout the screening room. We all know that hell has finally been unleashed. After refusing to pick up guns throughout the movie for fear of what may happen to his enemies, Beck has turned on his morals and it's time to kick some butt. This is pure action stuff, delivered with great expertise, and its effect is startlingly powerful.All in all, I absolutely loved it.Prior to seeing "The Rundown," I wasn't sure if I wanted The Rock to be the next Arnold Schwarzenegger. After seeing "The Rundown," I must say that I don't really mind if he becomes half as good as Arnold. Granted, I somewhat doubt if he'll ever become the same box office titan. Arnold was the first of his kind in both bodybuilding and action movies. He's had a lot of pale imitators, right down to the "muscle men with accents" category. He is, to this day, unrivaled by any muscular action hero. Just like there will never be another Eastwood, there will never be another Arnold. But as far as they go, The Rock is one of his better imitators, which says something."The Rundown" is rated PG-13 but plays like a good R-rated action movie. It's very good and will not disappoint any action fans that feel that the genre has been somewhat lacking recently. After "Terminator 3" and "The Rundown," though, it looks like we may be starting to get back on track after all.As for Beck? I have a feeling he'll be back.4.5/5 stars.John Ulmer

Christopher Walken did an excellent bad guy I thought too. But overall this movie was great and I loved it so hands down I will give this movie a 10/10.

CAN YOU SSSSSMMMMEEEELLLLLL WHAT THE ROCK IS COOKIN'?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

there was a lot of action there. And I think the humor was the backup factor there too. Rosario Dawson provided a lot of quality as well. I liked the part where she gave Beck The Rock and Travis Seann William Scott some of that funky fruit. And then they had to wake up with the monkeys, with what Beck had to put up with earlier in the movie. Christopher Walken was good playing the bad "a". It was funny, when he had the .44 automatic shot out of his hand, and had to choose Option A, the hard way. This movie had a lot to give, action, adventure, and comedy. What more do you want? Rating 3 out of 5 stars!

ya two choices...option a...option b, I make you." I can't get over how funny this movie was and that it was blended well with plenty of action. The storyline moved along at a comfortable pace. I didn't find myself checking my watch or letting my mind wander.

early successes of his', he has become a movie icon and deservedly so. He just had to showcase his genuine talents in a great movie. And "The Rundown" is a great movie. It is 104 minutes of pure enjoyment, something we don't find so easily these days.What's even more remarkable about the film is that it accomplishes this without breaking any new ground. It is an old-fashioned adventure tale just brought to life with a modern style. Other films have attempted this and failed. So why does "The Rundown" succeed? Let's take a look and find out.The movie stars Johnson as Mr. Beck, a mob boss's collector who is afraid to go against an NFL offensive line because he doesn't want to hurt them and ruin their chances of winning another championship. Wanting to leave and start his own business a restaurant he gets the final assignment of tracking down his boss's renegade son Seann William Scott who is residing in Brazil. When Johnson gets there, he not only has trouble restraining the rebellious and persistent Scott, but also faces opposition from a cruel land-owner played by Christopher Walken and freedom-fighters led by Rosario Dawson, all of whom want to get their hands on a priceless artifact hidden in the jungle.Nothing new in terms of plot. And not much else new in terms of story. I think a key element that makes "The Rundown" a winner is because of its ideal casting. Sure, anybody from Sly Stallone to Gov. Schwarzenegger or even a new face could have been cast as Mr. Beck, but Johnson not only has the buff and cynical looks, but an enormous amount of on-screen charisma that we seem to be lacking in a lot of movie stars these days. Johnson not only fits the role, but he plays it extremely well. He's tough, but funny at the same time. The jokes are well-written, but he plays the notes just right. Seann William Scott is also ideally cast in his role. In the hands of a lesser actor, or somebody else, the smart-lipped character might have come across as being nothing but irritation. Scott plays the role like an early Jim Carrey role. Sort of like Ace Ventura if he were a treasure hunter. But he neither overplays nor underplays this role. He finds just the right note in between and produces a very funny and likable guy even if those around cannot agree with us. Christopher Walken has a cut-out villain to play, but he does so with such scene-stealing power that he makes a rather memorable character out of his standardized dialogue and motives. And Rosario Dawson is very well suited for her role. She is beautiful, but not smoking hot so that does not distract us. She also plays the role of a freedom fighter with conviction.Another key element to the success of "The Rundown" is how it chooses to mix both action and humor. But it never overplays one or underplays the other. The action is neither too intense nor too lackluster. By contrast, it is very imaginative such as when Johnson fights off a group of men with guns pointed at him using nothing more than the furniture around him. Like Jackie Chan with muscles. There's also great humorous touches such as Mr. Beck's option A or option B speeches. See the movie to learn what I'm mentioning her. And sometimes they blend seamlessly, such as a highlight moment which could be called the "roll down." Again, I don't want to ruin it for you, so see the movie.Peter Berg controls every scene in "The Rundown" and makes sure that it never slides out of the goodhearted, old-fashioned tradition of the movies it wants to follow. He knows how to use a camera and does things that the makers of the movies that inspired him could not do because of the technical limitations of their time. The film is continuing a well-respected tradition that unfortunately seems to have slipped out of public interest. That may be why "The Rundown" became a real success financially after its theatrical run. It's refreshing to know that somebody's trying. Maintaining what worked before, but doing it with a fresh style. This is sheer visceral fun from a competent cast and director. "The Rundown" is a modern-day American cult classic.

does have genuine talent that's usually wasted in low-brow teen sex comedies. The Rundown is a sort of Indiana Jones-lite movie. The Rock plays a bounty hunter/chef who is sent to track down Seann William Scott south of the border. Against his will The Rock ends up on a trek through the depths of the Mexican jungle looking for some ancient artefact. Unoriginal it may be but director Peter Berg keeps it moving with plenty of stunts, action and laughs. Christopher Walken's villain is a bit of a cardboard cut-out but how evil are you allowed to be in a PG-13?I look forward to the next movie starring The Rock. With talks of a third Conan movie I can only imagine him being the best choice. And keep a lookout for Arnie in the nightclub at the very beginning. 'Have fun' is his only line. And fun The Rock will certainly have as the next BIG action hero.Keep a lookout for Scottish actor Ewan Bremner a zillion times the 'star' Ewan MacGregor is in a funny role as a slob pilot.

Sean William Scott, in a refreshing departure from the "horny idiot" style of movies back from South America to the States. Beck finds Travis, but immediately runs afoul of Hatcher Christopher Walken , who owns the mining town Travis lives in and wants something valuable that Travis has been looking for in the jungle. Then there are fights, running around from evil guys, more fights, monkeys, hallucinogenic fruit, and other such entertaining things.Scott brought some well-done comic relief into the film with his quirky upbeat character. I could not stop laughing when Travis really tries to take on Beck in a contest of physical strength. It's like watching a caterpillar try and beat a Mack truck. Christopher Walken, as always, is a pleasure to watch. The man makes a perfect psychopath and I always brighten up when I see him on screen."The Rundown" is an excellent film which I would recommend to anyone who loves kinda-brainless in a good way action films. Bravo to the Rock. May he have a long and fruitful movie career.

staying power of Schwarzenegger and also respected actors who play everyday men like Tom Cruise, Matt Damon, Nic Cage and Will Smith have turned in their fair share of action movies. The Rock does seem the ideal new action man, with his only real competition from wooden pretty boy Paul Walker and the now seemingly cursed to do crap movies, Vin Diesel who in truth would be best as a baddie, like in Pitch Black. . The Rundown, while a box office disappointment has performed well on video but more importantly audiences really enjoyed it's delightfully 80's feel. It could almost be taken from Sly or Arnolds early career. It's not loaded with a hip new soundtrack, extreme sports or slick vehicles and loads of special effects merely to lure youngsters in to see it. It's modernised and stylised version of films like Commando albeit much better than that. . The simplistic, one-liner laden films I used to love. Throughout the mid to late 90's as audiences got tired of that, and a lot of seeming re-hashes and Sly and co doing movies very similar to ones they had done before, meant that producers tried to give characters to these guys with more depth, without getting someone to write it decently and of course in the case of Schwarzenegger, trying to give a 3 dimensional person to someone who can't act. Now as for Sly and Willis they have wasted a lot of their career doing action movies because it doesn't stretch them as actors. They are good actors given good roles, people forget Stallone got an Oscar nomination. The Rock is more like Arnold. He's limited in his acting chops but has a charm and likeability and a good presence and we can expect no more from him than simple roles, where his prerequisite is simply to cause carnage and emote on the odd occasion. I am glad we could see a reinvention of 80's action movies, Jackie Chan breathed new life ot the martial arts genre throughout the late 90's and the first years of this decade, but they seem to be wearing thin now so it seems some good old fashioned superhuman carnage could be on the cards, there's even the possibility of a new Die Hard, Rambo, True Lies and some new films like Spy Hunter. Even Van Damme and co in DTV land are going back to basics and not trying to test their acting, because truth be told for 99% percent of these action stars it's a test where failure is inevitable and it's not what their fans really want. The Rundown is simplistic stuff. You have a simple premise and a setting that is prepped and ready to be blown up. You have a strange mix of central characters, with The Rock and Sean William Scott. Meaning there will be plenty of fast jive talking and one liners. You have your thespian in their as the bad guy. Christopher Walken in this case and your ready, you have the basis for a good fun action movie. This is great fun. Arnold and Sly would be proud to have this on their CV. In fact it is on Arnies CV because he has a cameo at the start which is effectively him passing the torch on to the Rock. There are no twists and turns of any really note but the important thing is that it is nicely paced it has a nice glossy sheen to the cinematography. There are few hints at them aiming for a particularly young and hip-hop or Nu Metal demographic like Fast And Furious or Jet Li's films have done, thankfully. It's cool without going over the top and blowing it's wad. I like the fact this isn't made for pimply teenagers first and foremost. It's made for action lovers, it's a loving and subtle gift to young adults, 20 something's who watched the action films in the 80's and early 90's when they were undemanding, untainted fun and far form the marketed tripe we get now. The Rock is good here. He has improved so much from The Scorpion King. He has charisma he's got a natural screen presence and a charm. In fact he's more natural than Arnold with his acting, he even has more of a vulnerable side although not that much . I do think that given time the Rock will be better than his sensei. He has after all only just started. He won't however have as high a standard of movies. Let's not forget Arnold hasn't only done good action films but good films and classic movies with the first 2 Terminators. What the Rock now needs is a box office hit. He hit it big with Scorpion King but since then his movies have not been hits, Walking Tall being a flop. His next, Spy Hunter which sees him team with action maestro John Woo has got fantastic hit potential and potential to be as good as this film. Sean William Scott is also good. He does his Stifler thing again and it's good. It's almost as much to do with how the Rock plays and reacts off him that makes his role funny. Of course Christopher Walken is good and he has a trademark and hilariously intense speech about the tooth fairy that will have you in stitches. Rasario Dawson is also good.The action is great, some of the best this year I have to say. It's old fashioned carnage, not reliant on CGI. It's imaginative stuff and well thought out as well as being well edited. The Rock is a great ass-kicker. He performs most of his own stunts and has real natural ability to put on a show with his fights, thanks largely to his WWE background. Peter Berg handles the set pieces with poise.This is a highly entertaining flick, bringing back pleasant memories and is one of the best action films in years. ****