Hardhitting stuff from The Rock!

Suddenly, you feel the summers are back; this time with a better popcorn movie, namely The Rundown. After a lacklustre box office for many weeks, the action-comedy starring Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and American Pie's Seann William Scott could lead to impressive numbers (it is expected to garner $25 million this weekend), crushing all opposition in the ring.

It will also consolidate Rock's box office clout, following the weak but successful The Scorpion King, and the far better The Mummy Returns. And it will catapult director Peter Berg, whose small budget black comedy Very Bad Things did modest business a few years ago, into Hollywood's A-list.

The Rundown's story is full of holes. The film is too loud in many places. We are constantly asked to suspend judgement. Yet it holds our attention, not only due to an interesting chemistry between Rock and Scott but also because of the stirring fight and stunt sequences involving the former. Hong Kong master Andy Cheng choreographed the action scenes. The press notes for the film say Rock, a former wrestling champion, did the stunts himself. As an actor, he shows a talent for comedy, and far better emoting power than many other stars in action-driven films. He is at considerable ease throughout the film and has improved in his acting in comparison to his previous films. Notorious as the lewd Stiffler in American Pie movies, Scott delivers a performance filled with attitude and some charm.

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We have seen too many films in which the protagonist vows to engage in one last operation. It is a pity that the new movie continues to employ such worn out gimmicks. Here, Beck (Rock) is eager to trade in the martial arts for running a small restaurant.  But he gets himself into trouble following a big fight hinging on debt collection.

Walker (William Lucking) will provide him the seed money and release him from the contract only if Beck completes one last job for him: Walker's son, Travis (Scott), has disappeared in the Amazon in search of a precious artefact. Beck, the retrieval expert, has to get him back.

Beck's problems start when a pilot with a thick Scottish brogue (Ewen Bremner) drops him on the cattle-cluttered strip of a hell-like town called El Dorado. While Beck doesn't find it difficult to locate Travis, he finds it impossible to convince him to return home. For he wants to get the gold artefact at any cost.

Next, Beck runs into Mariana (Rosario Dawson). Mariana is a rebel wanting to help her people by causing the overthrow of the evil head (Christopher Walken) of a gold mining corporation.

Despite their hostility -- and their love for the same woman Mariana -- Beck and Travis must eventually join forces to fight the evil head who is also after the same treasure.          

Director Berg, who has also acted in many movies including John Dahl's film noir classic, The Last Seduction, manages to extract decent performances from most of his artistes. But it is a shame that he could not get Walken's character to be richer and more engrossing. It is also a shame he could not work on a better screenplay.

CREDITS
Cast: The Rock, Seann William Scott, Christopher Walken, Rosario Dawson, William Lucking, Ewen Bremner
Director: Peter Berg
Writers: R J Stewart and James Vanderbilt
Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Rating: PG 13, for action and adult dialogue
Distributor: Universal Pictures