The Rundown, yet another entrant into the burgeoning buddy/action comedy genre, is distinguished by some energetic, if distracting, direction by Peter Berg and the performance of its larger-than-life protagonist, pro wrestling’s The Rock. Fortunately, The Rock proves quite capable in his first real test as an action hero, as he muscles his way out of the rather narrow niche of wrestling-o-philes, quips his way through the jungles of Brazil, mugs his way past the hamming of his villainous foil Christopher Walken, and struts his way straight into the embracing arms of the megaplex mainstream.
Despite boasting a massive physique, The Rock’s entrance into the film, which includes a torch-passing one-liner (“Haff fun”), signals an unexpectedly low-key cockiness. Playing bounty hunter Beck, his dialectical approach to his job (always take option A, folks. Trust me on this) suggests a preference for allowing his bounty to reason their way out of a potentially violent confrontation. The Rock’s stated antipathy to guns further hints at Beck’s innate sensitivity (this is all comparatively speaking, of course. He still kicks the bajeezus out of anything that gets in his way), while his comic fallibility and occasional ineptitude in later scenes set in the Brazilian jungle serve to make his character much more interesting in an Indiana Jones kinda way than does the bloated bravado and self-infatuation of The Rock’s only real competition for the crown of big time action star, Vin Diesel. The Rock’s easygoing, non-threatening brand of charm will certainly endear him to a wider, if less rabid, audience than Diesel’s testosterone-bingeing persona. It is nigh-impossible to imagine Mr. Diesel allowing himself to be face-humped by a horny jungle primate, but The Rock pulls it off, so to speak, and with that seals the deal on stardom.
Berg’s direction is hardly inept, as he moves the picture along apace, thrusting into the jungle’s dark heart with a minimum of narrative fuss, and manages the tangled plot capably and astutely. However, he does seem a bit too fond of jittery and jagged camera movement, which submarines some of the film’s best set pieces, including a terrific knock ‘em down drag ‘em out between The Rock and a tribe of pint-sized apparently Jackie Chan-infatuated rebels. One yearns for the camera to settle down in one place and let us just look at these great, balletic moves by some pretty fine athletes. Further, the film’s finale is a bloated mess, an indulgent explosion of Peckinpah, Leone and Woo influences.
Berg also seems confused about exactly what tone he wants to establish, as the easy comic action of the first half of the film gives way to a darker, grittier tone when Walken and his cohorts begin to wreak havoc on the inhabitants of the Brazilian village. Indeed, while Walken is more than up to the game, unfurling yet another hilarious and vile self-referential performance, when the film has him commit callous cold-blooded murder, it becomes hard to see him as a prototypical comic/ action villain. Sure, we root even more for his comeuppance, but at what price? Throughout the film’s final reel, when Walken continues to work hard to keep us laughing, we're sporting the image of him plugging a guy in the head, which not surprisingly makes comedy a tough sell. Still, in the midst of this messiness, Berg does manage his story well, and nurtures a plausible chemistry between The Rock and Seann William Scott.
While hardly a classic, The Rundown is passable entertainment that is notable primarily as The Rock’s successful vehicle to action stardom.
