The Rundown

Plot synopsis:
Beck (Dwayne Johnson) is a "retrieval expert", a bounty hunter who collects debts for a man named Billy Walker (William Lucking). He is dispatched to a nightclub to retrieve a championship ring from a football player, and after doing so is assaulted by one of Walker's other collectors. Angry, he confronts Walker and tells him that he wants out of the business. Walker talks him into one last bounty - retrieve Walker's son Travis (Seann William Scott) from a small mining town in Brazil and Walker will give him enough money to open his own restaurant. Beck accepts and leaves for Brazil. When Beck arrives in the town of El Dorado he meets with the man running the mining operation, Mr. Hatcher (Christopher Walken). Hatcher gives Beck his blessing to grab Travis, but reneges when he finds out that Travis has discovered a missing golden artifact called "El Gato do Diabo". Beck confronts Hatcher and his men in the local bar and leaves with Travis. On the way back to the airfield, Travis forces their Jeep off the road and into the jungle. There he tries to escape but is re-captured by Beck. After an unfortunate encounter with some local monkeys, the two find themselves in the camp of the local resistance movement.
At the resistance encampment, Travis convinces the rebels that Beck works for Hatcher and was sent to kill them all. After a prolonged fight, Beck gains the upper hand before the rebel leader Mariana (Rosario Dawson) intervenes. She wants Travis, as the Gato can be used to ensure the locals can free themselves from Hatcher. Hatcher suddenly attacks the camp, killing many rebels. Beck, Travis, and Mariana escape the camp and Beck makes Mariana a deal: she helps him get Travis to the airfield in exchange for the Gato. After some searching, Travis leads them to a cave behind a waterfall where the Gato is located. They retrieve it and begin the journey back.
On the way back, Mariana chastises Travis for wanting to sell the artifact, but Travis argues that he actually did want to give it to a museum. Mariana gives the two men Konlobos, a toxic fruit that paralyzes the eater. As she tells Beck which direction the airfield is, she leaves them with the fire to keep the animals away. After waking up able to move, Beck hauls Travis to the airfield. The local pilot, Declan (Ewen Bremner), tells Beck that Mariana was captured earlier by Hatcher and will probably be killed. Travis pleads with Beck to help, and the two head into town to rescue her. Using a cow stampede for cover, the two begin their assault on Hatcher's goons. Travis becomes trapped by gunfire in a bus, and Beck saves him before the bus explodes. Hatcher tells his brother to take Mariana and the Gato and flee, but they are stopped by Travis. Hatcher confronts Beck, who offers him the chance to leave town still. Hatcher refuses, and is confronted by the townspeople who shoot him before he can leave. Travis gives the Gato to Mariana before leaving with Beck, who tells him that despite all they've been through he must still return Travis to the U.S. Travis is delivered to his dad who begins to verbally and physically abuse him. Beck asks to celebrate with them and gives Walker and his men Konlobos. As they are paralyzed, Beck uncuffs Travis and the duo leave together, with Travis continuing to jokingly annoy Beck.

Tags: cult, comedy, entertaining, violence

Review:
This movie proved me wrong and has rapidly moved up into my list of favorite films.Beck (The Rock) is somebody who chases down people that have irritated the mob, be it financially or socially.
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.
Yup, this is way hokey and one of the dumbest movies I own in my collection, yet it's very likable and mostly a fun film with great style and scenery.An adventure story, played strictly for entertainment value, it mostly succeeds because Dwayne Johnson, better known as "The Rock," is a very likable hero.
Supposedly this film was supposed to be The Rock grabbing the action mantle, so to speak, from the king - Arnold Schwarzenegger - who will no longer make movies.
That was a good touch.Meanwhile, Rock's cohort in this film, Seann William Scott, gets by with his sense of humor.
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..
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.).
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.
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.
Christopher Walken in this case and your ready, you have the basis for a good fun action movie.
Combination action, adventure, broad comedy, and buddy movie has The Rock well-cast as a 'retrieval expert' fed up with his occupation and looking for a way out.
The job finds himself traveling to Brazil to a small town called El Dorado in order find his bosses son Travis (Sean William Scott of American Pie) and bring him home, not an easy task as the duo quickly develop a strong love/hate relationship.
Schliessler, also disserves great credit for his masterfully filmed action sequences, that at times may also seem like too much, but when this degree of care and technique is put into something, its a strong tendency not to be bothered with such small criticism.
One of the ideal popcorn movies of recent years has been Peter Berg's "The Rundown" a highly humorous 2003 action-adventure flick starring Dwayne Johnson (back when he was billed as The Rock) and Seann William Scott.
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.
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.
The Rundown is a pretty good action adventure with equally impressive performances by Dwayne Johnson and Seann William Scott.
Overall despite some flaws The Rundown is still an entertaining action adventure comedy thats definitely worth seeing because of the impressive performances by Johnson and Scott..
Exciting adventures and fight movie with two sympathetic starring , The Rock and Sean William Scott.
They are chasing an extraordinary treasure , the two team up in pursuit of riches stored in a mine , facing off revolutionaries , jungle's monkeys and nasty enemies.In the film there is action pace , noisy adventures , struggles , beautiful landscapes and a little bit of humor concerning the starring couple , making a ¨Buddy movie¨ type .
Daylight Run. One-sentence summary: "Midnight Run" meets the classic Arnie formula in this excellent, surprising action movie.Review:There's a scene very late into "The Rundown" where the lead hero decides to go against his short-standing morals and pick up guns in order to fight for his friends, despite arguing that he never would earlier in the movie.
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.
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.
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.
In a blink-and-miss-it cameo during the opening scene of Welcome to the Jungle (AKA The Rundown), Arnold Schwarzenegger hands over his action hero mantle to the only star capable of filling his shoes: Duane 'The Rock' Johnson.
While this movie isn't anywhere near on a par with Arnie at his best, it certainly sets Johnson on the right path, delivering just enough OTT action infused with comedy to make it a mindlessly entertaining slice of slam-bang fun.The former WWF star plays retrieval expert Beck, who accepts one last job before becoming a restaurant owner: bring troublesome treasure hunter Travis (Seann William Scott) back from the Brazilian jungle to face his father in Los Angeles.
Of course, doing so isn't as easy as it sounds, with unscrupulous gold-mine owner Hatcher (Christopher Walken) refusing to let Travis leave, believing that he knows the whereabouts of a priceless artifact.What follows is a whole load of knockabout silliness, Scott playing comic relief to Johnson's hero, as the guys evade Hatcher's army of hired killers, come face-to-ass with some angry baboons, locate the valuable statuette (in an Indiana Jones style scene complete with booby-trapped cave), and return to the gold-mine to rescue sexy rebel Mariana (Rosario Dawson), who has been trying to free her people from Hatcher's oppression.At 104 minutes, the film is perhaps 15 minutes or so too long, and the ballistic mayhem in the finale—where Beck finally breaks his 'no guns' rule—is of the 'A-Team' variety (i.e., lots of goons getting gunned down, but no blood), but as an introduction to Arnie's successor, Welcome to the Jungle does just fine.6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb..
From the jungle!Starring Seann William Scott, Dwayne Johnson ( The Rock ) and Christopher Walken.
Dwayne Johnson AKA The Rock plays Beck/a bounty hunter/retrieval expert who owes a debt to a mobster.his final job to clear his debt is to go to the Amazon and bring back the mobster's son(Sean William Scott).but that may not be easy as it seems.what follows is plenty of action adventure comedy and thrills.Scott and The Rock have good comedic chemistry.their back and forth banter is very funny.this is The Rock's first feature film and he is very good here.he has great screen presence.Sean Willliam Scott is also good.both are likable,as are their characters.Rosario Dawson is good as well.and lets not forget Christopher Walker who plays the villain.this was a fun film,which i'd recommend if you like action adventure and comedy.for me,The Rundown is an 8/10.
All Beck has to do is bring him back, the debt is settled and he'll even through in a restaurant.When it comes to the action sequences, director Peter Berg moves things along with blazing quick cuts and intense close-ups that rattle bones and get the adrenalin pumping as Beck and Scott face everything from Tarzan ju jitsu with Eddie Reyes, who sets The Rock flying like a big beefy whirligig, to a pack of scrappy monkeys with really, really bad attitudes, not to mention a grudge.
Along the way things don't go according to plan and the two of them have to fight for their lives.After his brief cameo in The Mummy Returns and the lead role in the forgettable The Scorpion King, it seemed that The Rundown would be his first true chance at taking over the action franchise from the likes of Arnold, who coincidentally has a cameo in this film.
The Rundown does just that, shows The Rock in a lighthearted, action oriented funny film that showcases his talent as an actor.
But Beck soon discovers that the job is a lot harder than it appears due to the reluctance of Travis to go back and the determination of gold-mining Hatcher (Christopher Walken), who employs most of the locals as slaves and who wants to get his hands on the artifact as well.Given that this is The Rock's movie (as he himself might say), it's no surprise that he runs rampant through "Welcome To The Jungle" (or "The Rundown" for viewers in the US).
It's been said that casting is the most important decision in making a movie, and this film looks like good evidence.The ending seems quite problematical to me, but up to that point, it all flows very well.
2003's The Rundown is a thrilling action fest with all the ingredients required from an Amazon jungle adventure in the vein of Indiana Jones, and to a lesser extent Romancing the Stone.The Rock plays a tough guy who finds himself at odds with a local mobster, which sends him to the jungle in search of his long lost son as a payment for his debts.
Funnier than most alleged comedies these days, great over-the-top action sequences, and a star-making performance by The Rock make this one of my all time personal favorites..
The one thing this movie does is prove to the world that the Rock is a legitamite star, who is capable of making great movies (and a MUCH better actor than Vin Diesel.)  The way that he and Seann William Scott play off each other in this movie is something that all people will be able to appreciate.
"The Rundown" is basically one of those movie that have all brawn but no brains and Christopher Walken seriously needs to stop trying to play the bad guy because he sucks at it, and he sucked in "A View to a Kill", you can check that movie out yourself, because from then until 2003 he gave the most faceless performance of his career in that and in "The Rundown" he sucked even more and it looks to me that "Balls of Fury" will be even worse.The dialogue and the story was hilariously stupid.
Not only was the script really retarded but it was very repetitive, too many lines were being repeated too much, and I HATED that stupid "Option A or Option B" line and the "You Like thunderstorms big boy?" The plot was really gay, these guys were actually trying to copy the Indiana Jones movies with them getting that stupid artifact just made a story that COULD happen into something ridiculous.The only thing that I liked about the movie was the action, it was great there's no denying that, but something I don't get is that throughout the movie he doesn't use guns and all of the sudden uses them toward the end.
Yes, this was ARNOLD'S way of saying "The Rock is here to replace ME as the action star".The movie was ok.
I do not know what possessed me to stand nearly two hours worth of bad acting and shoddy stunts but since I took the time to watch "The Rundown" so I may as well review it.The Rock, (Dwayne Johnson,) stars in 'The Rundown' as Beck.
One would be deemed as correct for describing the movie (which IMDb describes to be as an 'Action/Adventurous/Comedy' flick) as a waste of time, money and effort.Johnson struts around in a tough guy attitude as Beck.
I'm not saying he is a great actor but he is a solid action movie star and I would like to see him with better material in a better film.
However for me the film is worth seeing because of the solid presence, good physical work, easy delivery and natural charisma of The Rock  and trust me, I'm the last person who I thought would ever admit something like that!.
They also run afoul of a guy who pretty much runs things in this town and soon they will be pursued as they make their way through the jungles in search of the treasure.The Rock does a pretty good job in his first leading role not associated with The Scorpion King and shows glimpses of the star he will become as he is able to do the action thing good and do well in the humor department too.
Dwayne Johnson, in an early role where he is still solely credited as 'The Rock', shows that he has what it takes to lead an action film; not surprisingly he is great in the action scenes but he is also humorous and makes his character likable.
Oh yes, Arnold even plays a short cameo role!Most of these Dwayne Johnson muscle action movies I cant stand to watch.
The Rock and Scott make a good team for this comedy action buddy movie.
It has just enough self-aware comedy to keep it from being the typical boring "action film".Rosario Dawson looks good sweaty, by the way, and should remain so in all her roles for years to come..
He does the best he can with a thinner comic script than he might be accustom to, but his charm comes through nonetheless.The cast is rounded out by the very sexy and talented Rosario Dawson, as well as the legendary Christopher Walken...a man so creepy in real life that his role as the villain is sublimely convincing.What director Peter Berg gives us is a buddy picture a very traditional blend of fight scenes and one liners, not to mention an ending that you could guess without the benefit of a frontal lobe.
Berg must have treated Rock like an actor, not a movie star, and it shows in the film.
Christopher Walken is his usual decent self and The Rock's acting seems to be getting better with each movie.
Rosario Dawson really looks HOT here, enjoyable dialogue between her and The Rock.Major drawback to the film was Seann William Scott's character, what an empty-headed blabbermouth that just WOULD NOT SHUT UP!
the problem with film critiques is just that they are critical about filmsalthough the rundown is not a great film it is a fun film and easy to watch without any brain power needed the rock is good in this film and this is a good introduction into the action genre for him.sean william scott is also ok although he is very well known for stiffler in the american pie films he does manage to do this film without being to much like stifflersome of the fight scenes are incredible (if not a little unbelievable)
The Rock was very fun to watch in this movie, he did a good acting job and had a few sides showing you wouldn't expect from the big wrestler type.
The movie is not the best movie I have every seen but it watchable and enjoyable.The action fight scenes where very good with some original stuff you have never seen before and all done in way that it's believable.I do think that Christopher Walken's part was really played down and his portrayal of a villain was just like a hundred others you have seen before.Seann William Scott's part was decent and he played it well, although it is hard to think of him as anything but stickler from American Pie. He did his part well adding in some humor.Like I said its not the best movie I have ever seen but it is very enjoyable and watchable..
Sean William Scott is just a bad enough actor to make Rock look good, well, better.
He's not tough enough, and for this type of film, there should be a final showdown between The Rock and the bad guy, not the weak anticlimactic scene that fills up the last 5 minutes of the movie..
Why, you get Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in his most enjoyable role to date...hamming it up in the Jungle with Sean William "STIFLER" Scott!This movie was so much better than I expected.
A damn good action flick too.The Rock is electrifying in his role as Beck, and he takes on a memorable performance this time.
Beck (The Rock) is sent on one final mission to go to the Amazon to find his boss's son Travis played by the annoying Sean William Scott.
Matrix like action scenes, humping monkeys, and way to much of Sean William Scott ensuesFirst the Acting, I don't really know much about the Rock but I liked him in this movie.
"The Rundown" pairs The Rock with the equally likable, gifted comic actor Seann William Scott and the sexy, sultry Rosario Dawson for some wacky, "Indiana Jones"-style action/adventure in the jungle.