Walk softly, carry a big stick, and have Johnny Knoxville as backup . Ex-Special Forces Chris Vaughn (Da Rock) returns to his hometown of Kitsap County, Washington after 8 years in the soldiering business. He intends to fulfill his dream of working at the town sawmill, but finds that it has gone out of business. In fact, things have changed for the worse in Kitsap County and home isn't home anymore. There's now a nasty element in the former little town and Chris's old friend Jay Hamilton (Neal McDonough) seems to be in the thick of things, with his thriving casino and burgeoning drug empire. It doesn't take long for Chris to nose out the corruption and soon, Chris and Jay are at vicious odds with each other. After Chris is beaten and tortured and his young nephew falls prey to crystal meth, Chris runs for and becomes the local sheriff. He then tries to set things right with his town, waging his own personal battle against crime, armed only with a length of cedar and the loony but dependable help of his buddy Ray (Johnny Knoxville).       This film is a distant cousin of the first Walking Tall movie back in 1973, which told the more or less true story of Sheriff Buford Pusser. The premise is the same, that of a man who has had enough of vice and crookedness infesting his town and decides to do something about it - to wit, getting elected Sheriff. But this movie version has the Rock, filmdom's newest big action star, and is therefore invested with Rock-like sensibilities. Walking Tall (2004) is more action-oriented, with the action scenes more slick and kinetic. It doesn't take itself as serious as the original;  it is, in fact, laden with a healthy dose of rowdy humor, much of it being contributed by wildman Johnny Knoxville. At a running time of one hour and 27 minutes, director Kevin Bray doesn't try to embroil the viewer into too much set-up, but instead gets right to the nitty-gritty, quickly delivering what the fans crave - the Rock's physicality and charisma.      Yes, the Rock is an action star. He'll never do Shakespeare or go on stage. But, in his specific genre, he shines. And he does have enough thespian in him to capably and convincingly play his formulaic silent but kick-ass roles. What sets him apart from other would-be stars such as Van Damme and Seagal is that the Rock is imbued with a self-deprecating, wink-of-an-eye (arch of an eyebrow?) quality that enables viewers to like him and identify with him. The rest of the cast, with two exceptions, are mediocre and bland, but, at least, they don't hurt the film. The intense Neal McDonough stands out as he invests his villain with frozen, blue-eyed menace and cold-blooded venom. A very good and formidable villain indeed. Johnny Knoxville is just plain fun to watch as he plays his Ray Templeton with unpredictable wackiness. The laugh he uses (I don't know if that's his real laugh) when he and Chris are watching television is just plain out infectious.     Basically, this little actioner, the Rock's follow up to the superior The Rundown, doesn't have anything new to say. It is what it is: a short, enjoyable movie that's sure to give the audience a good time. It certainly beats Son of theMask, or a fork in the eye.  It gets 3 and a half stars from me.
Output: POS