Rock On

For some time now, America has been without a good, bankable action hero. The '80s and early '90s were the heyday of Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Harrison Ford and even Bruce Willis, along with their friends Glock, Smith & Wesson and Colt. Alas, all things must come to an end; Stallone has become a joke, "The Terminator" has entered politics and they are all getting a bit too long in the tooth to be considered action heroes.\nFortunately, The Rock (a.k.a. Dwayne Johnson) has stepped up to the plate, beginning with his acceptable performance in The Scorpion King and now demonstrating his impressive comedic timing and above-average acting ability in The Rundown. \nA fairly straightforward picture, The Rundown places The Rock in the role of Beck, a professional "recovery agent" charged with making sure those who have debts make good on them. In short, he's a kneebreaker, one of the best in the business, but it's not a profession he's taken by choice. Having accrued some debts of his own, this is his only way to make good, so he hasn't got a lot of say in the matter. \nBeck's latest, and supposedly last job, involves retrieving his boss's son, Travis (Sean William Scott), from a mining town in the depths of the Amazon. Naturally, things get complicated when the owner of the mine, Hatcher (Christopher Walken), decides he wants the artifact for which Travis is searching, and then the chase is on.\nWalken, as always, is incredibly entertaining even in this relatively limited role, something that can be said for the entire cast. There's obviously not much to work with, character-wise, but the excellent timing and relatively lighthearted approach to the material makes The Rundown a better film than one would expect. \nThe only real weak spot is Seann William Scott, whose Travis character is basically a slightly smarter version of Stifler from American Pie. It would be nice to see him try something a little more difficult, but by now, he's pretty much typecast. \nBasically, The Rundown is an enjoyable, but fairly mindless action film best watched with a group of friends. Enjoy it.