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This modest, entertaining film further solidifies the action-star standing of the wrestling superstar known as The Rock (a.k.a. Dwayne Johnson), building on his impressive turns in The Mummy Returns and The Scorpion King. The Rock, like other wrestlers who've dabbled in acting, realizes that his ring persona has created certain expectations in his fans, and he's smart enough to capitalize on those preconceived notions while at the same time poking fun at his carefully crafted image. In The Rundown, he plays Beck, a mob "retrieval specialist" sent to the Amazon wilderness to find and retrieve his employer's ne'er-do-well son (Seann William Scott). The young man, searching for a golden idol of reportedly immeasurable wealth, has run afoul of Hatcher (Christopher Walken), a local entrepreneur who runs a mining operation with an iron hand. Hatcher feels that the icon should be his and intends to hold onto the spoiled scion until it's located. This, of course, doesn't work for Beck. The Rock is nothing if not an adept comedian -- you have to be, if you're to succeed in pro wrestling these days -- and he tosses quips with the same aplomb he brings to his bone-crunching fight scenes. Scott, the perennial wiseacre, makes a pretty good foil for this hero, and Rosario Dawson is both tough and sexy as a local femme fatale whom neither man can altogether trust. Director Peter Berg takes a fairly lowbrow enterprise and gives it some wit with his clever handling of stereotypical situations and cardboard characters. Berg helps The Rock invest his character with humor and vulnerability, and he restrains the increasingly eccentric Walken just enough to keep his villain from becoming cartoonish. Nobody will ever mistake The Rundown for sophisticated comedy, but viewers looking for a lighthearted romp with plenty of action will definitely not be disappointed. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

Beck (The Rock) is a "retrieval specialist" in hock to a powerful and not particularly nice gentleman named Walker (William Lucking). Beck is anxious to retire from his dangerous work and open a small restaurant. Walker tells Beck he'll be free and clear with enough cash to fulfill his dream if he does one more job. He sends Beck into the Brazilian rainforest to bring back his wayward son, Travis (Seann William Scott). Travis is down there looking for a legendary idol, El Gato Diablo, which he could sell for millions if he found it. A pretty local, Mariana (Rosario Dawson), offers Travis the use of her boat in exchange for a cut of the take on the statue. But the powerful Hatcher (Christopher Walken) owns the area's huge mine, where locals work for slave wages, and feels that anything found in the area is his property. He refuses to let Beck take Travis back to the U.S. until the statue is in his hands. Using his estimable fighting prowess (he doesn't like guns), Beck manages to get Travis out of town, but Travis doesn't want to go home, and he ends up getting them stranded in the jungle, where they're confronted with horny monkeys and angry guerrillas. To make matters worse, Hatcher and his thugs are hot on their trail, and Mariana turns out to have her own motives for getting involved. The Rundown, the second film directed by actor Peter Berg (Very Bad Things), features a brief, uncredited cameo by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Josh Ralske

Product Details

• UPC: 025192329029
• Source: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
• Region Code: 1
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital, Dolby AC-3 Surround Sound
• Editions: Subtitled, Dubbed
• Time: 1:45:00
• Sales Rank: 9,885

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• Rock Collection
• Rock Action Pack

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