The Rundown (2003)

A tough aspiring chef is hired to bring home a mobster's son from the Amazon but becomes involved in the fight against an oppressive town operator and the search for a legendary treasure.

Director:

Peter Berg

Writers:

R.J. Stewart (story), R.J. Stewart (screenplay),

Stars:

Dwayne Johnson, Seann William Scott, Rosario Dawson

2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dwayne Johnson	...	Beck (as The Rock)
Seann William Scott	...	Travis
Rosario Dawson	...	Mariana
Christopher Walken	...	Hatcher
Ewen Bremner	...	Declan
Jon Gries	...	Harvey
William Lucking	...	Walker
Ernie Reyes Jr.	...	Manito
Stuart F. Wilson	...	Swenson
Dennis Keiffer	...	Naylor
Garrett Warren	...	Henshaw
Toby Holguin	...	Head Indian Tracker
Paul S. Power	...	Martin (as Paul Power)
Stephen Bishop	...	Knappmiller
Chuck Norman	...	Mullaire

Storyline

The Rock as a bounty hunter who attempts to square a debt by heading to the Amazon jungle to capture someone. The bounty hunter discovers that his quarry isn't the bad guy he'd been warned about, and the two team up in pursuit of riches stored in a mine in the Amazon.

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Plot Keywords:

amazon | hunter | bounty hunter | brazil | chef | 

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Taglines:

Bulls, guns, whips, gold and one sacred cat

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for adventure violence and some crude dialogue

Details

Official Sites:

Universal

Country:

USA

Language:

English Portuguese

Release Date:

26 September 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Call of the Wild

Filming Locations:

Brazil

Box Office

Budget:

$85,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£635,485 (UK) (26 March 2004)

Gross:

£2,075,686 (UK) (16 April 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Universal Pictures, WWE Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Arnold Schwarzenegger's cameo was filmed the same day he filmed his appearance as the Terminator for the Super Bowl. It was completely unprepared. He happened onto the set that day and was asked to make a quick appearance in the film. Fans and movie enthusiasts often cite his saying "Have fun" to Dwayne Johnson as a passing of the torch to an action hero of the next generation.

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Goofs

Although Travis is handcuffed, during the fall down the cliff the stunt double's hands are clearly free of restraints for some of the shots.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Emeril Lagasse (on radio): I just love mushrooms. One of my favorites, or as I call it, "the king of mushrooms," is the porcini. Now stop right there. Don't be alarmed. There's a lot of confusion in this country between porcini, the Italian name, and cèpes, which is the French name. They're fat and they're earthy. Now the porcini is most often seen dried here in this country. And they would always be labeled "dried porcinis," not "dried cèpes." OK? They are very, very, very flavorful.

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Crazy Credits

In the U.S. version, the only opening credit (after the Universal and Columbia logos) is "The Rundown" - and that appears eight minutes into the film. All other credits (actors, director, producers, writers, et al.) appear at the end of the film.

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Connections

References Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (1999)

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Soundtracks

"Better Days"
Written by Mario Caldato, Jr.
Performed by Mario Caldato, Jr.
Courtesy of MCJ Sounds

User Reviews

Surprisingly Good

And very funny.

I can honestly say I seriously doubted I would like this film and I only went to see it because it was on and I was there. I'd never seen a movie with The Rock before or even watched any wrestling so I was kind of dubious as to whether or not he would be any good.

In fact he was a great actor, full of personality and charisma, willing to make fun of himself and was great with the action. The Rock is definitely the next Arnie. Vin (Donald Duck) Diesel is the next Jean Claude Van Damme.

Seann William Scott was also pretty funny in a rare NOT Stifler performance. As an actor he does have genuine talent that's usually wasted in low-brow teen sex comedies.

The Rundown is a sort of Indiana Jones-lite movie. The Rock plays a bounty hunter/chef who is sent to track down Seann William Scott south of the border. Against his will The Rock ends up on a trek through the depths of the Mexican jungle looking for some ancient artefact. Unoriginal it may be but director Peter Berg keeps it moving with plenty of stunts, action and laughs. Christopher Walken's villain is a bit of a cardboard cut-out but how evil are you allowed to be in a PG-13?

I look forward to the next movie starring The Rock. With talks of a third Conan movie I can only imagine him being the best choice. And keep a lookout for Arnie in the nightclub at the very beginning. 'Have fun' is his only line. 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.