Walking Tall (2004)

A former U.S. soldier returns to his hometown to find it overrun by crime and corruption, which prompts him to clean house.

Director:

Kevin Bray

Writers:

Mort Briskin (earlier screenplay), David Klass (screenplay),

Stars:

Michael Bowen, Johnny Knoxville, Dwayne Johnson

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Bowen	...	Sheriff Stan Watkins
Johnny Knoxville	...	Ray Templeton
Dwayne Johnson	...	Chris Vaughn (as The Rock)
Neal McDonough	...	Jay Hamilton
Ashley Scott	...	Deni
John Beasley	...	Chris Vaughn Sr.
Barbara Tarbuck	...	Connie Vaughn
Kristen Wilson	...	Michelle Vaughn
Khleo Thomas	...	Pete Vaughn
Kevin Durand	...	Booth
Andrew Tarbet	...	Jimmy
Patrick Gallagher	...	Keith
John Stewart	...	Rusty
Eric Breker	...	Deputy Ralston
Ryan Robbins	...	Travis

Storyline

After eight years serving the U.S. Army Special Forces, Sergeant Chris Vaughn returns to his hometown seeking for a job in the local mill. He is informed by Sheriff Stan Watkins that the mill was closed six months ago and now the Wild Cherry Casino, owned by his former high school friend Jay Hamilton, is the major source of jobs and income to the town. Chris goes home, and meets his best-friend Ray Templeton, who organized a football game with their friends. After the game, Jay invites Chris and his friends to spend the night in his casino on him, but when Chris finds that the casino stick-man is cheating with the dices, he fights against the security men and is almost killed by them. When his nephew Pete has an OD with amphetamines sold by the security men of the casino, Chris realizes that the town is dominated by the mobsters and the corrupt sheriff and with a huge piece of wood, he breaks the casino and the criminals. He is prosecuted and in the trial, he promises to the jury and ...

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Plot Keywords:

casino | sheriff | special forces | jury | football | 

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Taglines:

One man will stand up for what's right.

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Genres:

Action | Crime

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense violence, sexual content, drug material and language

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 April 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Con la frente en alto

Filming Locations:

Richmond, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$56,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$739,459 (Australia) (13 August 2004)

Gross:

$1,350,314 (Australia) (20 August 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Hyde Park Entertainment, Mandeville Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Kevin Bray wanted to update the "Pusser stick" by making it a baseball bat instead of a piece of wood but there were objections, so the compromise was to just add a handle.

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Goofs

When Deni and Chris are kissing in the office, they each remove their shirts. Then towards the end of the scene, Deni has her shirt back on for one shot.

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Quotes

[after Chris' truck is blown up by Watkins]
Booth: [at Chris] A truck for a truck! A truck for a truck!

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Crazy Credits

Opening statement: Inspired By A True Story

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Connections

Followed by Walking Tall: The Payback (2007)

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Soundtracks

"Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Ole Oak Tree"
Written by L. Russell Brown & Irwin Levine
Performed by Tony Orlando & Dawn
Courtesy of Arista Records, Inc.
Under License from BMG Film & TV Music

User Reviews

Walking Tall A Decent Remake With Some Flaws

Walking Tall is a decent remake with some flaws from director Ken Bray whose admirable in making this movie but a short running time, some over the top action, and the lack of a more central villain is what weighed it down. Walking Tall however isn't that bad and it's one of the better remakes out there. Dwayne Johnson is solid as the lead and proves to be a talented actor while bringing some of his wresting experience to the movie during the action/fight sequences. Johnson turns in a good performance of a man who returns home to find it overrun by crime and corruption, which drives him to become sheriff in order to put an end to it. The rest of the cast including Johnny Knoxville, Neal McDonough, and Ashley Scott are okay in their roles but (except for maybe Knoxville) they're not given much to do. The movie felt short and rushed with an 86 minute running time. Some of the fight sequences especially the one near the end between Johnson and McDonough go over the top. Johnson's performance however and the action sequences make this movie worth seeing at least once. Overall despite its flaws Walking Tall is decent remake one of the better ones with intense action, fist fights, some humor, and good performances by the cast.