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.
In the aftermath of a massive earthquake in California, a rescue-chopper pilot makes a dangerous journey with his ex-wife across the state in order to rescue his daughter.
Director:
Brad Peyton
Stars:
Dwayne Johnson,
Carla Gugino,
Alexandra Daddario
Dominic Toretto and his crew of street racers plan a massive heist to buy their freedom while in the sights of a powerful Brazilian drug lord and a dangerous federal agent.
After he reconnects with an awkward pal from high school through Facebook, a mild-mannered accountant is lured into the world of international espionage.
Director:
Rawson Marshall Thurber
Stars:
Dwayne Johnson,
Kevin Hart,
Danielle Nicolet
A desert warrior rises up against the evil army that is destroying his homeland. He captures the enemy's key sorcerer, takes her deep into the desert and prepares for a final showdown.
Director:
Chuck Russell
Stars:
Dwayne Johnson,
Steven Brand,
Michael Clarke Duncan
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.Written by
Me
When Beck is describing the football team's stats, footage from Vince McMahon's XFL is shown. See more »
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. See more »
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.
See more »
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. See more »
Alternate Versions
International prints swapped opening logos - Columbia was first, followed by Universal. See more »
Dixie Chicken
Written by Lowell George, Martin Kibbee
Performed by Little Feat
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records Inc.
by arrangement with Warner Strategic Marketing See more »
One of the ideal popcorn movies of recent years has been Peter Berg's "The Rundown" a highly humorous 2003 action-adventure flick starring Dwayne Johnson (back when he was billed as The Rock) and Seann William Scott. There is a key moment early in the picture when Johnson is walking into a rough n tough party room and passes Gov. Schwarzenegger on the way out. The governor, once the hot muscle-man in movies, turns to Johnson and comments: "Have fun." He passes down the torch to the next generation and in just the right movie. Since "The Rundown" and other early successes of his', he has become a movie icon and deservedly so. He just had to showcase his genuine talents in a great movie. And "The Rundown" is a great movie. It is 104 minutes of pure enjoyment, something we don't find so easily these days.
What's even more remarkable about the film is that it accomplishes this without breaking any new ground. It is an old-fashioned adventure tale just brought to life with a modern style. Other films have attempted this and failed. So why does "The Rundown" succeed? Let's take a look and find out.
The movie stars Johnson as Mr. Beck, a mob boss's collector who is afraid to go against an NFL offensive line because he doesn't want to hurt them and ruin their chances of winning another championship. Wanting to leave and start his own business (a restaurant) he gets the final assignment of tracking down his boss's renegade son (Seann William Scott) who is residing in Brazil. When Johnson gets there, he not only has trouble restraining the rebellious and persistent Scott, but also faces opposition from a cruel land-owner played by Christopher Walken and freedom-fighters led by Rosario Dawson, all of whom want to get their hands on a priceless artifact hidden in the jungle.
Nothing new in terms of plot. And not much else new in terms of story. I think a key element that makes "The Rundown" a winner is because of its ideal casting. Sure, anybody from Sly Stallone to Gov. Schwarzenegger or even a new face could have been cast as Mr. Beck, but Johnson not only has the buff and cynical looks, but an enormous amount of on-screen charisma that we seem to be lacking in a lot of movie stars these days. Johnson not only fits the role, but he plays it extremely well. He's tough, but funny at the same time. The jokes are well-written, but he plays the notes just right. Seann William Scott is also ideally cast in his role. In the hands of a lesser actor, or somebody else, the smart-lipped character might have come across as being nothing but irritation. Scott plays the role like an early Jim Carrey role. Sort of like Ace Ventura if he were a treasure hunter. But he neither overplays nor underplays this role. He finds just the right note in between and produces a very funny and likable guy even if those around cannot agree with us. Christopher Walken has a cut-out villain to play, but he does so with such scene-stealing power that he makes a rather memorable character out of his standardized dialogue and motives. And Rosario Dawson is very well suited for her role. She is beautiful, but not smoking hot so that does not distract us. She also plays the role of a freedom fighter with conviction.
Another key element to the success of "The Rundown" is how it chooses to mix both action and humor. But it never overplays one or underplays the other. The action is neither too intense nor too lackluster. By contrast, it is very imaginative such as when Johnson fights off a group of men with guns pointed at him using nothing more than the furniture around him. Like Jackie Chan with muscles. There's also great humorous touches such as Mr. Beck's option A or option B speeches. See the movie to learn what I'm mentioning her. And sometimes they blend seamlessly, such as a highlight moment which could be called the "roll down." Again, I don't want to ruin it for you, so see the movie.
Peter Berg controls every scene in "The Rundown" and makes sure that it never slides out of the goodhearted, old-fashioned tradition of the movies it wants to follow. He knows how to use a camera and does things that the makers of the movies that inspired him could not do because of the technical limitations of their time. The film is continuing a well-respected tradition that unfortunately seems to have slipped out of public interest. That may be why "The Rundown" became a real success financially after its theatrical run. It's refreshing to know that somebody's trying. Maintaining what worked before, but doing it with a fresh style. This is sheer visceral fun from a competent cast and director. "The Rundown" is a modern-day American cult classic.
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One of the ideal popcorn movies of recent years has been Peter Berg's "The Rundown" a highly humorous 2003 action-adventure flick starring Dwayne Johnson (back when he was billed as The Rock) and Seann William Scott. There is a key moment early in the picture when Johnson is walking into a rough n tough party room and passes Gov. Schwarzenegger on the way out. The governor, once the hot muscle-man in movies, turns to Johnson and comments: "Have fun." He passes down the torch to the next generation and in just the right movie. Since "The Rundown" and other early successes of his', he has become a movie icon and deservedly so. He just had to showcase his genuine talents in a great movie. And "The Rundown" is a great movie. It is 104 minutes of pure enjoyment, something we don't find so easily these days.
What's even more remarkable about the film is that it accomplishes this without breaking any new ground. It is an old-fashioned adventure tale just brought to life with a modern style. Other films have attempted this and failed. So why does "The Rundown" succeed? Let's take a look and find out.
The movie stars Johnson as Mr. Beck, a mob boss's collector who is afraid to go against an NFL offensive line because he doesn't want to hurt them and ruin their chances of winning another championship. Wanting to leave and start his own business (a restaurant) he gets the final assignment of tracking down his boss's renegade son (Seann William Scott) who is residing in Brazil. When Johnson gets there, he not only has trouble restraining the rebellious and persistent Scott, but also faces opposition from a cruel land-owner played by Christopher Walken and freedom-fighters led by Rosario Dawson, all of whom want to get their hands on a priceless artifact hidden in the jungle.
Nothing new in terms of plot. And not much else new in terms of story. I think a key element that makes "The Rundown" a winner is because of its ideal casting. Sure, anybody from Sly Stallone to Gov. Schwarzenegger or even a new face could have been cast as Mr. Beck, but Johnson not only has the buff and cynical looks, but an enormous amount of on-screen charisma that we seem to be lacking in a lot of movie stars these days. Johnson not only fits the role, but he plays it extremely well. He's tough, but funny at the same time. The jokes are well-written, but he plays the notes just right. Seann William Scott is also ideally cast in his role. In the hands of a lesser actor, or somebody else, the smart-lipped character might have come across as being nothing but irritation. Scott plays the role like an early Jim Carrey role. Sort of like Ace Ventura if he were a treasure hunter. But he neither overplays nor underplays this role. He finds just the right note in between and produces a very funny and likable guy even if those around cannot agree with us. Christopher Walken has a cut-out villain to play, but he does so with such scene-stealing power that he makes a rather memorable character out of his standardized dialogue and motives. And Rosario Dawson is very well suited for her role. She is beautiful, but not smoking hot so that does not distract us. She also plays the role of a freedom fighter with conviction.
Another key element to the success of "The Rundown" is how it chooses to mix both action and humor. But it never overplays one or underplays the other. The action is neither too intense nor too lackluster. By contrast, it is very imaginative such as when Johnson fights off a group of men with guns pointed at him using nothing more than the furniture around him. Like Jackie Chan with muscles. There's also great humorous touches such as Mr. Beck's option A or option B speeches. See the movie to learn what I'm mentioning her. And sometimes they blend seamlessly, such as a highlight moment which could be called the "roll down." Again, I don't want to ruin it for you, so see the movie.
Peter Berg controls every scene in "The Rundown" and makes sure that it never slides out of the goodhearted, old-fashioned tradition of the movies it wants to follow. He knows how to use a camera and does things that the makers of the movies that inspired him could not do because of the technical limitations of their time. The film is continuing a well-respected tradition that unfortunately seems to have slipped out of public interest. That may be why "The Rundown" became a real success financially after its theatrical run. It's refreshing to know that somebody's trying. Maintaining what worked before, but doing it with a fresh style. This is sheer visceral fun from a competent cast and director. "The Rundown" is a modern-day American cult classic.