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 | |
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Paul S. Power | ... | Martin (as Paul Power) |
Stephen Bishop | ... | Knappmiller | |
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Chuck Norman | ... | Mullaire |
In an attempt to earn enough money to start his own small business, the dauntless bounty hunter--or retrieval expert--and aspiring restaurateur, Beck, is talked into bringing back home his shady boss' adventure-seeking son, Travis, from the impenetrable Amazon jungle. However, there, in the dusty town of El Dorado, Beck is in for a wild ride, as the local tyrant and powerful mining baron, Cornelius Hatcher, too, is desperately trying to track down Travis: the only person who knows the exact location of a precious golden artefact. Now, the feisty barmaid with the hidden agenda, Mariana, and Hatcher's small army of whip-cracking gun-toting henchmen are after Beck and Travis, hell-bent on finding first the rare statuette. Will they get out of the jungle in one piece? Written by Nick Riganas
Yup, this is way hokey and one of the dumbest movies I own in my collection, yet it's very likable and mostly a fun film with great style and scenery.
An adventure story, played strictly for entertainment value, it mostly succeeds because Dwayne Johnson, better known as "The Rock," is a very likable hero. He's clean-cut, well-spoken, modest, etc. Supposedly this film was supposed to be The Rock grabbing the action mantle, so to speak, from the king - Arnold Schwarzenegger - who will no longer make movies. They even have Arnie make a quick cameo, wishing The Rock good luck! That was a good touch.
Meanwhile, Rock's cohort in this film, Seann William Scott, gets by with his sense of humor. It almost plays like one of these "buddy movies" except that these two guys ("Beck" and "Travis," respectively) are not on the same page about anything. In no other film can I recall two characters getting beat up and annihilated like these two guys....but they never seem the worse for wear! Unbelievable!
Rosario Dawson adds some female sex appeal and Christopher Walken adds his normal entertaining take on being the villain. His dialog was very good in here.
I didn't realize until the second time I watched it (which is where I stand now) just how stylishly this was filmed. This movie reminded me of many made by either Robert Rodriguez or Quentin Taranatino with the gimmick photography. It makes it all the more fun to watch. Add some excellent sound, tremendous Hawaiian scenery simulated to look the the Amazon jungle in Brazil......and you can put up with the stupidness of the story and have a good time.