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:

Dwayne Johnson, Ashley Scott, Johnny Knoxville

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 three years 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 craps dealer is cheating with loaded dice, he fights against the security men and is almost killed by them. When his nephew Pete overdosed on crystal meth sold by the security men at 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 ...

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Plot Keywords:

pole dancing | blonde | red bra | stripper | casino | 

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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:

Walking Tall

Filming Locations:

Richmond, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$56,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$15,501,114, 4 April 2004, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$45,860,039, 30 May 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

The film takes place in Kitsap County, Washington. The Kitsap Penninsula is across Puget sound from Seattle, and is home to both the Bremerton Naval Shipyards and the Bangor Submarine Base. A large part of the population are military personnel, and unlike in the movie, the area has a very low crime rate. The film was set in Kitsap County but was filmed in Squamish BC. Opening scene was filmed on the Bowen Island ferry to Horseshoe Bay

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Goofs

The tattoo of the Fifth Special Forces Group beret flash that Chris has on his left biceps shows the pattern that was used during the Vietnam War but was not used during the time Chris would have been serving in the army.

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Quotes

Sheriff Stan Watkins: [after Chris wins the election, he pulls up to address the police force] Sheriff.
Chris Vaughn: Watkins.
Sheriff Stan Watkins: You won the election. Congratulations. But we do have a tradition of professional courtesy up here. And I can personally vouch for each and every one of these men. They're good deputies.
Chris Vaughn: You're all fired.

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Crazy Credits

The closing credits begin with a dedication to Buford Pusser, who the story is based on.

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Alternate Versions

The DVD includes deleted scenes and an alternate ending.

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Connections

Referenced in Total Riff Off: Killer Shrimp N' Friends (2014)

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Soundtracks

Set It Off
(Remix by Tobias Neumann (as Toby Neumann))
Written and Performed by Peaches
Courtesy of XL Recordings / Kitty-Yo Intl.
Under License from Beggars Group & Sony Music Germany

User Reviews

When a Man Makes the Difference

After eight years serving the U.S. Army Special Forces, Sergeant Chris Vaughn (The Rock) returns to his hometown seeking for a job in the local mill. He is informed by Sheriff Stan Watkins (Michael Bowen) that the mill was closed six months ago and now the Wild Cherry Casino, owned by his former high school friend Jay Hamilton (Neal McDonough), is the major source of jobs and income to the town. Chris goes home, and meets his best-friend Ray Templeton (Johnny Knoxville), 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 (Khleo Thomas) 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 to the population that if he is considered non-guilty, he would be candidate to the sheriff position and clean the town. Later, Sheriff Chris Vaughn has to fight against the organized crime to keep his promise.

"Walking Tall" is a non-stop action movie, with The Rock playing a character inspired on the legendary McNairy County Sheriff Bruford Hayser Pusser. I had never heard, read or seen anything about the life of this brave man, but there are lots of references about his heroic fight against crime and tragic fate of his family, inclusive a 1973 movie also called "Walking Tall" based on his biography that I believe has not been released in Brazil. I liked a lot this 2004 fictional film, with the charismatic The Rock excellent in the role of a honest man that makes the difference in a corrupt town. Johnny Knoxville is hilarious, as usual, and this movie is a great entertainment. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Com as Próprias Mãos" ("With the Own Hands")