The Rundown (2003)

Directed by: Peter Berg

Starring: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Seann William Scott, Rosario Dawson, and Christopher Walken

Beck (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) is a retrieval expert who wants to get out of the bounty hunting game and start a restaurant.  His boss, Billy Walker (William Lucking), hires him for one last mission—to find and bring his son Travis Walker (Seann William Scott) home to him from the Amazon.  When he arrives in the South American town of El Dorado, he finds that Travis has some local enemies, namely Hatcher (Christopher Walken), who basically owns the town and enslaves its people.  Beck also learns that Travis made a deal with Mariana (Rosario Dawson), a local bartender, to find the Gato, a golden treasure that would finance the townspeople’s freedom from Hatcher.    Beck captures Travis fairly quickly, but things get complicated when Hatcher learns that Travis knows where the Gato is.  While Beck relentlessly tries to bring Travis home, he gradually gets drawn into the battle for the townspeople’s freedom and the search for a mythical golden artifact.

The Rundown is an action flick that never got its due.  Maybe it shouldn’t have been released in the fall.  Maybe Dwayne Johnson’s wrestling persona at the time turned away certain moviegoers who did not recognize him as a legitimate action star.  Regardless, this movie is awesome and shows that the People’s Champ has a home outside of the wrestling ring.  The action of course is great.  Dwayne Johnson is actually an actor who has an imposing presence, which makes his action sequences feel a bit more authentic.  With Seann William Scott and Dwayne Johnson, The Rundown is also pretty hilarious.  Their comedic chemistry is on point.  Scott’s Travis is quick-witted, while Johnson’s Beck is quick to lay a verbal smackdown. The Rundown is the perfect blend of action and comedy.  You’re guaranteed to have some fun with very little alcohol required.