''Walking Tall'' is a 2004 American

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

directed by Kevin Bray. It is the

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...

of the 1973 film of the same name, and stars

Dwayne Johnson Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and former professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he was integral to the developm ...

(credited as The Rock) and

Johnny Knoxville Philip John Clapp (born March 11, 1971), best known professionally as Johnny Knoxville, is an American stunt performer, actor, writer, producer, and professional wrestler. He is best known as a co-creator and star of the MTV reality stunt show ...

. The film revolves around a discharged U.S Army soldier, who returns to his hometown only to become the town's

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

, when he finds that the town is laced with heinous crimes and corruption.

Plot

Former

U.S. Army Special Forces The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force of the United States Army. The Green Berets are geared towards nine doctrinal m ...

Sergeant Chris Vaughn returns to his small home town in

Kitsap County, Washington Kitsap County is located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 275,611. Its county seat is Port Orchard, and its largest city is Bremerton. The county was formed out of King County and Jefferson County on ...

. Looking for work, he finds the local cedar mill was closed down three years prior by its owner, Jay Hamilton, who opened a casino that now accounts for the majority of revenue for the local area. Hamilton, who was Chris' school friend, invites him to a night of fun at the casino. While checking out the VIP lounge, Chris stumbles upon his childhood friend Deni, who is now working as a stripper. He notices the craps dealer using loaded dice and demonstrates this to the patrons. When the floorman refuses to payout, Chris instigates a fight. Although he beats most of the security guards, he is subdued with a cattle prod. In the basement, Hamilton's head of security, Booth, cuts Chris' torso with a utility knife and leaves him for dead. After recuperating, Chris attempts to press charges, but Sheriff Stan Watkins refuses and says the casino is untouchable. Chris learns that his nephew, Pete, has overdosed on

crystal meth Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamphe ...

, which was sold to his friends by the casino security guards. Furious, Chris arrives at the casino and, using a piece of lumber as a club, destroys casino property and brutally beats the security guards. Sheriff Watkins and his deputies apprehend Chris as he drives away. In the ensuing trial, Hamilton's security and staff testify against Chris. When the judge allows Chris to present his defense, he fires his appointed attorney, whom he suspects to be working for Hamilton. Chris gives a civic speech about the town's former glory and promises to clean up the town if acquitted. To further emphasize his plea, Chris reveals the grotesque scars on his torso. Chris is acquitted and wins the election for sheriff. Upon taking office, Chris summarily dismisses the entire police force and deputizes his friend, Ray Templeton. Templeton, a former drug addict, teaches Chris about

narcotics The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "to make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates ...

. Chris and Ray crack down on a supply spot and take Booth into custody. Despite stripping his truck into pieces in front of him, Booth reveals nothing. Chris assigns Ray to stand watch over his house in case Hamilton targets his family. Chris remains at the sheriff's office to supervise Booth. Deni visits him, brings him food, and reveals that she quit her job. Chris has sex with Deni. The next morning, Watkins and his deputies arrive at the Chris' office, blow up his truck, and fire upon the building with machine guns. Recognizing his dangerous predicament, Booth pleads for Chris to let him out of his cell. Chris uses the situation as leverage, and Booth reveals that the drug lab is in the cedar mill. Booth is immediately killed by the attackers' indiscriminate fire, but Chris kills the attackers with Deni's help. Chris' parents' house is attacked, but Ray and Chris' father dispatch the gunmen. After ensuring their safety, Chris heads for the mill. Hamilton, calmly waiting in a control room, attempts to kill Chris with the mill equipment. Chris drags Hamilton through a trap door with him, and the two fall through a chute. Chris, whose leg is injured, tends to his injury in a nearby forest before Hamilton attacks him with an axe. Chris cripples Hamilton and arrests him. With Ray's assistance, Chris shuts down the casino and reopens the cedar mill.

Cast

(credited as The Rock) as Chris Vaughn Jr, an Army veteran who runs for sheriff in an effort to clean up his hometown ** Both the character and the story is based off of Sheriff Buford Pusser and his time as sheriff of

McNairy County, Tennessee McNairy County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the population was 26,075. Its county seat is Selmer, Tennessee, Selmer. McNairy County is located along ...

. The film is dedicated to his memory. *

as Ray Templeton, Chris' friend and former convict who is deputized by Chris *

Neal McDonough Neal McDonough (born February 13, 1966) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Lieutenant Lynn Compton, Lynn "Buck" Compton in the HBO miniseries ''Band of Brothers (miniseries), Band of Brothers'' (2001), Deputy District Attorney ...

as Jay Hamilton, Chris' former friend and owner of the casino. He is also the head of the drug trade in the town * Michael Bowen as Sheriff Stan Watkins, a corrupt sheriff who allows Hamilton and his men to run the casino undisturbed as a front for their drug dealing *

Kevin Durand Kevin Serge Durand (born January 14, 1974) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for portraying Vasiliy Fet in ''The Strain'', Joshua in '' Dark Angel'', Martin Keamy in ''Lost'', Fred J. Dukes / The Blob in '' X-Men Origins: Wolverine'', Barry ...

as Booth, the head of security at the casino and one of Hamilton's dealers *

Kristen Wilson Kristen Wilson (born September 4, 1969) is a former American actress, best known as Miranda DuBaer in '' Twitches'' and '' Twitches Too'' and as Lisa Dolittle in the films ''Dr. Dolittle'', '' Dr. Dolittle 2'', and '' Dr. Dolittle 3''. Early li ...

as Michelle Vaughn, Chris' sister and paramedic *

Ashley Scott Ashley McCall Scott (born July 13, 1977) is an American actress and model, best known for providing the voice and motion capture for Maria Miller in the video games ''The Last of Us'' (2013) and ''The Last of Us Part II'' (2020). She has also a ...

as Deni, Chris' friend and love interest who worked at the casino as a stripper *

Barbara Tarbuck Barbara Tarbuck (January 15, 1942 – December 26, 2016) was an American film, television, and stage actress from Detroit, Michigan, best known for her recurring role as Lady Jane Jacks on ''General Hospital''. Biography Tarbuck was born in De ...

as Connie Vaughn, Chris' mother *

Khleo Thomas Khaleed "Khleo" Leon Thomas (born January 30, 1989) is an American actor, influencer, gamer, host and entrepreneur. Khleo first garnered recognition as Hector "Zero" Zeroni in Holes, for which he was also nominated for a best supporting actor ...

as Pete Vaughn, Michelle's son and Chris' nephew * John Beasley as Chris Vaughn Sr, Chris' father *

Cobie Smulders Jacoba Francisca Maria "Cobie" Smulders (born April 3, 1982) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her starring role as Robin Scherbatsky in the CBS sitcom '' How I Met Your Mother'' (2005–2014) and as S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Maria Hill in the ...

as Exotic Beauty, one of the employees at the casino

Reception

Based on 136 reviews collected by the film review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, 26% of critics gave ''Walking Tall'' a positive review, with an average rating of 5.4/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "The Rock makes a competent hero, but the movie is content to let a 2×4 do all the talking."

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

gave the film a score of 44 out of 100 based on 31 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...

gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. The film grossed $57 million worldwide, with a budget of $46 million.

Sequel

'' Walking Tall: The Payback'' and '' Walking Tall: Lone Justice'' are two

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...

sequels that have been released starring

Kevin Sorbo Kevin David Sorbo (born September 24, 1958) is an American actor. He had starring roles in two television series: as Hercules in '' Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'', and as Captain Dylan Hunt in '' Andromeda''. Sorbo is also known for actin ...

References

External links