Bullet Points: Walking Tall (2004)
1973’s Walking Tall did not just entertain the movie going public with the true life story of lawman Buford T. Pusser, it also created a winning movie formula.
Over the years I’ve seen many Walking Tall inspired movies, including China O’Brien and One Man Army. But in 2004, an official remake of the 1973 original would hit theaters with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as the star.
2004’s Walking Tall is not a direct remake and really more of a blend of the original film and some of the aforementioned copycat movies, with The Rock playing a character inspired by Buford T. Pusser and not Pusser himself…
- Home Sweet Home?: After being honorably discharged from the U.S. Army Special Forces, Chris Vaughn (Dwayne Johnson, Red Notice) finds himself returning home to the small lumber town of Kitsap County, Washington. But a lot has changed in the 8 years that Chris has been away, most notably the lumber mill that Chris’ father worked at forever and was the heart of the town has closed down and now the main source of revenue is the Wild Cherry Casino. A casino that is owned and operated by Jay Hamilton (Neal McDonough, Band of Brothers) an old high school classmate of Chris.
- The Crap Hits the Fan: Chris and Jay first cross paths again when they are on opposite sides of a “friendly” football game. The game is between Chris and some of his old high school friends (including Ray Templeton played by Johnny Knoxville) and Jay and the Wild Cherry Casino security team. After the game, Jay invites Chris and his friends to come to the casino that night, where they will receive the VIP treatment. But things take some unexpected turns for Chris Vaughn… first he gets a private dance from a familiar face, his old high school flame Deni (Ashley Scott, 12 Rounds) then after that awkwardness he notices that the craps game is rigged and he calls out the dealer… and we get our first casino brawl and it ends badly for Chris Vaughn who is dragged into a back room of the casino during the chaos, then he is carved up with a utility knife and then left for dead on the side of the road.
- A Lesser Man Would Be Dead: After a hospital stay and recuperating at his parents’ home, Chris is back on his feet and that’s when Jay Hamilton shows up and offers Chris a job as the head of security at the Wild Cherry Casino. Chris refuses. Jay then offers Chris an envelope full of money, to help Chris get back on his feet. Chris refuses again and makes it known, he plans on pressing charges against Hamilton’s security team. So Chris makes his way to the police station to file his complaint but Sheriff Stan Watkins (Michael Bowen, Iron Eagle) doesn’t want to hear it… the casino is vital to the town’s economy and he is not going to rock the boat.
- This Means War: When Chris’ nephew, Pete (Khleo Thomas, Roll Bounce) nearly ODs on some drugs that he and his friends bought from the Wild Cherry security guys, it sets Chris off who shows up at the casino with a piece of lumber in his hand and he proceeds to bust shit up, trashing the place and officially declaring war against Jay Hamilton! Chris is arrested moments later and will stand trial for his actions. But Chris Vaughn manages to turn a negative into a positive and after firing his public defender, Vaughn represents himself, gives an impassioned speech that not only sways the jury in his favor but also doubles as a campaign speech… that’s right Chris Vaughn is running for the office of sheriff.
- There’s a New Sheriff in Town: I appreciated the fact that Walking Tall didn’t go through the motions of Chris Vaughn and incumbent Stan Watkins campaigning, instead the movie cuts right to the obvious result… Chris Vaughn is the new sheriff. Chris fires all the existing deputies and he deputizes his boy Ray in their place. This decision kept Walking Tall at a tight 87 minutes… and speaking of tight, Deni shows up to keep Chris company at the police station, while he keeps an eye on Hamilton’s right hand man (and the guy that carved Chris up), Booth, who was arrested earlier in the day, just in case any of Hamilton’s other guys want to try to bust their buddy out of jail.
- Jackpot: Chris was able to enjoy an evening with Deni before all hells breaks loose as Jay Hamilton orders a two pronged attack on Chris Vaughn… you have the former police force show up outside the police station and start shooting up the place. This is a great scene, with Chris Vaughn shooting up the floor at one point (ala Nemesis) to escape the hail of bullets. And while all that is going on, what’s left of the Wild Cherry security team go to the Vaughn house looking to harm Chris’ family… but they weren’t expecting Ray and Chris Vaughn Sr. (John Beasley, The Sum of All Fears) to be ready to fight back. But before it is all said and done, Jay Hamilton is going to have to fight his own battle and we get a final fight between Jay and Chris that starts in the old lumber mill and ends up into the wilderness of the Pacific Northwest!
Walking Tall is easily my favorite of The Rock’s early forays into the world of acting. Walking Tall kept things nice and simple, not overcomplicating a story that did not need to be. The growing rivalry between The Rock’s Chris Vaughn and Neal McDonough’s Jay Hamilton was paced well providing many memorable moments along the way and resulting in a battle between the two men, who despite being from the same place geographically, were worlds apart philosophically.
If you don’t think a review on this site should end with some Bonus Bullet Points, then you and I are worlds apart…
- If You Ever: …wanted to see The Rock flash a jury, then Walking Tall is the movie for you.
- Soundtraxx: Walking Tall has a quality soundtrack with a variety of artists and genres represented… there’s Greg Allman’s “Midnight Rider”, Red Hot Chili Pepper’s “Higher Ground”, the Ohio Players’ “Fire”, Joe Cocker’s “Feelin’ Alright” and “Circles” by Soul Coughing.
- The Tradition Continued: Two DTV Walking Tall movies starring Kevin Sorbo would be released in 2007, Walking Tall: The Payback and Walking Tall: Lone Justice.
