The Rock kicks, smashes and shoots his way to victory in the "slightly true" story called Walking Tall, a movie based on the exploits of one Sheriff Buford Pusser. In this remake of the 1973 hit, Pusser has been replaced by character Chris Vaughn, character back stories have been replaced with action and plot has been replaced with... well, action. This movie proves that action may be enough.

Walking Tall does not try to kid itself that it has anything to offer other than lots of fighting, except for the fact that it is clinging to the claim that at least some of the movie is inspired by a true story. It never attempts to delve into the backgrounds of any of the characters or their relationships, nor does it try to draw any overpowering performances from any of the actors. Walking Tall was made for the sole purpose of allowing The Rock to kick the ass of just about everything in his small Washington State town. And he does. Walking Tall fulfills its purpose in life and expectations; for that, it is one of the more entertaining movies seen in a long time.

To reemphasize, for those that like some assemblage of plot or character, this is not the movie. Of course, if I had to choose between a smart action movie and a simple movie, I would choose the smart action movie. Still, just because there are more intelligent movies out there do not mean that Walking Tall should be criticized for what it is. Surely, there are plenty of critics out there right now saying that the movie is just 75 minutes (yes, only 75 minutes) of inane punching and shooting, and that that is a bad thing. What's the big deal?

Technically, Walking Tall isn't a lot to look at, but The Rock dominates every scene he is in. Sure, he's no Michael Caine, but he does have charm and uses it to no extreme. He is fun to watch on camera, and no matter how violent he is he is more than likable. As he goes around town beating people up with his big piece of timber (no joke), it is impossible not to get a kick out of such things.

The movie does feel a bit short, and it should - as mentioned before, it is barely 75 minutes long. Nonetheless, a movie much longer would require stuff to fill in the cracks, and so 75 minutes is probably just about the right amount of time for something like this.

Walking Tall is a fun bundle of violence that never fails to entertain.

Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.