The Rundown

Exuding screen charisma, showing increasing talent, and never taking himself too seriously (unlike genre rival Vin Diesel), wrestler-turned-actor The Rock seems to know what to look for in a good B-movie. He enthusiastically embraces all the absurdity in this action-comedy about a bounty hunter helping to bring down a slave-driving gold mine operator (scenery-chomping Christopher Walken) in Brazil while chasing his last quarry (Seann William Scott) before retiring to open a restaurant. Naturally, that proves to be much easier said than done, and as he and Scott cat-and-mouse through the authentically sweaty, muddy Amazon, with Walken's men in hot pursuit, they run headlong into a jungle-fu-kicking rebel army, lead by a robust babe (Rosario Dawson with an on-again-off-again accent), which results in many wow-worthy over-the-top fight scenes (often in "See? No stunt man!" slow motion, coupled with hummingbird-velocity kicks and punches). And throughout it all, The Rock seems to be slyly winking his way towards becoming this decade's top-dog action-movie hero. A strong optional purchase. [Note: Available in both widescreen and full screen versions, DVD extras include two audio commentaries (one by director Peter Berg and star The Rock; the other by producers Kevin Misher and Marc Abraham--with neither commentary mentioned on the DVD jacket), a 10-minute “Rumble in the Jungle” featurette on stunts and fight scenes, the five-minute location featurette “The Amazon, Hawaii Style,” the eight-minute special effects segment “Appetite for Destruction,” the six-minute “making of” featurette “The Rundown: Uncensored,” the four-minute “Running Down the Town” production design featurette, the five-minute “Walken's World” featurette on costar Christopher Walken, 14 minutes of deleted scenes, cast and filmmaker bios and film highlights, and DVD-ROM features. Bottom line: a Rock-solid extras package for a decent action flick.] (R. Blackwelder)[Blu-ray Review—Mar. 3, 2009—Universal, 105 min., PG-13, $29.98—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 2003's The Rundown sports a nice transfer with DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sound. Blu-ray extras are nearly identical to those on the standard DVD release, including two audio commentaries (one by director Peter Berg and star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson; the other by producers Kevin Misher and Marc Abraham), a 10-minute “Rumble in the Jungle” featurette on stunts and fight scenes, the five-minute location featurette “The Amazon, Hawaii Style,” the eight-minute special effects segment “Appetite for Destruction,” the six-minute “making-of” featurette “The Rundown: Uncensored,” the four-minute “Running Down the Town” production design featurette, a five-minute “Walken's World” featurette on costar Christopher Walken, 14 minutes of deleted scenes, and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is the BD Live function. Bottom line: a solid Blu-ray debut of a somewhat better-than-average action-adventure flick.]