FilmBlather.com

"Chris, I know you're familiar with the term 'no-fly zone.' Because that's what that casino is."

Arnold Schwarzenegger has nothing on The Rock, except project selection. Despite being at best a mediocre actor, Arnold has made some remarkable contributions to cinema, including at least one masterpiece and several great flicks. The Rock, ostensibly Schwarzenegger's successor, is by all accounts a decent performer -- I guess a WWF wrestler would have to be -- but he has yet to star in a decent picture. Granted: he has only had three stabs at it, but watching each one is almost painful; the action genre is always so starved for real talent, and here's one that seems to be wasting away.

And for a while, his latest vehicle had me thinking that we had at last found the perfect role for The Rock, in a movie that's savvy enough to use his talent in an intelligible way. To begin with, I thought, the simpler the better, and little could be simpler than the story that unfolds in the first half of Walking Tall: tough guy with heart of gold returns home after a long stint in the army, finds the Old Mill shuttered and the town corrupted by a casino entrepeneur and his vile henchmen.

Simple, and exciting, and funny, and overall a perfect use of the star's persona; unfortunately, it doesn't last very long. Because you see, Rock's character, generically monikered Chris Vaughn, can't settle for simply being an indignant enforcer. No; after learning that Jay Hamilton (Neal McDonough) is selling drugs out of his career and beating up everyone in the vicinity with a two-by-four (but not a rifle!), he promises a jury that if they acquit him, he will run for sheriff and fire all of the crooked cops who turn a blind eye to the casino's shady dealings.

They do acquit him, and he does run, and wins in what seems to be a landslide. This is a major turning point for the film, the rest of which consists of Vaughn's increasingly aggressive attempts to displace Hamilton and his gang from his quaint little mining town. It is also the time when Walking Tall goes almost entirely to hell, getting bogged down in cop movie nonsense and a stunningly retarded romantic subplot.

The appeal of the film's opening, if I may say so, is the distinctive violence on display, the sort of rough-and-tumble brawls that The Rock was born to kick ass in. The second half ups the sadism and finally puts in the firearms, but it's useless; the movie's competitive advantage evaporates. The director, Kevin Bray (All About the Benjamins), can't compete in a playing field as wide as the cop genre, and Walking Tall abruptly stops being fun.

Rock's co-stars are a mixed bag. There's obviously a burgeoning asset in Khleo Thomas, who starred in Holes and has a smaller role here, as Chris Vaughn's young nephew. He has just the right amount of attitude to be both entertaining and believable. Johnny Knoxville, on the other hand, is insufferable as Rock's main sidekick; he sure makes a lot of noise for someone with so little personality.

And so, another wasted opportunity for someone who wants to, and should, become another Ah-nuld. Up next, he has a supporting role in Be Cool, F. Gary Gray's sequel to Get Shorty. Maybe a career as a supporting character actor? Hmm. Nah. I think The Rock is on the right track, just plagued by some bad advice and worse luck.