With nothing but a 4x4. A truly, horribly, savage beating. Mwa-hahahahahahaha!!! Broken ankles, and broken wrists. All those jackasses that cut him up get their come-uppence.
Sure, you could say that "THE ROCK" is what audiences these days want in their action heroes, but Joe Don Baker is the classic action hero. From his belly over his belt performance in Mitchelle, to his original portrayel as Bufford Pusser in the original Walking Tall. This man means what he says, and says what he means. Goddamnit!!! That's a man!!!
But in this version of Walking Tall, we trade Joe Don Baker for Dwayne Johnson and Johnny Knoxville. And you know what? They make a pretty damn good duo.
Basically The Rock is Chris Vaughn, a special forces retiree who comes home from 15 years of service. But the town he grew up in is pretty much decimated. The old saw mill his father worked in is shut down and dismantled. And there are whore's on every city block. And in the dead center of the town, is a casino that Chris' old buddy Jay opened. And is the main center of attraction and income for the entire town. Hmmm, so far this place sounds like Laughlin to me.
Johnny Knoxville is Ray Templeton. Chris' best friend and former drug addict. Besides his family, this is the closest person in Chris' life. Things are going okay in the town until one night at the casino Chris catches the craps dealer cheating his buddies and calls him on it. What follows is Jay's bouncers beating Chris to almost certain death, and then cutting huge wounds into his chest with a box cutter. But when they push horse, smack, crack, angel dust, and pot on Chris' nephew that's when he gets mad. And he beats, the living HELL!!!!!! out of these bouncers. With nothing but a 4x4. A truly, horribly, savage beating. Mwa-hahahahahahaha!!! Broken ankles, and broken wrists. All those jackasses that cut him up get their come-uppence.
And to top it all of off, when they take him to court to get him thrown in prison he just ends up getting elected the new Sherrif. TAKE THAT BITCHES!!!!
What's next in the movie is pretty much just a shake down through the entire flick. Everything that was good about this movie falls apart here. There are very few action scenes with Chris left. Save for the finale at the end between him and Jay. Knoxville has the best shootout scene in the movie and really does prove himself as an action star. Well, action star/comic relief. Lethal Weapon 5 anyone? I make the prediction here.
FINAL ANALYSIS!
The Rock for as commercial and household name as he is, he does make entertaining movies. And for all it's short-comings, Walking Tall is a good movie to see if you're not looking for anything challenging.
My biggest qualm is the lack of Joe Don Baker. The man who made the first movie what it was. Not even a cameo. And believe me, I looked.
What they should have done, was at least cast someone who could handle the Joe Don Baker manurisms, like Big Mac eating, and sweating. If only such a man existed. . . .
The Rock is the quint essential action hero these days. From now I garuntee it's going to be The Rock in Terminator 4. And The Rock in Predator 3. And The Rock in Kindergarden Cop 2. Here's hoping however, that The Rock starts making R rated movies. I'd love to see him kick some REAL ASS!!!!
Johnny Knoxille also makes this movie what it is. He needs to be in more movies, with bigger parts. Until then, this movie will have to suffice. 
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