Walking Tall

A Special Forces veteran (The Rock) returns to his small-town home and finds the local mill closed and the town’s economy at the mercy of a corrupt casino owner (Neal McDonough). This ostensible remake has little in common with the 1973 yahoo revenge fantasy (which, in turn, rode roughshod over the facts in recounting the life of Tennessee lawman Buford Pusser). But factual inaccuracy is the least of this movie’s problems—it’s cheap, ludicrous and sloppy. (The Rock’s genuine physical prowess is at the mercy of music-video director Kevin Bray, who seldom knows where to point the camera.) The Rock is a real star, and Johnny Knoxville is surprisingly appealing as the hero’s sidekick, but otherwise the movie is a dead loss. Plus, at barely 80 minutes, it doesn’t even give you your money’s worth.