Project-Blu ‘Walking Tall’ Review, by Nate Boss

Walking Tall

By: Nate Boss, 6.17.2009

The Movie Itself:
 Johnny Cash may Walk the Line, Dewey Cox may Walk Hard, but only The Rock can Walk Tall (Walking Tall, that is). Sure, Joe Don Baker, Bo Svenson, and Brian Dennehy have all played Bufford Pusser (worst name in cinema, ever. Worse than Bond Girl Honey Christmas!), but none of these men have the sheer charisma and athletic talent to pull off the role in the matter that Dwayne Johnson himself could. Perhaps the studio execs realized that a "Buford Pusser" sounds more like a sexually transmitted disease than a rough and tumble lawman, so cue: Chris Vaughn.

Yeah...the role of Pusser has been renamed for this film, possibly due to the fact that no one would believe The Rock in a role named Buford Pusser, or perhaps due to the fact that this film follows a story quite different from the real life events, taking some semi-truthful ideas and crafting a silly morality tale around them. The man is a legend, but does this remake (the film was originally made in the '70's) do the man justice, or is its treatment of an American hero criminal?

Chris Vaughn (The Rock, before he started going legit as his real name) is a soldier returning home, only to find his beloved town overrun by a criminal element. This is not the town he left., for sure. The Special Forces vet has a run-in with former friend (and now casino owning) Jay Hamilton (Neal McDonough), and when Vaughn reacts to being cheated with force, he pays the price, almost losing his life. Vaughn decides to take the law into his own hands when the local law, who are in Hamilton's pocket, won't do a thing for him, winning the office of sheriff. His fight on crime won't come cheap or easy.

To quote a line from the film, Walking Tall is "nothing but fake boobs and real assholes." It really is. This early outing from the owner of the People's Eyebrow (and Elbow) shows some progress from his previous roles, but it is somewhat obvious how rough around the edges he is. To counter this, the rest of the entire cast is equally rough (including former Jackass Johnny Knoxville), with no real stand out performance, other than the stand out (and laugh at) one done by Kristen Wilson as Vaughn's sister. There is NO chemistry between the pair, unlike the pairing of The Rock and John Beasley as his father, which is actually somewhat believable (and a damn good casting compliment, despite his lack of solid chops) in the role.

The film is amazingly dimwitted, with goofy villains who are as inept as they are cliche (and lets just say they are far from marksmen), and an entire cast of innocent, good, hard working people who we really can't find a reason to give a damn about. The only reason to cheer in this one is to see The Rock whoop some ass, which he does throughout the film. That's it. Not since Jim "The Hacksaw" Duggan has a wrestler wreaked so much carnage with a mere piece of wood. And not since Walking Tall has a piece of wood been the best actor in a film.
Rating: 4/10

The Presentation:
Walking Tall kinda slumps on Blu-ray, with an MPEG-2 transfer (1080P, 2.35:1) that isn't bad, but isn't great, either.

Skin tones are natural, colors bloom from time to time (that's a nice way to put spin on it, from time to time...), and detail can be sharp, including some lovely looks at the stretch marks beneath The Rock's arms. Sexy! One can ever see the tiny little hair sticking up from the two elder Pusser's heads in profile shots. Edges are natural, and the grain level doesn't look manipulated.

Dirt levels go from random and tiny, to a few filthier shots, while there are some larger scratches that pop up with a bit of frequency as the film moves along. Artifacts are pretty obvious a few times. Backgrounds can be busy with activity, occasionally digital noise, which is obvious in green or blue backgrounds. Some shots can alternate between sharp and dull, especially early, for example: after the football scene, where blades of grass go from being rich, distinct, and prominent, to monotonous and completely indistinct, blending together. Brightness can fluctuate mid-scene. The image is somewhat flat, while contrast doesn't sparkle, and delineation is weak at best.

At least I don't have that many complaints about the audio end of things, with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix that does the job.

The bass surprised me, with some proper thuds to accompany the rock (sometimes awful rock) soundtrack. Dialogue is always discernible. Crowded rooms sound crowded, with proper surround usage that puts you in the middle of the seedy casino. Directionality is respectable, and somewhat of a frequent guest in this mix. The explosion scene sounds decent as fuck, while the infamous shootout of the office/trailer is awesome, with bullets firing and traveling across every speaker in the soundstage. The biggest concern I had for this sound mix may not even be an issue relevant to this track, but the film itself, as the soundtrack covers up many discrete sound effects and even kills a few motion effects. Just not a very good mix of the action, as I would have much rather heard the footsteps of Vaughn walking his town (which can be heard when the soundtrack softens up for a few seconds), or subtle transitions, rather than the awful, awful soundtrack.
Rating: 6/10 ( 5/10- video, 7/10- audio)

The Extras:
DVD
A DVD of the film is included with this release. This is the original pressing (the disc says 2004 on it), not a new edition. Funnily enough, this disc includes a commentary track (or TWO), deleted scenes, outtakes, an alternate ending, a stunts featurette, AND a photo gallery. NONE of these features are found on the Blu-ray. NONE.

Trailer (HD, 1 min)
An HD trailer of the film.

Trailers (HD)
Trailers for Usual Suspects, Out of Time, and Bulletproof Monk.
Rating: 2/10

Overall:
How long has this disc been sitting, waiting for release? The MPEG-2 transfer is one clue, the barebones release with trailers for films that were likewise delayed after long being rumored, or released for YEARS is another clue. Perhaps MGM learned from their early barebones releases, and instead of pressing new discs, put the DVD in there to cover the features, and give this package a bit of versatility (I like versatility!). The packaging is modern, the packaging AND Blu-ray disc say 2009, so who knows. All I know is I'm glad to have this one in my collection, despite the fact that it's a stinker. Gotta' love me some of that early The Rock acting, yessir. With video qualities that are a bit underwhelming, and a decent audio mix, this release may be a toss up for those on the fence.
Rating: 5/10