The Rundown

Proving that all my thoughts are not usurped by the Chicago Cubs...Dad and I went to see The Rundown yesterday.

It's an action type movie along the lines of Arnold's Commando or Raw Deal type flicks. It's funny.

Actually, it reminds me a lot in form and followthru of an old Charles Bronson movie called Red Sun. It also stars Toshiro Mifune, and a lot of the plot points are quite similar, down even to the fight between the two main characters...where Sean William Scott (whose character name I can't remember and I'm much too lazy to hit the back button to look at IMDB) plays the Bronson role, and THE ROCK (as THE BECK) plays the Mifune role....and there is no fight, as the the Rock beats Sean William Scott's character pretty easily.

He asks, as Scott writhes in pain, "Are you done beating me up yet?"

Bronson, after getting whipped by Mifune says "Out of the goodness of my heart, I've decided to call this one a draw."

There's no Rosario Dawson in Red Sun, and the Rundown has that to its advantage.

The Rundown is very much a samurai movie in the Mifune/Kurosawa tradition. THE BECK abhors guns, because he doesn't like where they take him. He chooses to use the old ways (which include, fittingly, a few wrestling moves) to take down the bad guys.

Doesn't stop the flick from having quite the good shoot out fight at the end, in more the spaghetti western finish.

And also, there's a funny scene involving hallucinations.

I give it a thumbs up.

But don't go if you're expecting anything enlightening or life changing. The movie does what it's supposed to.