Click to read the article
The Rundown (2003)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:139
Fresh:99
Rotten:40
Average Rating:6.4/10
Consensus: The Rundown doesn't break any new grounds, but the material is amusing enough to entertain.
Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Synopsis: In the always rough, have-to-be tough urban jungle of Los Angeles, there are men like Beck (THE ROCK)…well, not exactly like Beck—a man who uses whatever means are necessary to retrieve whatever he... In the always rough, have-to-be tough urban jungle of Los Angeles, there are men like Beck (THE ROCK)…well, not exactly like Beck—a man who uses whatever means are necessary to retrieve whatever he is paid to bring back. A marker, a late payment or a Super Bowl ring from a quarterback with gambling debts—Beck doesn’t differentiate and simply relies on his wits, his “let’s get this over with” attitude and his devastating physical prowess to get the job done. For him, it’s a simple, multiple-choice world: (A) Beck’s way, (B) Beck’s way with force, or (C)…there is no “C.” Beck doesn’t go looking for trouble, and he doesn’t like making trouble for anyone, either. Unfortunately, trouble is what he’s hired to clean up, and there’s one final mess he’s got to get out of before he can leave it all behind. And this one just keeps getting more and more tangled, like the Amazon jungle he’s been sent to in The Rundown. At the center of his current trouble is a wise-ass named Travis (SEANN WILLIAM SCOTT), a fast-talking double dealer whose dad has commissioned Beck to retrieve from a lingering adventure in Brazil. Travis proves to be more of a handful than Beck expected, not only because of his mouth and his heels-dug-in reluctance to leave, but because of a couple of other complications he brings with him: Mariana (ROSARIO DAWSON), a no-nonsense local who holds the answers to some of the jungle’s hidden mysteries, and Hatcher (CHRISTOPHER WALKEN), an unhinged despot who has turned the jungle and its inhabitants into his own fortune-making, gold-mining empire. The rundown: Beck is after a guy…who’s after a fortune…and now everybody’s after them. So he’s going to have to unleash everything he’s got to keep on top of his smack-talking quarry, the girl with the secret, the crazy tyrant, the horny monkeys, the hallucinogenic fruit, the backs-to-the-wall rebels, the perilous terrain, the hidden traps and every other obstacle that this jungle throws at him. PETER BERG (Very Bad Things, television’s Chicago Hope and Wonderland) directs The Rundown, a comic action-adventure with exotic locations and hard-hitting, exquisitely crafted fight sequences choreographed by Hong Kong master ANDY CHENG. The film is produced by KEVIN MISHER (The Scorpion King), MARC ABRAHAM (Bring It On) and KAREN GLASSER (Felicia’s Journey). R.J. STEWART (Major League II) and JAMES VANDERBILT (Basic) wrote the screenplay from a story by Stewart. Joining Berg and the producers behind the camera are executive producers VINCE McMAHON (The Scorpion King) and RIC KIDNEY (The Recruit); director of photography TOBIAS SCHLIESSLER (Bait); production designer TOM DUFFIELD (The Ring); editor RICHARD PEARSON (Men in Black II); costume designer LOUISE MINGENBACH (X-Men 2); and composer HARRY GREGSON-WILLIAMS (Spy Game). [More]
Starring: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Seann William Scott, Christopher Walken, Rosario Dawson
Starring: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Seann William Scott, Christopher Walken, Rosario Dawson, Ewen Bremner
Director: Peter Berg
Director: Peter Berg
Screenwriter: James Vanderbilt, R.J. Stewart
Producer: Kevin Misher, Karen Glasser, Marc Abraham
Composer: Harry Gregson-Williams
Studio: Universal Pictures
Reviews for The Rundown
The Rundown, like many recent action movies, is aggressively adolescent.
Puts similar movies to shame simply by bringing that infectiously goofy FUN back into what's generally known as the Mindless Action Flick.
Whatever Scott drains from the picture, The Rock adds back in. He's a natural, a presence we take to immediately.
The Stifmeister steals the show in this Indiana Jones-inspired jungle tale.
It adds up to prime stuff for us action junkies and admiration for the new guy in town, The Rock.
If Arnold Schwarzenegger had made a movie this tepid in his Commando/Terminator heyday, burned fans would be suggesting that he pursue some tenure as a Fresno alderman.
Too often brings guffaws at all the wrong moments, when it's not being simply too stupid for words.
While you won't exactly walk out humming the plot, The Rundown should go down quite decently with popcorn.
A good showcase for the former wrestler’s impressive physical prowess and decent comic timing.
As an action director, Peter Berg applies simple principles: speed it up, make it louder, blur it with effects. So we never get a true fix on just how good an action machine the Rock might be.
The film vacillates between balmy stabs at humor and milking its sodden social conscience. Meanwhile the script devolves into people yelling 'Shut up!' at each other.
Latest News for The Rundown
October 16, 2007:
And the Possible Dune Remake's Director Might Be...
A few weeks ago, we discussed a CHUD report about Frank Herbert's Dune possibly heading back to the big screen. Now, according to Ain't It Cool News, some of the details... More...
December 26, 2006:
Trailer Bulletin: Jamie Foxx & Jennifer Garner in "The Kingdom"
Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Chris Cooper, Jason Bateman and Jeremy Piven star in "The Kingdom," a terrorism-focused action thriller from the director of "The... More...
September 21, 2006:
Box Office Guru Preview: Jackass Crashes into Theaters
Four new films open wide, but they may not be enough to stop the North American box office from suffering its third consecutive down weekend. More...
September 18, 2006:
Box Office Wrapup: Gridiron Gang #1, but Box Office Still Fumbles
Wrestler-turned-actor The Rock suffered the worst opening of his career with the football drama Gridiron Gang, but thanks to weak competition, it was still enough to capture the... More...
More DVDs
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 14% 14% | The Ugly Truth |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 86% 86% | A Christmas Tale |
| 60% 60% | Paper Heart |
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Sponsored Links
Around The Network
- The Rundown at Rotten Tomatoes
- The Rundown at IGN
- The Rundown at AskMen
Fresh Links
Featured

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.



Top Critic

