Plot: What’s it about?
Let’s take a trip back to 2003. George W. Bush was President of the United States, C.S.I. was the #1 television show and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was just starting what would be a run at the box office that was only paralleled by Samuel L. Jackson. This was just after Johnson made a name for himself in films like The Mummy Returns or The Scorpion King. He was a “leading man”, though perhaps one of the most typecast actors. To his credit, he’s run with it and is laughing all the way to the bank. Still, there are few to turn to in the action/adventure genre and this was one of his earlier films that actually packed a punch – both literally and figuratively. Add to that a fairly decent cast with Seann William Scott (sharing top billing), Rosario Dawson and the always entertaining Christopher Walken. Hey, it could be a lot worse.
That aside, we find Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (I’m never going to refer to him as anything else) as Beck, a “retrieval specialist.” Beck owes a large debt to a bookie, Walker (William Lucking) and asks to be set free. Walker offers him one last deal: go to a small Brazilian town called El Dorado to retrieve the man’s son, Travis (Seann William Scott). Once done, Beck is a free man. I take a line from another movie, though its name escapes me at the moment, “…it’s a snatch and grab job.” But, as it turns out, El Dorado turns out to be run by a ruthless businessman named Hatcher (Christopher Walken). He pays the town’s citizens to mine gold (among other things) and isn’t initially disturbed by Beck. He does request a small fee for the “business” being conducted, however. But things are never easy and Hatcher learns that Travis might know about the location of “the gato” – an extremely valuable artifact. Hatcher wants Travis to find him before Beck hauls him away. The rub, of course, is that things don’t go according to plan. Do they ever?
The film, directed by Peter Berg, was one I’d seen somewhere in my DVD collection, but for one reason or another I’d never made the effort to put the disc in the player. As it turns out, that’s pretty integral. Berg is perhaps better-known for some of his collaborations with Mark Wahlberg like Patriot’s Day, Lone Survivor or Mile 22. Still, Berg is a competent director and does a fine job here. Dawson is great in her role as is Seann William Scott, it’s a shame we don’t see him around much anymore, but don’t feel too bad for him. If you type in “Seann William Scott” net worth – it’s just a shade over $25 million. Not bad. With a film like The Rundown, you know what you’re going to get, but in less capable hands this one could have been a real letdown.
Video: How’s it look?
Universal’s 2009 Blu-ray has been the “standard” for this film since it’s release over a decade and a half ago. So it was about time that a new 4K remaster occurred. And, Kino has delivered with a new HDR/Dolby Vision Master from a scan of the original 35mm negative. Right off the bat, colors seem bright and bold, though a little too contrasty at times. Then again the jungle does that. Flesh tones seem warm and natural, detail has been improved as well. Granted the movie is what I’d consider a “modern day” film and it finally seems to look on par with some more recent films. I just can’t get over how “The Rock’s” hair looks painted on. Or maybe that’s just me.
Audio: How’s it sound?
The included DTS HD Master Audio mix is a different story and one would figure that this would have been ripe for a new Dolby Atmos mix. One would be incorrect. That said, it’s got some scenes where I was pretty impressed. Vocals, notably Johnson’s deep, commanding voice, are front and center. The front stage handles the majority of the action, but the surrounds light up the ambiance with a few select scenes. The LFE even have a couple of instances in which I really “felt” the action. This is, by no means, a bad track. There are better, but this one does get the job done. And done well.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Most of the supplements are ported over from Universal’s Blu-ray (Mill Creek’s disc was featureless), but we also get a new audio commentary with this release. Admittedly, my first experience with this film was with Mill Creek’s version which had zero supplements. I wasn’t about to sit and watch this film four times with three of them being commentary tracks. Plus the first two have been around since 2009. I did, however, give the new one its due time.
Disc One (4K)
- Audio Commentary – Director Peter Berg and Star Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson
- Audio Commentary – Producers Kevin Misher and Marc Abraham
- Audio Commentary – Action Film Historian Mike Leeder and Filmmaker Matt Routledge collaborate for this new commentary track. Yep, that’s right – this film now has three commentary tracks. I’ve never wondered if there was a profession out there in which “Action Film Historian” existed. Evidently it does and Mike Leeder is certainly a frontrunner in the field. His comments aren’t really mind-blowing, but he and Routledge do have some nice facts about the movie and, more to the point, the genre. If you’ve listened to the other two tracks – why stop now?
Disc Two (Blu-ray)
- Audio Commentary – Director Peter Berg and Star Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson
- Audio Commentary – Producers Kevin Misher and Marc Abraham
- Audio Commentary – Action Film Historian Mike Leeder and Filmmaker Matt Routledge collaborate for this new commentary track. Yep, that’s right – this film now has three commentary tracks. I’ve never wondered if there was a profession out there in which “Action Film Historian” existed. Evidently it does and Mike Leeder is certainly a frontrunner in the field. His comments aren’t really mind-blowing, but he and Routledge do have some nice facts about the movie and, more to the point, the genre. If you’ve listened to the other two tracks – why stop now?
- Rumble in the Jungle – If taking a look at the fight choreography is your thing then you’re in luck – we’ve got this. That does that.
- The Amazon, Hawaii Style – Given the options between filming in Hawaii versus the Amazon, I’ll take the former. So did the filmmakers. But hey, I was fooled. You will be too.
- Appetite for Destruction – Pretty much the same as “Rumble in the Jungle” only with explosives.
- The Rundown Uncensored – A Rock-umentary – More stunts only this time with animals! Sort of.
- Running Down the Town – Ever wondered if those towns they use in movies that get destroyed are real? Yeah, me neither. But we get a look at how they’re made.
- Walken’s World – We couldn’t have a movie with Christopher Walken without a feature dedicated to the man, myth and legend. We get a look at what he brought to his role.
- Deleted Scenes – Nearly 15 minutes of deleted scenes are included, though none of them really did anything for me. Good riddance!
- Theatrical Trailer
The Bottom Line
A fairly forgettable film and one that I’d always passed on, The Rundown is actually a decent movie and one that bears the moniker of a “Rock” film. Kino’s disc does what Mill Creek’s didn’t in that it now looks great in 4K, it adds in the supplements from Universal’s disc and gives us a new commentary track to boot (I don’t know if this movie merits a trio of commentary tracks, but we’ve got ’em, so…).
