Metascore
44 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 31 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 31
  2. Negative: 9 out of 31
  1. The cast acquits itself well, with the Rock evincing a quiet balance between humor and brawn.
  2. Reviewed by: Scott Foundas
    70
    Moves along at a clip and provides a terrific action lead for Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson.
  3. Reviewed by: M. E. Russell
    67
    Don't go in expecting much and you'll have fun. Consider it The Rock's "Raw Deal."
  4. It still celebrates the vigilante spirit and justice delivered with a biblical swiftness, but it has been cleansed of much of its gratuitous violence and more offensive red-neck sensibilities. Mercifully, it's also a full 40 minutes shorter than the original.
  5. 63
    It's blunt, to the point, aggressively manipulative and, at 86 minutes, not a minute longer than it needs to be.
  6. Exciting stuff in its primitive, predictable way.
  7. Reviewed by: Robert Abele
    60
    Johnny Knoxville has a few inspired bits as Vaughn's recovering-addict chum, and The Rock carries an effortlessly soft side in the nonviolent scenes, but Bray doesn't linger too long on anything that doesn't end in a thud or wallop.
  8. This Walking Tall does have the Rock, and that, both physically and metaphorically, is no small thing.
  9. 60
    Walking Tall has no more fat on it than the Rock himself, a hulking yet curiously ingratiating presence who seems the most likely candidate to replace Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as America's favorite living comic book character.
  10. Reviewed by: Andrea Gronvall
    60
    Lacks the raw power of the original but offers its own brand of exploitative fun.
  11. There's not a guy I know who hasn't been looking forward to seeing The Rock pick up the big wooden stick first swung by Joe Don Baker more than 30 years ago.
  12. 50
    There was a time when guys would grab a six-pack and watch this kind of flick at a drive-in. I mean that as a compliment.
  13. 50
    Johnny Knoxville, famous for "Jackass,"...is, in fact, completely convincing and probably has a legitimate movie career ahead of him and doesn't have to stuff his underpants with dead chickens and hang upside down over alligator ponds any more.
  14. Reviewed by: Allison Benedikt
    50
    A fine shoot-'em-up remake. The story is mildly gripping, and the action is fresh and entertaining.
  15. The only thing to be said for it is The Rock. I've never seen the guy wrestle, but as a movie action hero, he's the real deal.
  16. The movie itself is just a routine showcase, modest in its aspiration and effective within its limits, entertaining in the moment but, in the end, faintly silly. On the plus side, it's only 86 minutes long.
  17. Reviewed by: Mike Clark
    50
    Though there's something mildly disarming about a movie this unpretentious, a few more like it might end up turning The Rock into a TV actor.
  18. 50
    Walking Tall, which is credited to four different writers, is wanting for a reason to be.
  19. 50
    Although inspired by actual events, the film proceeds along formulaic wish-fulfillment lines, its dynamics unaltered by the casting of a mixed-race actor in what was originally a redneck role; it's a sign of some sort of social progress that justified ass-kicking trumps race.
  20. Unlike the original, there's no R-rated grit and no familial executions -- gotta get the young-skewing WWE fan base in there.
  21. The movie itself is neither a catastrophe nor major.
  22. 40
    To its credit, the new Walking Tall is a good half-hour shorter than its predecessor, but even at 86 minutes, sitting through it is a chore.
  23. Reviewed by: David Hiltbrand
    38
    A dull, drab and pointless rehash, Walking Tall ironically manages to diminish the Rock's stature as both a leading man and an action star.
  24. 38
    Instead of generating a testosterone rush, the fight scenes release tryptophan. Not only are they boring, but they are choreographed in an amateurish fashion.
  25. Okay, it's just a movie, but his "reward" just doesn't cut it, even on a basic storytelling level. A crooked casino and a nephew's experiment with drugs are not enough justification for the hero's violent acts of vengeance.
  26. Retains and updates the basic plot points while losing much of the original's heart and soul.
  27. The new film stars The Rock, but The Wood might be a better description of his performance.
  28. Reviewed by: Ed Halter
    30
    The plot is so absurdly perfunctory that preview audiences snickered at its TV-drama slapdashness; the producers should have pushed the straight-camp potential much further and retitled this weak bruiser Sporting Wood.
  29. Actually underserves its star, who is better than schlocky material like this would lead you to believe.
  30. One mediocre, ploddingly predictable film, loaded down with cheesy Hollywood tactics.
  31. 25
    Short on story, character, and attempts to win viewers' emotional investment, the film only seems to take a breath when The Rock is making the baddies lose theirs.
User Score

Mixed or average reviews- based on 23 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 14
  2. Negative: 7 out of 14
  1. The acting was fine, There was a lot of action, and its worth the watch if you have nothing better to do. However the film never sucks you in and it feels too generic when compared to other vigilante films. Full Review »