Walking Tall

The Hollywood Reporter Sheri Linden

The cast acquits itself well, with the Rock evincing a quiet balance between humor and brawn.

Variety Scott Foundas

Moves along at a clip and provides a terrific action lead for Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

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.

Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell

Don't go in expecting much and you'll have fun. Consider it The Rock's "Raw Deal."

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

It's blunt, to the point, aggressively manipulative and, at 86 minutes, not a minute longer than it needs to be.

New York Post Jonathan Foreman

Exciting stuff in its primitive, predictable way.

Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall

Lacks the raw power of the original but offers its own brand of exploitative fun.

The New York Times Dave Kehr

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.

LA Weekly Robert Abele

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.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

This Walking Tall does have the Rock, and that, both physically and metaphorically, is no small thing.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

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.

Dallas Observer Luke Y. Thompson

Unlike the original, there's no R-rated grit and no familial executions -- gotta get the young-skewing WWE fan base in there.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

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.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

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.

Chicago Tribune Allison Benedikt

A fine shoot-'em-up remake. The story is mildly gripping, and the action is fresh and entertaining.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

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.

USA Today Mike Clark

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.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

The movie itself is neither a catastrophe nor major.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

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.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

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.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

Walking Tall, which is credited to four different writers, is wanting for a reason to be.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

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.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Instead of generating a testosterone rush, the fight scenes release tryptophan. Not only are they boring, but they are choreographed in an amateurish fashion.

Philadelphia Inquirer David Hiltbrand

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.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Jennie Punter

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.

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

Actually underserves its star, who is better than schlocky material like this would lead you to believe.

Village Voice Ed Halter

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.

New York Magazine Peter Rainer

The new film stars The Rock, but The Wood might be a better description of his performance.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

One mediocre, ploddingly predictable film, loaded down with cheesy Hollywood tactics.

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

Retains and updates the basic plot points while losing much of the original's heart and soul.

Premiere Addison MacDonald

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.