I would give my left arm for a young Joe Don Baker to take his ax handle to Hollywood and thump some heads. There seems to be a pandemic within Hollywood that has robbed many writers, directors, and actors of originality and creativity. And due to this lack of originality, movie-goers are subjected to poor remakes that are often a mere shadow of the original. It is this category of hybrid bastardization that Walking Tall: The Payback is condemned to.
One can only imagine what the reasoning was behind Walking Tall: The Payback. Honestly, this story has gone far beyond beating the proverbial dead horse; we have beaten this horse, burned it, buried it, and have now resurrected the body only to continue the beatings -- apologies to my equine loving readers--just making a point. To date there have been five feature length movies (with another on the way), one made-for-TV movie, and the TV series from 1981 all referencing ‘Walking Tall’ in some way.
If anyone is curious, there was an actual Bufford Pusser who was sheriff of McNairy County, Tennessee from 1964 until 1970. He was in the military but failed to move beyond basic training due to asthma. Mr. Pusser was also a pro-wrestler for a stint before turning to law enforcement. And as a sheriff, Mr. Pusser did begin a war on the Southern mafia resulting in his wife’s murder and eventually his own demise.
But like Dr. Frankenstein and Igor scuttling through cemeteries in the murky moonlight, so we find Hollywood sniffing celluloid sarcophagi in hopes of finding some life. And in 2004, the franchise was resurrected with ‘Walking Tall.’ This version has vague similarities but really should have had a different name because it stands alone. The problems I have are that The Rock’s character is Chris Vaughn not Bufford Pusser and the story is set in Washington. To me it’s like making 1986’s ‘Running Scared’ but calling it ‘In the Heat of the Night.’
With the release of the 2004 version of ‘Walking Tall,’ the franchise was back in play and it didn’t take long for the vultures to land. And I’m convinced that Joe Halpin and Brian Strasmann, the writers behind Walking Tall: The Payback, are creatures with a palette for carrion. Consider some of Mr. Halpin’s other heady projects, ‘Attack Force,’ ‘Shadow Man,’ and lest I forget, the upcoming ‘Walking Tall 3.’
But as with 2004’s ‘Walking Tall,’ so Walking Tall: The Payback is a film without Bufford Pusser or the Tennessee setting. Director Tripp Reed (The Truth About Juliet) made a film in a similar vein but not enough to warrant using such a title.
To begin, our story is set in rural Boone, Texas where the sheriff, an aging Charles Prescott (Richard Dillard, The Ringer) is helplessly watching his town being taken over by what he believes to be the Southern mafia. The reason for the sheriff’s concern is that small business owners are slowly being bought out or forced out of business by the local bully Harvey Morris (A.J. Buckley, CSI: NY) and his unkempt gang.
Unfortunately for Sheriff Prescott, he has little legal assistance as the local police chief is Walter Morris (Bentley Mitchum, A Crack in the Floor), the younger brother of the town gang leader. The sheriff also finds himself increasingly isolated because his deputies face the decision of being killed by the Harvey Morris’ thugs or leaving the sheriff’s department.
In fact the sheriff’s only support comes from his assistant Hap Worrell (Dell Johnson, Echoes of Innocence) and his long-suffering wife, Emma (Gail Cronauer, Infamous). After an explosion at a local gas-station, Prescott suspects foul play when he finds a charred pistol. He decides to enlist the help of the FBI, and on his way to Dallas to meet them, he visits his son, Nick (Kevin Sorbo, “Andromeda”) who is a horse trainer and former Special Ops member.
We learn that Nick (Sorbo) has little respect for the law since his fiancé’s death. Nick has no interest in his father’s problems other than to tell him to retire because one man can’t make a difference. I hope you see where this is going.
Soon, Sheriff Prescott (Dillard) is killed for contacting the FBI and Nick (Sorbo) returns to town to mete out vengeance. There’s little more that you couldn’t guess for yourself. This is a pretty standard, well sub-standard, vengeance tale.
The villain, Harvey Morris (Buckley), is absurdly over-the-top in his performance. Here’s a freebie for you kids aspiring to write; your audience needs to be able to empathize on some level with your villain. Even the mysterious writer of ‘Beowulf’ understood that concept in his day. Grendel is a magnificent villain that sneaks around in the fog, a descendant of Cain wearing the curse of God around his neck -- he is a heart-breaking villain. Or consider ‘Scarface’ as a more recent example. Why do we like Pacino’s Tony Montoya? Because he’s a regular guy from a hard-luck background trying to become someone; it’s an American success story with a flawed character.
My point here is that Harvey Morris (Buckley) is a ranting, screaming, spittle-flying villain with no motivation. So we’re left to watch a two-dimensional villain and a two-dimensional hero, Nick (Sorbo) use guns, knives, and explosions to finish the other (be still my queasy stomach).
I can hardly wait for the third installment, also starring Kevin Sorbo, due out later this year. As a word of warning, the movie is rated-R for language and violence, neither of which I normally bat an eye at, but there’s also a graphic rape scene. I think we all understand that violence on women happens, but I see no need to revel in its tragedy.
So what’s my final word? If you like the original ‘Walking Tall,’ then stick with it and ignore these remakes. If you think Kevin Sorbo is the man and wish he would sire your offspring, you need help, and you should watch ‘Hercules’ or ‘Andromeda.’
Walking Tall: The Payback is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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