Parents' Guide to

Walking Tall

By Nell Minow, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

OK as a WWE grudge match, but not as a movie.

Movie PG-13 2004 86 minutes
Walking Tall Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

See all
age 16+

Based on 1 parent review

jeliza
jeliza Adult
February 5, 2010
age 16+
Walking Tall is a great movie. It is about Chris (The Rock) trying to get his town back to the way it was before the mill shut down and casino came to town. With the casino came drugs too. Chris became the cop and started getting the drugs and drug dealers out of the town. But when he tries there is a group of guys that would rather have him dead then to get rid of the drugs and the casino. In this movie The Rock is an outstanding actor and I don’t think they could have found a better person to play the role. Jonny Knoxville plays the Rocks friend and he does a good job too. I would rate this move pg-13 for sexual content, drug use, language and violence.

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

This remake begins as hulking Chris Vaughn (The Rock) comes home to find that the mill has been closed, the old sheriff has died, and the town is now dominated by a casino. Vaughn's nephew (Khleo Thomas) has been buying drugs at the casino. So Vaughn takes a cedar plank to the casino and smashes up the slot machines and many of the people who work there. When he is put on trial, he does not deny what he did. But he tells the jury that if they acquit him, he'll run for sheriff and clean up the town.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1):
Kids say (3):

The original 1973 movie with Joe Don Baker teetered on the brink of vigilantism; this remake produced by World Wrestling Entertainment unhesitatingly dives in with a triple gainer. Yes, they know how to stage fights, though the battles in this WALKING TALL are more intense and graphic than the MPAA normally permits in a PG-13. The story requires a level of credibility and sympathy for the characters that it cannot come close to earning. Instead, it just assumes it, dissipating whatever built-in goodwill any movie about beating the bad guys should generate.

The Rock has a great deal of charm, and Johnny Knoxville brings a wry warmth to the standard best friend role. But in a telling detail about the crude-ifying of this story, instead of the sweet wife in the original movie, Vaughn gets a stripper girlfriend. We're supposed to cheer for Vaughn when he breaks the law just because he's on the side of the good guys, but a battle inside or outside the ring has to feel a little bit fair and this one just doesn't. It's not a good sign when you start to feel sorry for the bad guys. And as for the dialogue -- I think "I put down my gun for good" has to be just behind "I'll be right back" as the top candidates for the "movie words spoken just so they can almost immediately be wrong" award.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the difference between being a law enforcer and being a vigilante.

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate