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Welcome to “Movies You Might Have Forgotten Even Existed, But Are Nevertheless Awesome,” an irregularly recurring Blogtown feature that will continue until whenever I get bored of it. Have a film you’d like to suggest for a future MYMHFEE,BANA? Leave it in the comments.

This installment’s featured film: 2003’s The Rundown! Originally bearing the far-cooler titles Helldorado and Welcome to the Jungle, The Rundown is directed by Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights, The Kingdom), written by R.J. Stewart (Xena: Warrior Princess, Cleopatra 2525), and features The Rock, Seann William Scott, Rosario Dawson, Christopher Walken, and a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo from Arnold Motherfucking Schwarzenegger. It also features a scene in which a baboon humps The Rock’s face.

That’s a lot of cows indeed, Christopher Walken! Now, I cannot be certain of this—the film is, after all, a mere six years old—but I am fairly confident when I suggest The Rundown‘s genius will be recognized by future generations, and that, one day, this film will be acknowledged as one of the finest motion pictures ever made.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=o45zDyaMmsI%26hl%3Den%26fs%3D1%26rel%3D0

With honor and distinction, Erik Henriksen served as the executive editor of the Portland Mercury from 2004 to 2020. He can now be found at henriksenactual.com.

12 replies on “Movies You Might Have Forgotten Even Existed, But Are Nevertheless Awesome: <i>The Rundown</i>.”

  1. I’ve been making the argument for The Rundown for years. No one ever believes me. Bless you, Mr. Henricksen for having nearly the same taste in movies as myself and a public forum to champion the underrated. Drinks soon. -Ted-

  3. LOVE this movie — particularly the opening scene, where The Rock is confronted by half a football team in a bar and worries that fighting them all will hurt their chances in the playoffs. It mildly breaks my heart that The Rock (and he will always be “The Rock” to me) got stuck in the “Kindergarten Cop” half of Schwarzenegger’s career and didn’t make more of these insane action flicks. But hey, the kiddie movies make money and this didn’t.

    I interviewed him about that Cannon-style “Walking Tall” remake he did back in 2004. After he talked about how pleased he was that his pal Scarlett Johanssen was “kickin’ ass,” I asked him about “The Rundown”‘s disappointing performance. “Well, I got great news yesterday [March 25, 2004],” he said — “that first 24 hours, we sold a million-and-a-half copies [of the ‘Rundown’ DVD]. But you’re right: It’s difficult when you have a movie that delivers on a lot of levels and it doesn’t do what it was expected to do, box-office-wise. I wanted people to see the movie — I know everyone will talk about how a movie’s ‘good’ and it’s not that good — but no! This movie’s really, REALLY good!”

    If you haven’t listened to the DVD commentary with Berg and The Rock yet, Erik, check it out. They just sit back and make up a ton of deadpan fictional stories about the making of the film.

  5. The Rundown is a fantastic action flick. People that don’t see the genius that is The Rundown, then perhaps you lack a soul! All you people that lament the fact that my mawn Dwayne Johnson is dressed as Tooth Fairy for Disney; you should have watched The Rundown.

    Alas, it bombed and forced The Rock to become a huckster for Disney. Noooo!

  6. This movie is also reported to be the shoot where Christopher Walken spent a lunch break submerged in water up to his eyes. When asked what was up he said ” For Lunch, I was an alligator.”

  10. I’d like to see a review of long lost classic “Idle Hands,” featuring Jessica Alba, Devon Sawa (whatever happened to him? Did he finally meet his final destination?), and Seth Green. This is a favorite of my wife will watch with me once a year, around Halloween.

  11. Nice pick. I remember this one especially for the scene when they got drugged by the campfire and something about a monkey. Haven’t watched it in like 5 years.

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