Tolérance zéro 2

I really liked the first of the new Walking Tall movies starring The Rock. That meant I had some expectations for this one, even though a guy I had never heard of before, Kevin Sorbo, had taken over the lead. I was very disappointed. I don't think it was Sorbo's fault, really. The problem was a total lack of action. The little action it had, wasn't anywhere near good. The movie was simply BOOOOOOORING, moreso than 95 % of the other action movies out there. I just don't get how they managed to destroy such a promising and entertaining franchise like this. I have absolutely no rush in watching the third movie after this kind of crap.

A woodenly acted unnecessary remake of a remake of a much MUCH better film, This Kevin Serbo helmed straight to DVD action film sees fit to throw every available cliché at the audience apparently in order to pummel them into submission. Sorbo plays Nick, a sheriff returning home looking for vengeance after some local thug kills his father. Why this is billed as Walking Tall 2, I haven't a clue as it has nothing to do with The Rock film and even less to do with the classic original '70's trilogy. To make matters worse the acting's more wooden then Buford Pusser's fabled 2 by 4. A sequel was shot back-to-back with this one and I can say with all confidence that i'll definitely be skipping that likely travesty. Even a huge Sorbo fan such as myself does have his limits.

My Grade: D

All the mileage that could have been gotten from the Buford Pusser story was already gleaned back in the 70s. The Payback is one of two films Kevin Sorbo did with a Walking Tall light plot.

Kevin's back from the army and a pair of no good brothers A.J.Morris and Bentley Mitchum are running things with some organized crime backing. They're acquiring businesses and property with intimidation and worse.

We never learn just what the end game is for the brothers in this film, a big weakness.

Not anything close to the Walking Tall plots from the 70s.

WALKING TALL: THE PAYBACK is a budget sequel to the Rock-starring remake of a 1970s action flick. This one jettisons the budget and the cast in favour of a low budget tale that will disappoint even those of us who enjoy the earlier films of Steven Seagal et al. Kevin Sorbo is a weak choice of lead here, playing it on autopilot for the most part, but the rest of the no-name cast are no better. Worse still, the revenge plot is understated and there's hardly any action in here at all, which will disappoint most viewers.

Actually, this movie wasn't as bad as I had expected it to be. But still, don't go and expect a grandiose masterwork of cinema history. The movie was adequately entertaining, although it was a mediocre result. But for what it was, it didn't fare that badly.

The story is about Nick (played by Kevin Sorbo) who returns to his hometown to find it terrorized by a small group of thugs, and as his father dies in a mysterious accident, Nick decides to become the new Sheriff in town and clean out the criminals.

Yep, fairly generic and simple storyline, as seen in many other similar movies. But it was still entertaining enough to watch. Was it predictable? You bet! Kevin Sorbo actually did a good job in this movie, and he does have some acting talent, just a shame that he will forever be branded as Hercules. A.J. Buckley (who played Harvey Morris - the main bad guy) was also doing a good job with his role, and he had an aura of confidence that really added to the movie.

For an action movie, though, the movie was scarce on action sequences, which did drag the overall enjoyment of the movie down. It was a shame, because a bit more action would have been warmly welcomed.