Walking Tall: Lone Justice

A second straight-to-DVD sequel following on from WALKING TALL, a remake of a '70s action flick starring Dwayne Johnson. Kevin Sorbo had already appeared in a first sequel, which I haven't seen, but this one has a stand-alone storyline which is unconnected to the previous movies.

In essence, it's a typical low budget action movie, very similar to the kind of stuff that Steven Seagal is making these days. Kevin Sorbo is the just, upright hero who falls foul of a sinister drug lord and his gang of ruthless dealers. People are killed, Sorbo kicks a little ass (including during one of those ultra-predictable scenes in which he stumbles upon a convenience store robbery) and it all builds to a showdown between the good guys and bad.

In terms of quality, it's very much par for the course. I like Sorbo, have liked him since the days of HERCULES: THE LEGENDARY JOURNEYS, although it's not something I regularly watched. He seems like a genuinely nice guy, and that counts for a lot in my book. Of the supporting players, nobody really stands out, but the pace is good and there are some set-pieces that work, like the lengthy hospital interlude or a surprisingly nasty bit of torture.

A big detraction from the film is the direction, which is absolutely horrible. Director Tripp Reed seems to equate style with shaking his camera all over the place, doing frenzied editing at all stages to boot. It doesn't work, it's an unnecessary detraction and really the only thing wrong with this movie; I can overlook the clichéd plot and characters, but not that direction. I cringe just thinking about it!