Line #41 Film/TheRundown


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6	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/The-Rundown-Poster-C10112246.jpg]]
7	[[caption-width-right:300:''[[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom Temple of Doom]]'' [[XCalledTheyWantTheirYBack called. They want their poster]] [[TalkToTheFist ba-]]]]
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9	Beck ([[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson]]) is a BountyHunter who wants to quit the business and open a restaurant, but his boss Billy sends him on one last assignment: Go down to the Amazon and bring his wayward son Travis (Creator/SeannWilliamScott) back to Los Angeles. So Beck heads down to the Amazon, where he meets eccentric Scottish airplane pilot Declan (Creator/EwenBremner) and finds a totalitarian regime run by Hatcher (Creator/ChristopherWalken), who double-crosses Beck shortly after he finds Travis.
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11	Beck and Travis flee to the jungle where, after some obstacles (including a run-in with wild baboons), they join up with a [[LaResistance rebellion]] led by Mariana (Creator/RosarioDawson), an acquaintance of Travis', and go on a search for an AncientArtifact Travis has been searching for.
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14	!!Provides examples of:
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16	* AbusiveParents: Billy. It's the reason why [[spoiler:Beck takes Travis with him at the end.]]
17	* AdventureTowns: El Dorado, or as it's named in one of the first-draft scripts and spray-painted on the limits sign "HELL Dorado", is a mining town in the middle of the Amazon Jungle that is utterly inhumane and led with an iron fist by Hatcher.
18	* AnimalStampede: In the climax, Beck engineers a stampede of bulls through the town to distract Hatcher's men from his entry.
19	* ArtisticLicenseBotany: The fruit that paralyze Beck and Travis is known as Fruta do Conde (Count's Fruit in Portuguese), but its just a normal edible fruit and doesnt cause paralysis.
20	* AutobotsRockOut: When Beck [[spoiler:picks up [[GunsAkimbo dual shotguns]] to save Travis]], the rock soundtrack re-appears.
21	%%* BigDamnHeroes
22	* BilingualBonus: The ([[NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent alleged]]) Brazilian Portuguese spoken in the film.
23	* BlackComedyRape: "ESTABLISH DOMINANCE! ESTABLISH DOMINANCE!"
24	* BlastingItOutOfTheirHands: With a friggin' ''sniper rifle''. NoScope. [[RuleOfCool ONE HANDED]]. It's no wonder Hatcher says "Whoa!"
25	* BountyHunter: Beck is a "retrieval expert".
26	* BullyingADragon: Beck is on the receiving end of this from virtually the entire cast despite being a big, hulking guy who does not look like the type of person you should antagonize. [[CurbStompBattle It tends to end as well as you'd expect.]]
27	* TheCameo: Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger appears for about four seconds to tell Dwayne Johnson's character to "have fun".
28	* TheCapitalOfBrazilIsBuenosAires: The producers do their best, as the city does look like something you'd find in the Amazon (even the bar decorations). But Brazilians can't help but laugh at the atrocious Portuguese and [[MisplacedWildlife baboons]].
29	* ChefOfIron: Beck's reason to take the job to go get Travis is because it's his OneLastJob he needs in order to be let go by Billy and given enough money to fund his own restaurant. He's an awesomely impressive BountyHunter.
30	* ChekhovsGun: The bulls and the konlabos fruit.
31	* CombatPragmatist: Beck has no problem using anything he can get his hands on to hurt his opponent, only being reluctant to use guns.
32	* CompanyTown: The remote Brazilian mining town. Hatcher pays his workers a paltry 65 cents an hour, meaning that they have to borrow from him just to do their jobs and have a place to live. Mariana and her rebels oppose this arrangement, calling it nothing less than ''escravidão'' -- slavery.
33	* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Travis. Against Beck, the "Thunder and Lightning" set-up for a kick is completely useless, but against one of Hatcher's goons he's able to use it to deliver a CurbStompBattle, and later [[spoiler: saves Beck's life by taking out a sniper]]. In a deleted scene, he also [[spoiler: kills Hatcher's right-hand man and brother in a fight over the Gato.]] He's also a pretty competent AdventurerArchaeologist as long as he's not fighting people on Beck's level.
34	* CurbstompBattle: The opening fight in the club. A few puffed-up athletes might ''look'' intimidating, but Beck is an experienced leg-breaker who regularly deals with people too dumb to go with option A.
35	* DanceBattler: Thanks to Travis's language trolling, Beck is forced to fight multiple UsefulNotes/{{Capoeira}} fighters in the guerrilla camp. Travis amusingly calls it "spinning Franchise/{{Tarzan}} jiu-jitsu".
36	* DidntThinkThisThrough: One of the football players doesn't pause to think about how fighting while wearing a heavy, golden chain around his neck was a ''very'' bad idea.
37	* DoNotGoGentle: Beck has it tattooed on one of his forearms.
38	* DoesntLikeGuns: Beck, [[spoiler:until the climax]]. He makes it a point not to carry one, which makes enough sense as he's a bounty hunter, not a hired gun. It hints of his DarkAndTroubledPast.
39	* TheDyingWalk: [[spoiler:Hatcher is shot in the middle of his VillainousBreakdown, and somewhat belatedly decides that he's going to take the option Beck gave him of walking away. All he does is walk a little way down the street of his town before he collapses and dies.]]
40	* TheEasyWayOrTheHardWay: Option A/Option B. Option A is that you shut up and do what Beck says. Option B is that he makes you. You really don't want Option B. Despite this, no one in the movie ever chooses Option A, and the implication is that no one ever does (which is actually somewhat logical-- Beck isn't a well-known badass in this world, so if some random guy confronts a cocky bastard about overdue debts and such, there's a good chance Beck won't be taken seriously... [[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership until he cleans house with whatever protection the target has enlisted]].)
41	* EmbarrassingFirstName / EmbarrassingMiddleName: "[[spoiler:Cornelius Bernard Hatcher]], your time has come!"
42	* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Beck's first fight in the club. He does his best not to pick a fight with the football players ("The ''entire offensive line'' is here!") but not out of fear ("They have a legitimate shot of repeating this year, I do not want to hurt them!"), but when they go with Option B, Beck proceeds to mop the floor with a group of trained athletes.
43	* {{Fanservice}}: Rosario Dawson. Even more so here as she's in jungle wear for much of the film.
44	* FauxActionGirl: Mariana. Made worse that her big action scene [[spoiler:where Hatcher's goons track her down, but she puts up a fight, machine gun blazing]] was deleted from the final cut of the film.
45	* FiringOneHanded: Beck pulls this one up to eleven at the climax, with both pump-action Remington shotguns and an M-14 battle rifle.
46	* GroinAttack: Way too many to count, but for the sake of providing an example, Travis finally manages to use the "Thunder and Lightning" trick at the climax to deliver a groin kick to a goon.
47	* GunsAkimbo: Beck at the climax, with pump-action shotguns no less. He avoids the issue of having a manually reloaded weapon in each hand by using the environment, and even his own body, to rack the slides.
48	* HeroesFightBarehanded: The main character refuses to use guns, and to beat the shit out of everyone around him, even when it would easier to [[JustShootHim bust caps in asses]]... [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope well,]] [[MoreDakka until the end]]]]. He claims "When I pick up guns, [[CurbStompBattle bad things happen]]."
49	* ILied: When Hatcher and Beck meet for the first time, Beck amicably pays Hatcher's fee to release Travis. When Beck goes to take Travis into his custody, Hatcher and his goons show up to tell Beck that Travis is to stay until he finds the Gato artifact.
50	-->'''Hatcher''': The kid stays.\
51	'''Beck''': I paid you.\
52	'''Hatcher''': Well, fortunately, I had my fingers crossed the whole time.
53	* ImprobableWeaponUser: The guards who use whips, being able to restrain and maim with them rather accurately. [[TruthInTelevision Can be truth in television]] as whips in trained hands are accurate, dangerous weapons with excellent range and capacity for wicked injury. More info [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whip_fighting at the other wiki.]] Also a fairly logical weapon choice considering their primary role is keeping the workers in line - a non-lethal but painful weapon just makes sense. Perhaps most impressive is Hatcher's [[TheDragon Dragon]], who [[DualWielding uses two.]]
54	* ItsPersonal: Beck does NOT take it well [[spoiler: when Hatcher's goons kill Manito and the other rebels in their hunt for him and Travis. He is far more motivated to destroy Hatcher's operation after the death of Manito and after they abduct Mariana.]]
55	* ItsQuietTooQuiet: When Travis and Beck first meet in the bar at which Mariana works. Travis is casually drinking a beer, and Beck takes a seat next to him, in a completely non-threatening manner:
56	-->'''Beck:''' I need you to make a choice for me. Option A or Option B.
57	-->'''Travis:''' What's Option A?
58	-->'''Beck:''' Well, Option A is you and I walk out of here nice and easy, get in my jeep and we drive back to the airstrip. Then we begin our long journey back to Los Angeles. There'll be no blood, no broken bones... and no problems.
59	-->'''Travis:''' What's in Los Angeles?
60	-->'''Beck:''' Your father. ''[looks of shock from both Travis and Mariana]''
61	-->'''Travis:''' ... what's Option B?
62	-->'''Beck:''' Pretty much the opposite of A... but I wouldn't recommend that one.
63	-->'''Travis:''' [[TakeAThirdOption I'll take Option C]].
64	-->'''Beck:''' Travis... there IS no Option C.
65	-->'''Travis:''' Really?
66	-->'''Beck:''' Mmm-hmm.
67	-->'''Travis:''' Are ya sure...? ''[camera cuts to Mariana looking tense]'' I mean, big boy... there's always an Option C... ''[calmly takes a drink, before abruptly swinging the bottle at Beck. [[CurbStompBattle Beck blocks it and handcuffs Travis after kicking his ass.]]]''
68	-->'''Beck:''' [[SubvertedTrope Like I said... there is no Option C]]. ''[Cornelius Hatcher enters the bar, along with two goons, assumed to be Hatcher's own bodyguards]''
69	-->'''Travis:''' [[DoubleSubversion Allow me to introduce you to Option C]].
70	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Travis. He's a jerkass and rude to... most people throughout the movie, but his heart is in the right place and he even gives the treasure to Mariana.
71	* KickTheDog: Hatcher really loves delivering these. His EstablishingCharacterMoment is ordering his goons to whip some poor miner that refused to hand over his gold when he was short-changed on his payment for mining it (and it's flat-out stated that Hatcher's company store prices vs. what he pays for the gold means he's got everybody in town under indentured slavery).
72	* KillTheCutie: After a brief misunderstanding resulting in a pretty awesome fight, [[spoiler: Beck and Manito bury the hatchet and become allies. Manito even gives Beck a necklace in honor of his fighting skills. Not long afterward, Hatcher's goons attack and kill many of the rebels, including poor Manito. Beck takes it personally and is not only determined to bring Travis home, but take Hatcher down and help the rebels in the process.]]
73	* LampshadeHanging: After Beck tells Travis about Option A or Option B, Travis suggests an Option C. Beck's response: [[TakeAThirdOption "There is no option C."]]
74	* LaResistance: Mariana leads a group of rebels who oppose Hatcher because he is ruthlessly exploiting their people, arranging things so that their paltry working wage doesn't even begin to cover the cost of working and living, meaning that they have to borrow from Hatcher, getting so deep into debt with him that there is no hope of getting out of it -- an arrangement that Mariana calls nothing less than ''escravidão'': slavery.
75	* LargeHam:
76	** Hatcher, all the way. It's worth watching the entire film to see his enraged monologue to his Brazilian henchmen which inexplicably centers on the tooth fairy ([[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0808510/ real life foreshadowing?]]). The realization that his henchmen are unfamiliar with the concept of the tooth fairy only further infuriates him.
77	** All the scenery Hatcher didn't chew up? Declan will be more than happy to take care of that. The sequence where he is quoting Dylan Thomas while Beck is realizing he's going to have to use guns is especially egregious.
78	* LawOfInverseRecoil: In full effect, especially in the film's climax. Interestingly enough, the counterpart trope associated with receiving bullets with bizarre physical properties, BlownAcrossTheRoom, is mostly averted. Kicked Across The Room, on the other hand...
79	* LightningBruiser: Beck. Strong enough to crumble a concrete pillar with his shoulder, fast enough to catch an incoming whip with his bare hand (a whip attack strong enough that a follow-up shot breaks a table clean in two).
80	* MadeOfIron: Travis. No, really. Stop laughing. Watch how many times he gets hit, flung, or exploded. And he just walks it off. Even [[LightningBruiser Beck]] notices it when he punches Travis after the waterfall. He actually looks down at his hand in surprise, shaking it in pain. Which he ''didn't do'' after smacking around nearly everyone ''else'' in the entire movie.
81	* MeetMyGoodFriendsLeftyAndRighty: Travis calls his legs "Thunder and Lightning". A RunningGag is that he tries to set up an attack by doing a crazy dance and talking about them as he gets closer and then Beck just [[TalkToTheFist smacks him silly before he can truly attack.]] Someone (one of Hatcher's goons) finally falls for it at the climax.
82	* MisplacedWildlife: The baboons that attack the protagonists are African baboons rather than anything native to South America.
83	* MoreDakka: Holy crap, Hatcher's goons go trigger-happy at the climax.
84	* {{Motormouth}}: Travis. Beck gets quite annoyed on several occasions by the fact that he just ''won't shut up''.
85	* TheMountainsOfIllinois: The Amazon is mostly flat, but there are mountains in the background...
86	* NonActionGuy: Declan. His role in the final battle is basically walk out there and confuse while Beck does all the fighting.
87	* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: Pretty much everything with the Brazilian Portuguese spoken is wrong, either due to it being overly formal for the context, or due to most of the actors literally not even trying to mimick an Amazonas, let alone Brazilian, accent. Brazilian reactions to this are either [[NarmCharm amusement]] or finding it somewhat offensive or silly.
88	* NotSoStoic: Beck is the very definition of a stone-cold professional and NervesOfSteel, and yet when he sees that Declan's plane is literally held together by duct tape ([[OhCrap the wings specifically]]), Beck looks about ready to [[BringMyBrownPants shit himself]]. It's the only time in the entire film where he is genuinely terrified.
89	* NoSell: Travis's multiple attempts to cheap-shot Beck result in this.
90	* TheNotLoveInterest: Surprisingly, Mariana is not a love interest for Beck or for Travis. She remains steadfast in finding the Gato to free her people from Hatcher's control, though it is clear she grows to like and respect Beck over the course of the ordeal, and it's implied she is at least friendly with Travis.
91	* OhCrap: More than just a specific moment, Beck's one weakness is being taken by surprise. Of course, once he knows what to expect, he usually flips it around very quickly.
92	* OrificeInvasion: The candiru are said to be able to do this, something which may or may not be TruthInTelevision depending on who you ask.
93	* PintSizedPowerhouse: Manito, the guerrilheiro who first faces Beck in the camp, who gives Beck a beating with UsefulNotes/{{Capoeira}} despite being half of his size.
94	* RebelLeader: Mariana is the local bartender, but in reality is the leader of the anti-Hatcher rebels hiding in the jungle. [[spoiler:Unfortunately they are all killed by Hatcher, meaning that she's the only official "rebel" at the climax.]]
95	* RousingSpeech: Done by Declan. It even includes Creator/DylanThomas' "Literature/DoNotGoGentleIntoThatGoodNight."
96	* RuleOfFunny: Theoretically, during the scene in which Travis convinces Beck to stop and let Travis relieve himself, Beck could have handcuffed Travis and himself together, allowing Travis one free hand to handle his business, while simultaneously preventing escape. Either that, or Travis could have just sat down and pulled his cuffed arms to the front so he could unzip himself and pee. But it was funnier to make Beck to it.
97	* SceneryDissonance: Type 1. The movie mostly takes place in beautiful South American jungles, contrasted with a brutally oppressed town and a lot of fast-paced gun violence... and some horny monkeys.
98	* {{Scotireland}}: In spite of wearing a kilt and playing bagpipes near the film's finale, Declan also speaks with a ''[[JustAStupidAccent terrible]]'' Irish accent, keeps a leprechaun bobblehead on the dashboard of his plane, and also has a shamrock on said plane's tail. It is most likely that the character is meant to be from UsefulNotes/NorthernIreland, where Scottish piping traditions (as well as accent features) have to some extent migrated, and the unintelligible accent is poking fun at the fact that nobody else can understand "Norn Iron." The actor, for the record, is Scottish.
99	* SelfDestructingSecurity: The "vault" that had secured the "Gato" for all of these centuries is a cave that is very barely on the edge of collapsing except for the very rotten logs holding up the ceiling. Travis explains the whole idea behind it is that in order to remove the statue you must remove a certain set of logs to have a clear path and then race to get it and get out before the whole thing buries you.
100	* ShoutOut: When Travis challenges Beck at the end: [[Film/RockyIII "I'm gonna bust you up." "Go for it."]]
101	* ShotgunsAreJustBetter: Beck uses two. That even have "[[Literature/DoNotGoGentleIntoThatGoodNight Do Not Go Gentle]]" in the handle.
102	* SignsOfDisrepair: Someone spray-painted on the "El Dorado" town limits sign so it reads "HELL Dorado".
103	* StatOVision: Called 'Beck Vision' in the commentary. Beck has a really good eye for detail, and sharp vision, taking in a multitude of details, both visual and audible. We see this as rapid zoom-ins, jump-cuts and one to two seconds of the detail in question up close, before jumping to the next, and the next, and the next. It's done very well, too.
104	* StrongAndSkilled: Beck. He's built like a brick house (being played by Dwayne Johnson, naturally) but he's also an extremely talented martial artist.
105	* SuddenlyShouting: After the heroes escape an ambush by river:
106	-->'''Hatcher''': I want hunting parties. Small ones. Find them. ''[beat]'' '''FIND THEM!'''
107	* TakeAThirdOption: Subverted. There is no third option with Beck.
108	* TechnicalPacifist: Beck. Because of a DarkAndTroubledPast, he absolutely refuses to use a gun... until the climax. And then it turns out that he's an even more unstoppable OneManArmy once he starts shooting.
109	* TempleOfDoom: The CaveBehindTheFalls in which the Gato is hidden is a gigantic death-trap of rotting logs holding up a very unstable rooftop, threatening a cave-in any second.
110	* TitleDrop: With the original ("Your kid was a tough rundown, Billy"), working (sign reading "El Dorado" vandalized to read "Helldorado"), and alternate titles ("Welcome to the Jungle, tough guy")!
111	* TranquilFury: When Knappmiller tosses his drink in Beck's face and tells him to get lost, Beck goes into the bathroom, cleans up, takes a second, and looks himself in the mirror with a glare that is all business. He walks out and kicks the crap out of an entire offensive line and forcibly retrieves collateral from Knappmiller.
112	* UnderestimatingBadassery: Everyone to Beck. Seriously, should have gone with Option A.
113	* UnflinchingWalk: There's a big explosion halfway through the climax. Beck might as well have been on a leisurely stroll through the park when it happened.
114	* TheUnintelligible: Declan. It's even [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] when Beck is flying in.
115	-->'''Beck''': Booze on the grind? What? [[note]]Declan was commenting about the "bulls on the ground"[[/note]]
116	* UnorthodoxReload: And how! Flipping akimbo shotguns upside-down by the trigger guard and racking the action held between arm and ribcage. Holding both shotguns in one hand, pumping both slides at the same time with the other. You will never see a shotgun used like this ''anywhere else'', nor look at them the same ever again after this movie.
117	* UnskilledButStrong: The football players in in the club, in a way that works to their disadvantage. They're all built like tanks but it means little against a [[StrongAndSkilled highly trained and physically powerful fighter]] like Beck, who wipes the floor with them.
118	* UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans: Hatcher fully believes he's making a better place for the natives.
119	* WeakButSkilled: Manito. Beck towers over him and is physically much stronger but Manito's martial arts moves keep Beck on the defensive for most of the fight until Beck gets serious. Granted, Beck was also heavily outnumbered.
120	* WhipOfDominance: Hatcher's three toughest goons, including TheDragon all use whips as their weapons. Given they're effectively slavers, it's not only effective symbolism but also a practical choice.
121	* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]]. When Beck first storms the town and starts taking out {{mooks}}, TheDragon watching via camera feed says, "Why doesn't somebody just shoot him?" Three [[EliteMook Elite Mooks]] later go after him with whips, all of whom are killed by the guns they have holstered on their waists.
122	* WorthyOpponent: Hatcher is definitely impressed by Beck's skill. When Beck wipes out his room of goons ''and'' still keeps Travis incapacitated, all while bare-handed, Hatcher emits a "wow". Later, when Beck no-scopes a gun clean out of Hatcher's hand, Hatcher praises him:
123	-->'''Hatcher''': You got the moves! I'll give you that!
124	* WrestlerInAllOfUs: During the bar brawl to retrieve Knappmiller's ring, Beck hits one of the bouncers with his actor's own [[FinishingMove Rock Bottom]]. In the El Dorardo bar fight, he incapacitates Hatcher's brother and two goons with a dropkick. And then during the final battle, he brings down a guard post with a diving clothesline to the support beam.

Context Film / TheRundown