WHAT is it with The Rock and cracking opening sequences? His bar-room brawl in The Scorpion King was that films highlight (not difficult, admittedly). And now, in Welcome To The Jungle, hes at it again, getting medieval on a team of surly NFL stars in a nightclub and, thanks to director Bergs pumped-up camerawork and tongue-in-cheek use of onscreen graphics, its all effortlessly cool.
After that, though, we head to Brazil and a slight downward incline, as the bickering interplay between the ex-wrestler and a purposefully annoying Scott turns the movie into little more than a sweatier version of Midnight Run.
That the film manages to tread on such hallowed turf and come out relatively unscathed is testament to Bergs inventive direction, the excellent supporting cast (the reliably cranky Walken is a standout), a smattering of nifty one-liners and, last but by no means least, Dwayne Johnson, Esq.
Displaying a surprising gift for light comedy alongside his God-given talent for breaking heads, The Rock here confirms his immense next action hero promise, further confirmed by a baton-passing cameo from one particular living legend. The formulaic one-man Wild Bunch climax is rather disappointing but, by then, whats gone before has generated enough goodwill to overcome the blip.
