The Rundown (2003) ½
cast: The Rock, Seann William Scott, Rosario Dawson, Christopher Walken, and Ewen Bremner
stunt coordinator: Andy Cheng
director: Peter Berg

It is amazing that Arnold Schwarzenegger's blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo in "The Rundown" doesn't stop The Rock dead in his tracks with his right eyebrow reaching for the stars. Schwarzenegger, who appears during the film's amped-up prologue in a nightclub, passes pro wrestler Dwayne Johnson (better known as "The Rock") in a hallway and advises him "to have fun."

Schwarzenegger, his best years clearly beyond him now and forever, all but whacks the audience over the head with his proverbial torch the good governor was supposed to be passing.

The Rock thus far has not proven himself the famous Austrian bodybuilder-turned actor-turned Republican governor's equal, but he'll do for now. In fact he's come quite a ways from "The Mummy Returns" and his own pre-sold spin-off "The Scorpion King."

Which, of course, is not to say "The Rundown" isn't problematic, nevertheless, it's an improvement on the wrestler's growing number of action pictures.

This time around the WWE's most charismatic performer stars as Beck, a debt collector who works for an L.A. bookie and dreams of one day opening his own gourmet restaurant ("The Rundown" is filled with plenty of nudge, nudge, wink, wink references to Johnson's WWE alter ego; or so I'm told).

Not surprisingly the wheels of that dream cannot begin turning until Beck completes one last "run down" for his employer. The target: the bookies' own son who has been treasure hunting in Brazil. The son -- you guessed it -- none other than "American Pie" moron Seann William Scott, who has virtually clung on to all or at least part of his slice of "Pie" character Steve Stifler in every film he's been featured in to date.

Christopher Walken prostitutes his talents as the slave driver who runs the town Scott is squatting in. Natural born beauty and talented actress Rosario Dawson captures Scott's dim lenses and inadvertently (along with The Rock) all wind up hunting a missing artifact and on the run from Walken.

Hong Kong stunt coordinator Andy Cheng keeps most of the hand-to-hand combat more meat & potatoes which if you think about it compared to Hollywood's new obsession with CGI fu and pro wrestling's old love affair with cheesy stunt work less is more and more than welcome here.

Unfortunately, once the action widens beyond physical borders things get as ludicrous as, well...the governor's own "Commando."

Bottom line here folks: for a film starring a professional wrestler "The Rundown" is a far less painful than what you might have envisioned...even if it does include the styling of Seann William Scott who is never as funny as he thinks or ought to be for that matter.