LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Walking Tall
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The real name of the inspiration behind Walking Tall was Buford Pusser. Pusser was so disgusted at what happened in his rural Tennessee town that he took his trusty block of wood and started cleaning house. There is something primal about a man wielding a piece of wood used as a deadly weapon. The first film was way back in 1973, and inspired sequels, a remake, and a television series. The new version of Walking Tall takes place in the Northwest, and the name changes from Buford Pusser to Chris Vaughn. Basically, all of the life and distinctiveness of the original was focus-grouped out of the film to appeal to the broadest demographic.
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Perhaps the most puzzling change in the new Walking Tall is the removal of professional wrestling from the protagonist's résumé, though The Rock otherwise shares pretty much the same backstory as Baker's hillbilly hero. A highly skilled former soldier, The Rock returns to find that his hometown has devolved from Mayberry to Sin City in his absence. A casino is now the town's biggest source of revenue, and The Rock is horrified to learn that it's not the reputable casino/strip club it purports to be. It's actually plagued by cheating croupiers (nooo!) and crystal-meth dealers out to corrupt the town's children, including The Rock's younger brother.
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Walking Tall presents several authenticated incidents in Pusser's career and uses the names of real people, like the incumbent Sheriff who opposed Buford but died just before the election. Pusser's career has so many similarities to director Karlson's The Phenix City Story that a comparison is unavoidable. That older film is an exposé noir, based on the real life crusade of the Patterson Family against organized gambling and vice in Alabama. The idealistic Army lawyer John Patterson (Richard Kiley) returns from prosecuting German war criminals to find his town choked by the vice district. A local friend who protests the cheating at the Poppy Club is beaten, and later murdered. John's father Albert (John McIntire) eventually runs for office to oppose the gangsters.
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In the new Walking Tall, the original theme remains - one man standing up for his beliefs and vowing to do what's right against great odds - but the story itself gets an update. Buford Pusser is now Chris Vaughn (played by The Rock), a man who returns to his boyhood home in the Pacific Northwest after leaving to pursue a decorated career in the U.S. Armed Forces after high school. Slipping back into town unannounced, Chris is shocked and saddened by what he sees. His beloved town has been ravaged by poverty and corruption, its vital lumber mill is closed, and a crime-ridden casino is now the town's biggest employer.
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The "Walking Tall" DVD is well-stocked with bonus features, including a terrific behind-the-scenes look at the stunts. Narrated by The Rock, the "Fight the Good Fight" 8-minute long featurette includes storyboards and fight scene rehearsals, as well as interviews with the cast and crew. There's ... a very short 'blink and you'll miss it' blooper reel offering a more light-hearted look at the making of "Walking Tall."
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The forest was another new character in this reinterpretation of the Walking Tall legend; it was decided to relocate the story away from its original Southern roots to a small town in Washington's Cascade Mountains. This shift freed the production to film in Vancouver, British Columbia, where similar mountainous territory exists.
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Walking Tall