The Rundown (2003)
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An aspiring chef turned debt collector must travel to the Brazilian jungle to rescue a wealthy man's son from a dangerous mining town.
The story
Beck, an aspiring chef working as a debt collector for loan shark Billy Walker, is tasked with a final job: retrieving Billy's son, Travis, from a mining town in Brazil. Beck is promised enough money to open his own restaurant in exchange for the rescue. Upon arriving in the town of El Dorado, Beck encounters Cornelius Hatcher, who runs the local mining operation. After Hatcher reneges on a deal regarding a lost golden artifact, Beck manages to take Travis away. However, the pair is forced into the jungle, where they encounter a local rebel movement and a dangerous quest for the artifact.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Beck, an aspiring chef working as a debt collector for loan shark Billy Walker, is tasked with retrieving Billy's son, Travis, from a mining town in Brazil. Beck is promised enough money to open his own restaurant in exchange for the rescue. Upon arriving in El Dorado, Beck meets Cornelius Hatcher, who runs the mining operation. Hatcher reneges on a deal after learning Travis found a lost golden artifact, the O Gato do Diablo. Beck manages to take Travis away, but they are forced into the jungle. They encounter a rebel movement led by Mariana, who wants the artifact to free the locals. Beck makes a deal with Mariana to help transport Travis to the airfield in exchange for the Gato. After retrieving the artifact, Mariana leaves them with a paralyzing fruit. Beck eventually hauls Travis to the airfield. Learning Mariana was captured by Hatcher, Beck and Travis rescue her using a cow stampede as cover. Hatcher is eventually defeated and dies from his wounds. Back in L.A., Beck delivers Travis to Billy, who abuses him. Beck then uses the paralyzing fruit on Billy and his men, allowing him and Travis to escape together.
- Original title
- Welcome to the Jungle
- First release year
- 2003
- Runtime (minutes)
- 104
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Peter Berg
- Writers
- James Vanderbilt · screenplay; R.J. Stewart · screenplay; R.J. Stewart · story
- Cast and characters
- Dwayne Johnson; Seann William Scott; Christopher Walken; Rosario Dawson; Ewen Bremner; Arnold Schwarzenegger · bar patron
- Genres
- action; comedy; adventure
- Tone and mood
- playful; funny; action-packed
- Setting
- Brazil and Los Angeles
- Premise and plot tags
- buddy comedy; adventure; bounty hunter
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews but was a box office failure, grossing $80.9 million on an $85 million budget, though it has made a cult following in the years since.
- Production trivia
- The movie was originally called Helldorado.; Berg and Misher were held up by armed robbers in Brazil in June 2002 while scouting locations, prompting them to film in Hawaii instead.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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