This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (April 2012)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2012)

The Rundown (also known as Welcome to the Jungle) is a 2003 American action comedy film starring The Rock and Seann William Scott about a bounty hunter who must head for Brazil to retrieve his employer's renegade son. It was directed by Peter Berg.

Plot [link]

Beck (Johnson) is a professional bounty hunter, or "retrieval expert," who chooses not to use guns in his work due to a previous bad experience. Beck owes money to his boss, Billy Walker, who pressures him to take one last assignment: finding Walker's son, Travis (Scott), and bringing him home from the Amazon jungle. Beck wants out of the business, and Walker agrees to make this his last job so Beck can retire and open his own restaurant. Beck heads down to the small South American town of "El Dorado" (a.k.a., "Helldorado") to find Travis and extract him from whatever mess he is in. Problem is, the town is essentially owned by a man named Hatcher (played by Walken); the townspeople have no choice but to work for him due to his monopoly over virtually all commerce.

Beck quickly captures Travis, but Travis escapes with the help of Hatcher. Turns out Travis is looking for an ancient golden artifact he's heard about known as "el Gato Diablo" ("the devil cat" in Spanish and Portuguese). Travis hopes to make millions of dollars by stealing el Gato and selling it to a wealthy buyer. Hatcher wants the Gato for himself, for the same reason. He refuses to let Beck have Travis until Travis has located el Gato. Travis flees into the jungle but is again captured by Beck, whom Travis fails to talk into releasing him to find the Gato. Next, they run into, and then afoul of, a group of El Dorado rebels led by Mariana (Dawson)--the town clerk--with whom Travis is infatuated. Mariana has agreed to help Travis find el Gato in exchange for a share of the money Travis gets for selling el Gato. Beck agrees to let Travis find the Gato before he takes him home. With the assistance of the rebels, the three locate the Gato and take it from its temple site. That night, Hatcher and his men find the rebel camp and kill all the rebels while Travis, Beck and Mariana get away. Travis is eager to donate the artifact to a museum despite his greedy tendencies, but Mariana, who wants el Gato so she can help her town with the money it brings, incapacitates Travis and Beck with a toxic, hallucinogenic fruit called Konlobos and makes off with it.

In the morning following Mariana's deception, Beck and Travis attempt to return to El Dorado, and run into a fierce jungle tribe on the way. Beck demonstrates his fighting prowess in an elaborate contest with various tribal warriors. Victorious over the tribal warriors, Beck returns with Travis to an airstrip near El Dorado, intent on taking him home, only to find out that Mariana has been captured by Hatcher. Reluctant to leave Mariana and the town at the mercy of Hatcher and his gang, Beck and Travis head to town. After learning of Beck's return, Hatcher locks down the town and sends his men out to kill him. After initially being overwhelmed by Hatcher's gunmen, Beck grabs a gun and reveals himself as a skilled marksman, effortlessly dispatching Hatcher's men and freeing Mariana in the process. Hatcher confronts Beck amidst the townspeople and is shot when he attempts to attack Mariana. Agreeing to leave the town, Hatcher attempts to walk away but collapses dead. With Mariana rescued and the town saved, Beck and Travis return to the United States, leaving el Gato with the grateful townspeople. Beck brings Travis home to his father, Walker. After Walker releases Beck from his debts, Beck watches in dismay as Walker abuses and ridicules Travis. Recognizing Travis is in for a dismal future at his cruel father's hands, Beck pulls the same sort of deception on Walker and his henchmen as Mariana had pulled on Beck and Travis to get el Gato from them. Proposing a sort of toast to the completion of his last job, Beck dopes the drinks he gives Walker and his men with the same toxic fruit Mariana slipped him and Travis in the jungle. Walker and his men collapse in hallucinogenic paralysis, freeing an overjoyed Travis to leave with Beck. As they are leaving, Travis begins annoying Beck almost immediately, making Beck wonder if it was really worth rescuing Travis after all.

Cast [link]

• Dwayne Johnson as Beck
• Seann William Scott as Travis Alfred Walker
• Rosario Dawson as Mariana
• Christopher Walken as Cornelius Bernard Hatcher
• Ewen Bremner as Declan
• Jon Gries as Harvey
• Ernie Reyes, Jr. as Manito
• William Lucking as Walker
• Arnold Schwarzenegger as a bar patron (Uncredited Cameo)

Reception [link]

The Rundown was warmly received by critics. The film holds a "fresh" 71% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Roger Ebert gave the film 3¹⁄₂ stars out of 4, saying "The jungle locations give the film a texture and beauty that underlines the out-sized characters."

Despite the positive acclaim, The Rundown was a slight box office failure, grossing $81 million worldwide compared to its $85 million budget, which makes a sequel not entirely likely. Director Peter Berg has expressed interest in making a sequel to the film but notes that "no one can ever get motivated and focused enough to do it."^[1]

References [link]

External links [link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Rundown

• The Rundown at the Internet Movie Database
• The Rundown at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Rundown at Box Office Mojo