The Rundown (2003)

It comes fast, a split-second cameo: Arnold Schwarzenegger walks out of a bar and yells, “Have fun!,” as Dwayne Johnson -– billed as “The Rock” for his wrestling -– struts into a showdown that will have him clobbering most of a football team. Off the bat, director Peter Berg in his second film is planting flags: Johnson is the new Action King and “The Rundown” is a goofy, bone-cruncher flick from 1986. And it is exactly that. Every beat, stunt, gag, and boom is wired to the days of Reagan. Irritation? Yes. Likely the point? Fact. Plot: Johnson is Beck, a bounty hunter sent to the Amazon to retrieve the son (Sean William Scott) of his loan shark boss. In the jungle, his target easily found, Beck gets sucked into a third-world slave camp (free market capitalism!) drama run by an evil baron (Christopher Walken). Skulls crack, you know the rest. Johnson’s charisma is strong as Berg dreams up cackling, chortling myriad ways to put his hero through the ringer. Scott’s Wile E. Coyote irritates and needles Beck in the film’s best unsaid gag: This is a bromance take on “Romancing the Stone,” one of those great ’80s films. B

Battleship (2012)

“Battleship” -– based on the board game -– bombed in theaters, and a viewing reinforces its death as deserved. The is an ugly CGI-drunk mess, taking 40 minutes to start as director Peter Berg (“Kingdom”) and his screenwriters break their backs and our patience introducing a screw-up U.S. Navy hero (Taylor Kitsch) destined for greatness when evil aliens invade Earth. Plot? Aliens attack. Navy fights back. That’s it. Unless you count the burrito subplot as vital. I do not. This could have used a rewrite and a butcher’s knife in the editing room because even Liam Neeson, onscreen for 15 minutes, looks bored as the Navy commander/father of Kitsch’s girlfriend. Here’s the real riddle: Despite the dull rip off of “Transformers” and “Halo” that defines 95 percent of the flick, Berg coolly employs real veterans young (Gregory Gadson, amazing) and old (WW2 and Korean vets) as saviors of our Hollywood-cast cardboard heroes and this move openly calls bullshit on every rah-rah action hero ever made. Corny? Yes. But it works. Alas, inept studio mentality sinks smarts. Bombs away! C

The Kingdom (2007)

“The Kingdom” is a helluva hybrid film -- thinking person’s political brain cruncher of all things Middle East/United States and a damn good action film. The very last of this 2007 thriller with Jamie Foxx, Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner and the awesome Chris Cooper may be way too Hollywood, but it’s preceded by bare-knuckle big-screen entertainment. And nasty, true politics. Director Peter Berg and his writers provide a shot of whiskey that won’t be found in any other Hollywood film that would go for “can’t we all get along” easiness. This film dares suggest maybe we can’t get along. But that’s only part of the film. On the action side, an explosive highway chase delivers shocking thrills, and leads up to a shoot-out that is eye-popping, if not a bit silly. Hell, I’ll give it away: All our American heroes walk out alive from a vicious battle with dozens of bomb-throwing, machine-gun-totting terrorists. A big Bruce Willis-like slump for a film that opens with a shocking attack on Americans playing the most American sport of baseball. B+

Hancock (2008)

"Hancock" is a surprising disappoint for what it offers: Superstar Will Smith playing a disgruntled, ornery superhero in LA.

How perfect is that idea? Spider-Man, Iron Man and the Hulk are great guys or potentially great guys who get zapped, bitten, blasted or whatever'ed and do the right thing. Automatically. But what if the would-be hero doesn't give a crap? Or worse yet, makes matters worse when he does try and do good? (Hancock causes more havoc by saving a PR geek played by Jason Bateman from an on-coming train than if he just let the sap die.)

But this Peter Berg-directed sci-fi pic never delivers. The failure is not only because a major plot twist involving the PR guy's wife is obvious just by the name of the actress (Charlize Theron), but by the inclusion of dull as dirt villains and a murky climax set in a hospital. Snoozeville awaits.

The motive for the trio of villains is too juvenile for words: Hancock stopped one of the guys from robbing a bank, and the other two ... well, he shoved one's head up the other's ass. And we get to see that. I bet any fourth grade creative writing class could do better.

It's a shame because Hancock's introduction to moral choices, showers, fine dining, and the correct way to take off and land, and not destroy half the city by accident, all are standout entertainment. A sequel apparently is in the works, and it could well be worthwhile. This first installment is only half a film looking for a worthy conclusion. I hope it's realized. C+