‘Treasure of the Amazon’ (The Rundown, 2003), which was also known internationally with a very appropriate ‘Welcome to the Jungle‘ was a remarkable action-comedy buddy movie that certified Peter Berg as one of the most trusted directors in commercial American cinema and just launched the career of Dwayne Johnson, at the time still credited as The Rockwho shared the screen with youth film star Seann William Scott, with whom he would coincide again in ‘Southland Tales’ (2006).
The cast was full of big names like Christopher Walken, Rosario Dawson, and William Lucking, while Johnson played a bounty hunter who travels to Brazil to retrieve his boss’s son to pay off a debt. On his journey he finds Helldorado —the name initially thought for the film—, a city deep in the Amazon jungle, which he meets the convict (Scott) discovering that he is a scavenger in search of a treasure, so both They will form a team to try to find a mine full of gold.
Dwayne Johnson’s Roof Break
The film was released by Universal Pictures and under the Columbia Pictures label internationally on September 26, 2003 and grossed $80.9 million on a budget of $85, however, despite that initial box office disappointment time has given it more character, placing it among the best and most solid films of ‘The Rock’so much so that the new fame that has been taking with the growing popularity of the actor highlights the flaccidity for all audiences of some of his latest works.
The idea of making a buddy-movie came up to Berg when watched the fight between Roddy Piper and Keith David on ‘They are alive’ (They Live, 1988):
“It just hurt to watch it. It was a completely different style from all these fancy movies. And on second thought, I couldn’t remember the last time in a fight movie where I felt pain, where if you get hit in the face, it hurts. So that’s where I found my breathing room: Let’s give people old-school guys who fight with big punches.”
And for that, what better than hiring Dwayne Johnson, still breaking in Hollywood after his role in the franchise ‘The Mummy’. Although her cache was already through the roof, she received no less than 12.5 million for the film, but she helped redefine the tone. According to Berg, the intention was for it to be much darker and their playful and fun dynamic is almost a tribute to The Rockin his words “a charming, charismatic and very intelligent man”.
A relentless western adventure
Almost entering the governor’s race, Arnold Schwarzenegger made a cameo appearance in the film while visiting Universal Studios during filming.. While eating with ‘The Rock’, Berg asked him if he would like to appear in the film and Schwarzenegger told him that if it was at that moment, yes, with which the director moved his team and in 15 minutes they were on the set. The appearance in the film is now very significant, because looks like the old action star is passing the baton to the new one.
Written by James Vanderbilt Y R.J. Stuart‘Treasure of the Amazon’ was described by producer Kevin Misher as ‘In search of the lost ark’ (Indiana Jones and the Lost Ark, 1980) and ‘After the green heart’ (Romancing the Stone, 1984) with a bit of ‘Midnight Run’ (Midnight Run, 1988) and the truth is which is a great definition of what we can find in the film, with the difference that it has a more violent touch and the madness of action movies starring the great musclemen of the 90s.
It has anthology scenes like Johnson and Scott falling down the side of a mountain and the chemistry between the actors is phenomenal, but the most spectacular part is the final assault, a mini-western in a Brazilian town that anticipated (and greatly improves) the entire film ‘Bacurau’ (2019). Walken is a great villain and The Rock lived up to his name by being a true living hammer in one of the most vindictive, frenetic and enjoyable works of his prolific collection.