Synopsis for
The Rundown (2003) More at IMDbPro »

Beck (The Rock) is a professional bag man who chooses not to use guns in his work due to a previous bad experience. He is hired by his boss, Walker, to go to get Walker's son, Travis (Sean William Scott), from the Amazon jungle. Beck wants out of the business, and Walker agrees to make this his last job before Beck retires and opens his own restaurant. He heads down to the small South American town of "Helldorado" to find Travis and retrieve him from the mess he is in. The town is run by Hatcher (Christopher Walken) who owns the town and the people cannot afford not to work for him due to his monopoly.

Beck quickly captures Travis, but Travis escapes with the help of Hatcher. Travis is looking for an ancient golden artifact known as the Gato that, if the townspeople acquired it, would allow them to buy their freedom from Hatcher, which is why Hatcher wants the Gato and wants Travis free to find it for him. Travis flees into the jungle but is again captured by Beck, and after Travis fails to talk his way out of capture, they in turn run afoul of a group of rebels led by Mariana (Rosario Dawson), a town clerk with whom Travis is infatuated. Beck agrees to let Travis find the Gato for Mariana before he takes him home, and with the assistance of the rebels, the three find the location of the Gato and retrieve it. Travis is eager to donate the artifact to a museum despite his greedy tendencies, but Mariana incapacitates Travis and Beck with a toxic fruit and takes it, unwilling to allow Travis to keep it.

In the morning, Beck returns to the airstrip to take Travis home, but finds out that Mariana has been captured by Hatcher. Reluctant to leave after his agreement with Mariana, Beck returns to town with Travis. After learning of Beck's return, Hatcher locks down the town and sends his men out to kill him. After being bested by Hatcher's gunmen, Beck reluctantly takes up his own guns and reveals himself as a skilled marksmen, effortlessly dispatching Hatcher's men and freeing Mariana. 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. Beck and Travis return to Walker while Mariana and the townspeople are left the Gato. With Walker, Beck watches as he is paid and Travis is hit and ridiculed by his father. As a sort of toast to his last job, Beck feeds Walker and his men the same toxic fruit that Mariana fed to him, and they collapse in paralysis as an overjoyed Travis leaves with Beck, grateful but still irritating him. The film ends with Beck muttering "I'm gonna kill you" after Travis fakes a punch at him.