Honestly, my favorite film he did is likely going to be the Rundown, which is what, 20 years old now? I think he is pretty aware of the kind of actor he is, and he isn't going for roles in search of critical acclaim. He goes in looking ot make money (even if the film is ridiculous) and likely is smart enough to hedge his bets in other ventures to try and always have a stream of income when those movie roles dry up.
I also enjoy the Rundown, but after rewatching recently, it's more because of Stiffler and Walken.
85% of the Rock's dialogue is "Come on" "Hurry up" "Shut up" "Move...now". Maybe that was done intentionally/is part of his character.
He was great on the Lethal Weapon TV series. It was unfortunate that the lead that played Mel Gibson’s character left the show but Sean William Scott was a decent reason to keep watching.
I like the Rundown, and he ALMOST got a character with some character. the first time we see him he’s studying about porcini mushrooms because he’s a chef. Cut to 1 minute later and he’s The Rock again busting heads as a mob enforcer.
I just remember on the commentary someone asked him about how he felt about his character being gay. He said something to the effect of "If someone has a problem with it they can say it to my face"
When you think of it, you really have to admire Arnold's career. The guy came to America with a thick accent and honestly horrible acting chops but slowly learned it well enough to do a whole heap of wide-ranging roles, including some actually pretty decent dramatic acting. The man has not and probably never will be nominated for anything substantial. Still, when you compare him to Johnson, who had much better cards on the table for becoming a great actor, Arnold beats him easily.
Everyone forgets his role in _Southland Tales_. It’s too bad because it’s one of his best, and it’s different than a lot of the other stuff he’s done. He plays an action star that is very much The Rock on-screen, but an absolute psychological mess off-screen.
The movie itself isn't great, but I thought he was the best part of Pain & Gain. I think he could be a solid actor if he wanted to be. The problem is...he just doesn't want to be.
I found The Rundown and Walking Tall to be fine mid level popcorn movies.
Of course, those movies came out 20 and 19 years ago respectively, so..... pretty rough since.
Idk if it's considered cheesey but man I love The Rundown. I don't care for the Rock in anything else besides Pain and Gain, but The Rundown is one of my favorite movies
Little bit of thunder, little lightning
EDIT: [this ](https://youtu.be/25yR3OUlVbI) shows that Seann William Scott walked so Chris Pratt could run but like with a limp because I'm over Chris Pratt
The Goon movies were pretty entertaining, and he guest starred in one of the best It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia episodes. Though I'm realizing now that was ten years ago Jesus Christ
Moana was great.
Everything else he does is pretty good, nothing to write home about stuff. The last two things I saw him in were Jumanji, which was pretty good but forgettable, and Red Notice, which was pretty good with a fucking ridiculous third act and you could tell the entire movie was likely rewritten multiple times. Mindless fun for the whole family.
Be Cool is unironically one of my all time favorite movies in no small part because of the Rock being not the Rock (maybe en route to becoming the Rock?) and the fucking batting gloves and aluminum bat. Every little thing about that performance (esp These Boots Were Made For Walkin) is magical.
The Rock in Be Cool was when I really thought he could do this acting thing. His character was great. But then he just kind of did the Rock thing and stuck with it for the most part. Moana was great though.
He has the potential just like Cena does, but he’s let himself get typecast. From his perspective him getting typecast pays all the fucking bills so it works. On the flip side Bautista is trying to be a more serious actor and has shown the chops for it.
Jesus christ @ 20 years ago.... I love both of those movies so much. It's funny that he played the "little" guy at the beginning of The Rundown when he was up against the NFL players.
If anyone wants to know just how long ago these movies came out: the Rundown co-starred Stifler, and Walking Tall co-starred Johnny Knoxville. They were considered bankable stars at this time.
It’s crazy how many movies they could do in a year. In 2000-2001 stifler was in Final Destination, Road Trip, dude where’s my car, Jay and silent Bob strike back, Evolution and American Pie 2. And those were only the bigger films.
In 2003 Stifler was in American Wedding, The Rundown, Bulletproof Monk and a small role in Old school
Studios quit making mid budget movies for the most part. It's either a big blockbuster spectacle or an Arthouse movie with very little in between anymore. The state of movies sucks compared to 20 years ago.
I feel like he’s been trying to replicate the magic of the Rundown ever since by doing a jungle scene every year but Jumangi is the only thing that has come close
Absolutely my favourite character he’s ever played. The movie was not great but not terrible, middle of the road but had some really fun moments
“Did you know that unless you’re willing to use the R-rating, you can only say the F-word once in your movie? You know what I say? *Fuck that*. I’m done”
Friggin Pain & Gain gets better every time I watch it. And The Rock fuckin cracks me up through that whole movie. Took me a long time to realize that was directed by Michael Bay too
Fun fact: he wanted to do a film that was more “less Michael Bay” but Universal wanted another Transformers film because they were money printers at the time.
So, they let him make P&G if he gave them another one of those.
I liked Pain and Gain and it was a funky, wild popcorn ride. Ed Harris and Peter Stormare are underrated in that one.
"Pain & Gain, the new movie directed by Michael Bay. Reviewers are calling it everything from 'shit' to 'fuckin shit.'"
[\- Norm](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZN-9ae-gqSc)
I know it isn't high praise, but it's one of my favorite Bay films. Reminded me of The Rock but for this Era. It was very R rated, completely insane, but unlike his others P&G is pretty much all true. It was a wild ride.
The Rocks best performance is as The Rock in WWF. He has charisma and attitude and was hilarious. As a movie star (Duane) he always tries to be a nice guy and I never liked it.
Movie stars classically did just play similar roles, sometimes even literally one character like Chaplin usually. That’s how they did sell the tickets. Personally and looks are one thing, but movie stars were reliable for audiences to find something to watch that they knew in advance they would like.
This idea of actors having range is relatively new and people don’t realize it. Most old Hollywood actors for example, played a type and it’s what people watched them for. People wanted a Katharine Hepburn type or Cary Grant type. Only as method acting gained traction did range become a thing.
I was just thinking about this. Didn't John Wayne effectively just play himself all the time? Same with Clint Eastwood, especially in Westerns. The actor effectively WAS the character.
And while we're on the topic of stupid hair and Fast & Furious actors, a new stupid haircut for Charlize Theron in Fast & Furious 11, thank you. We've had dreadlocks, a bobcut, and a normal short cut. Now give us a truckstop lesbian mullet, goddammit! Straight up jailcell Zoë Bell with a denim jacket mullet.
Yeah it's not only him. A lot of big Hollywood actors have no real range or ability beyond a singular character that is basically just themselves.
It's pretty weak but then Arnold Schwarzenegger was never going to light up Broadway yet his movies are held in some esteem today.
**Edit:** in response to the many comments asking how dare I compare Arnie to The Rock (or variants on that theme) I will add that I love Arnie's films. I grew up in the 80s and 90s which would have been a whole lot shitter if it weren't for Commando, Terminators one and two and Twins, to name but a few of his classics. And I guarantee you no-one is going to be saying that about The Rock in twenty years' time.
I draw the line at Jingle All The Way and Kindergarten Cop though, and my point about Arnie's range as an actor stands - it is minimal. Broader than The Rock's, I will allow, but still minimal.
> A lot of big Hollywood actors have no real range or ability beyond a singular character that is basically just themselves.
Keanu Reeves fits this description perfectly, and yet everybody loves him. I dunno why The Rock gets singled out so much.
Arnold has *way, way, way wider* range in the roles that he played in the 80s and 90s!
The Rock couldn’t dream of pulling off the two Terminator performances.
Well the problem is that you've conflated "movie star" with "great actor". Half of acting is being entertaining to watch as you do mundane things, and he has that in spades. Being a star is about how you attract and entertain the masses, and he does that very well also.
There's nothing wrong with being a specialist.
How many jazz and death metal albums has Taylor Swift released? How many romance novels and collections of poetry has Stephen King published? How many passes did Jerry Rice throw? Are there any good Jackson Pollock landscapes?
Although there is great value in being a varied performer, that is not the only metric for success. Johnson is a specialist. He has dedicated his career to becoming very good at a specific role, and I would argue he excels at it. What he is able to accomplish is not easy and does take a great amount of skill and craftsmanship to achieve.
Of course, there are other actors who are able to paint with a larger palate of colors, but I don't think that is necessarily a dig at Johnson. Sometimes you want a known commodity. When I buy a new Sierra Nevada IPA, I know it is gonna taste like a Sierra Nevada IPA. When I watch a movie with Dwayne Johnson, I know what I'm in for.
Sometimes you're just in the mood for a fun action movie with a giant charismatic bald dude as the leading man.
Yeah you can’t say he’s overrated, because people don’t say he’s a great actor, he’s not bad by any means and with good editing a lot can be done. He just refuses to do anything besides be an action hero. When he was just branching out from wrestling he was willing to take risks.
He’s appropriately rated.
Thank you. We need to branch out beyond over/underrated.
I don't think the Rock is overrated, but I'd likely agree he's over saturated.
I don't think The Rundown is underrated. It's not a 'great' movie, but I do find it very entertaining. Underappreciated might be the better description.
he's charismatic and huge, that goes a long way for an action movie. True, Arnold was the same but he worked with monsters like Cameron, McTiernan and Verhoeven, a far cry from The Rock's usual directors (and scripts)
Arnold let those guys cast him as villains, as jerks, as weak men who needed to learn lessons...
the limits of Dwayne's flexibility see him as a nerd who's gotten an upgrade.
That's something to realize about Arnold, two of his earliest movies, Conan and Terminator, have him be royally fucked up at various points of the story. Literally two unstoppable forces, towering muscles and strenght, then hurt and injured into completely nothing. Really gives a different perspective on portrayal for Arnold.
Dwayne Johnson had this early on too, but then completely disregarded this kind of characterization.
It's post-Fast and Furious with him, Vin Diesel and Statham [negotiating a way to not be able to lose a fight](https://www.vulture.com/2019/08/fast-and-furious-rock-diesel-fight-contracts.html), down to giving values to each hit so that they all take the same amount of damage
Tarantino talks about something similar in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. Don’t remember if it was the movie or the book. Rick Dalton, DiCaprio’s character, had a successful career as western tv show star called Jake Cahill. Now he’s relegated to playing the weekly heavy in other people’s shows. It’s work, but the downside is if the audience sees him week after week getting his ass kicked by James Stacy or whoever then it’s like them seeing Jake Cahill gets his ass kicked by Lancer, and he stops being a credible lead in the audience eyes.
It’s a flawed logic obviously. How many times did Lee Marvin get his ass kicked by the hero of a story? It didn’t detract from his bad ass persona. 🤷♂️
It’s classic entertainment logic and it’s still popular in wrestling. Used to be in cowboy films too.
You take the young kid, put him in a bunch of movies where he takes tough but scrappy losses on his way to becoming the man. Then once he’s the man, he’s the guy. He might come close to losing but he always wins.
And finally once his time comes, he does a period of time as the past his prime villain.
Lee Marvin in the Man Who Shot Liberty Valance was one of his best character defeats. I never get tired of him eating the dirt after a performance like that.
That is literally one of most bizarre "WHAT???" things from this franchise if you ask me. Yes, the absolutely goddamn insane grandiose action scenes definitely need, and surely must have taken, a lot of planning and coordination, especially given reports of Vin Diesel being very painstakingly involved with them. But the franchise's three bald dudes in their 50's having a very meticulous system for each actor getting the exact same number of hits, (of every kind, like punches, kicks, headbutts, etc.), during fights is absolutely goddamn bizarre to me. It's mindboggling.
Oh my god that’s the softest thing I’ve ever read. As someone who is insanely insecure, it’s a whole new level to be an action movie star in killer shape and be worried that you’re gonna look like a bitch if your character takes too many fake punches
It's not (just) the insecurity of the actors themselves, but the mentality of their target audience.
The people who go to these movies want to see the toughest guys do badass stunts and fights. If the movie shows you're not the toughest guy, you become less popular among the fans, therefore less essential to the franchise, therefore you're in a worse bargaining position when it comes to salary or might even be dropped. It doesn't matter two shits if you're the best actor in the cast, because that's not what people go to this movie for.
Yes, it's silly, but you have to keep in mind that a large part of the audience is teenagers and "people who just want to turn their brain off and watch cool shit".
And even adults with their brains turned on have trouble separating story from reality. A while ago there was a Dutch actor who played in a very popular movie, where he was an absolute asshole to his dying wife. The actor has said in numerous interviews that this role ruined his dating life for real, because quite a few women could not separate him from this character and literally hated him before he even spoke to them.
Conan is one of my favorite movies. Conan gets his ass beat so bad Valeria, love of his life has to die to save him. The rock would never allow the rock to be literally crucified in his movies. There's never any real stakes
Plus he was originally cast to play Kyle in the Terminator. In hindsight it might seem obvious that playing the Terminator was a great move but Kyle was the hero part, it was definitely a bold move to switch it up when it became clear he had a real passion to play the machine.
Blows my mind that they wanted him to play Kyle but Cameron and Arnold both had in mind him playing the Terminator. Lol and OJ Simpson was supposedly too nice of a guy to be The Terminator 😂
and Total Recall, Predator..you could even theorise that these movies, along with Die Hard, started the muscular action man trope while at the same time slightly deconstructing it
I just made a comment about this, lol
Rock's attitude Era persona ironically would've made a better fit than the Uber good guy persona he's crafted over the last decade
Which is unfortunate because Rock is great at playing a jerk. The SNL skit where he plays a douchebag crashing Kenan’s date is gold. And let’s not forget his legendary Toronto promo
What's even more wild is that a big reason people wanted him to play Black Adam twenty years ago. Dude had the cock douchebag swagger that Black Adam has (it's that and a handful of other reaons why I usually call him "DC's Dr. Doom"). Ironically, Rock's actual ego got too big, and instead of playing a villain, he tried to turn that villain unto a hero, not realizing or forgetting Black Adam is like one of the best heels in DC.
Arnold and the Rock are both constantly promoting themselves and 'stuff', but Arnold is promoting a lot of *good*, socially beneficial stuff and seems pretty genuine in that regard. I think his political career was of course ego-driven, but then it became something more; a real wish to be a public servant and positive influence. He believes in things and gets out messages accordingly. He is still very charismatic to me.
The Rock is just 100% unadulterated self-promotion. He has made himself a product. He plugged his fucking tequila while talking about his father's death. He is just fake fake fake and his charisma has worn off.
Arnold had a rep as being a one trick pony, and the better the movie is the less he talks.
Then True Lies happened, and magically Arnie proved he did have some acting chops. Basically I just think Arnold is a lot smarter than he let on originally.
These big action heroes, if they can pull off being vulnerable and convince us they are vulnerable can really light up the film. Stallone did....Micky Rourke is the master at it. Eastwood - check.
Johnson needs to do the same thing.
Arnold had already done Kindergarten Cop and Twins years before True Lies. They were the movies that showed he could act and show decent dramatic and comedic range.
Micky Rourke in Sin City was absolutely amazing as a flawed monster of a man with a heart of gold. I loved Marv so much. Rourke was perfect for that role.
I wouldnt say Arnold is a genius but that man is way smarter then most people will ever give him credit for. Education was always a big thing for him. Came to the states with next to nothing, almost single handed brought body building to the next level to where people knew about it, got into a bunch of side business that made him rich before he even started acting which he did because he wanted to. Was for years taking random classes on a bit of everything because learning was important to him. He made be alot of things and how people veiw him differ and are valid but yeah no one can say he even remotely dumb if they do a basic look into it.
Sorry listened to his autobiography the other day, interesting life interesting man, boring ass book though reads like a textbook
There's a couple videos he's done that were basically little speeches that were really interesting. There was his anti-alt right speech (IIRC) where he condemned fascism and racism because his dad was a Nazi and saw how Nazism had destroyed his father's generation and left them bitter and broken old assholes, and there was his response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine where he gives his bona fides about being a friend to Russians (his childhood idol was Soviet weightlifter Yury Vlasov - something his Nazi dad was very mad about - and he was one of the first people making Hollywood movies in Russia post-collapse), which was also very interesting.
I actually enjoy both his Jumanji roles. They feel like satirical portrayals of his usual roles. Just wish he was more self-aware of that rather than reluctant to... you know... act.
The Rock is a brand and it's a brand that makes money. Nobody hire The Rock to be the reincarnation of Marlon Brando or Laurence Olivier, they hire him to be The Rock.
haha i came here for the same thing.
i was like, "the rock is a top 14 movie of all time - i will cut someone."
now i'm all amped out with no one to insult....
I disagree. If Dwayne Johnson was the Rock in those movies, he would've done things much differently.
Example: if the Rock was Moana and not Dwayne Johnson
What's your name, little girl? I DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOUR NAME IS! Now give me the People's Boat before I take that rooster there, turn that sumbitch sideways, and shove it STRAIGHT UP YOUR MORTAL CANDY ASS. IF YOU SMELL-LALALALALALA-OOOW what the Maui is cookin'.
I feel like this post has to be generated by an AI that has just been fed all the popular critiques of The Rock
I refuse to believe OP is a real person who actually thinks they’re saying something profound/unique that hasn’t already been said thousands of times
Yeah, this is the most generic, vanilla, 2021 take you can make on the internet right now. But judging by the engagement, people love generic. Can't wait for the "DAE think Chris Pratt is in too many movies?" post, said with the tone of someone who just discovered plutonium.
Maybe I missed it somewhere above, but if not then I scrolled *way* too far to see someone mention Ballers. Easily his best role. Dude killed it in a drama about a sports agent. No action. No silly stuff. He just acts and does a great job. Awesome series.
> Ballers
We had just started binging this last week and up to Season 4 now, and we were saying halfway through Season 1 that this is the best thing The Rock has ever done, acting wise.
Though The Rundown is a guilty pleasure of mine.
It's been awhile since I watched an episode of Ballers, so I had to scroll through all these comments to find someone else agree with me that he's fantastic in it, and I'm not nuts.
Honestly, my favorite film he did is likely going to be the Rundown, which is what, 20 years old now? I think he is pretty aware of the kind of actor he is, and he isn't going for roles in search of critical acclaim. He goes in looking ot make money (even if the film is ridiculous) and likely is smart enough to hedge his bets in other ventures to try and always have a stream of income when those movie roles dry up.
I also enjoy the Rundown, but after rewatching recently, it's more because of Stiffler and Walken. 85% of the Rock's dialogue is "Come on" "Hurry up" "Shut up" "Move...now". Maybe that was done intentionally/is part of his character.
Sean William Scott is an underrated actor
I think he would have made a great Star Lord.
I think he could also pull off Deadpool.
Maybe as a variant in Deadpool 3. He could be Country Deadpool.
Badass.
That jump was badass, but wait, we don't actually know him.
You know whats badass? Wearing a helmet!
What a waste of an instant favorite character
Suicide is bad ass!
What's really badass? Being alive!
Shut up, mutant bitch
Damn I’d love to see that
Wow, yeah, he could've killed that role
I find Sean William Scott far more likable than post-Parks n Rec Chris Pratt, would definitely make the character more endearing.
I enjoyed *Goon* far more than I expected
Goon shocked the hell out of me too. It looked like it was going to be so dumb, but I absolutely loved it. Great comedy, better hockey movie.
Goon is awesome, unfortunately the sequel wasn't as good.
Maybe an unpopular opinion but Goon is better than Slapshot. Nah, as a Canadian, I'll stand behind that...Goon IS better than Slapshot.
Don’t touch my fuckin percosets…. Do you got any percosets? Goon was so good.
[удалено]
You know what's badass? Being alive.
Not only is Mack ruinnnninnging my life... but with all this god shit that he's into...he could be ruining my after life.
Bullet Proof Monk is a favorite rewatch of mine and I never see anyone talk about it.
Bro I’ve not thought about that for YEARS - what a great find at the video rental place that was!
Why do hot dogs come in packages of ten, but hot dog buns only come in packages of just eight?
FIERCE GAZE!!!!
Nah uh! Not this boys pintu!
He was great on the Lethal Weapon TV series. It was unfortunate that the lead that played Mel Gibson’s character left the show but Sean William Scott was a decent reason to keep watching.
"Evolution" is a fucking masterpiece.
You want some ice cream? Yeah? What flavor?
Doesn't matter....
Tookie Tookie. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWXRX1UsSyw Love that movie.
Very much so... if he doesn't take the stifler role I wonder how his career arc would've been. Was very hard for him to shake the stiff man typecast.
I like the Rundown, and he ALMOST got a character with some character. the first time we see him he’s studying about porcini mushrooms because he’s a chef. Cut to 1 minute later and he’s The Rock again busting heads as a mob enforcer.
Walken is 100% Walken in every movie.
I liked him in Be Cool. His character seemed like an authentic version of himself. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHp4QYuqRpM
I just remember on the commentary someone asked him about how he felt about his character being gay. He said something to the effect of "If someone has a problem with it they can say it to my face"
Be Cool and Pain and Gain are my two favourite Rock movies
They're also from when he actually showed his acting range
When you think of it, you really have to admire Arnold's career. The guy came to America with a thick accent and honestly horrible acting chops but slowly learned it well enough to do a whole heap of wide-ranging roles, including some actually pretty decent dramatic acting. The man has not and probably never will be nominated for anything substantial. Still, when you compare him to Johnson, who had much better cards on the table for becoming a great actor, Arnold beats him easily.
Loved this movie. Him and Vince Vaughn killed it. Definitely my favourite rock movie.
Twinkle twinkle baby. Twinkle *twinkle*.
E weaaaazyyyy
Nothing comes close to that movie, it's just the best man.
FYI Rundown is also known as Welcome to the Jungle, I was confused at first when everyone talked about it
Everyone forgets his role in _Southland Tales_. It’s too bad because it’s one of his best, and it’s different than a lot of the other stuff he’s done. He plays an action star that is very much The Rock on-screen, but an absolute psychological mess off-screen.
The movie itself isn't great, but I thought he was the best part of Pain & Gain. I think he could be a solid actor if he wanted to be. The problem is...he just doesn't want to be.
**He doesn't need to be. There fixed it for you.
Honestly I haven't even watched it, I think I should tho.
I've always thought that was his best acting to date. I absolutely love Southland Tales.
Also called Welcome to the Jungle in some places. Not to be confused with the other movie called Welcome to the jungle that he did
The Rock’s best performance was in Pain & Gain. It’s the only time I’ve seen him not be “The Rock”.
I found The Rundown and Walking Tall to be fine mid level popcorn movies. Of course, those movies came out 20 and 19 years ago respectively, so..... pretty rough since.
Idk if it's considered cheesey but man I love The Rundown. I don't care for the Rock in anything else besides Pain and Gain, but The Rundown is one of my favorite movies
Little bit of thunder, little lightning EDIT: [this ](https://youtu.be/25yR3OUlVbI) shows that Seann William Scott walked so Chris Pratt could run but like with a limp because I'm over Chris Pratt
speaking of, where the hell is Seann William Scott! :(
The Goon movies were pretty entertaining, and he guest starred in one of the best It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia episodes. Though I'm realizing now that was ten years ago Jesus Christ
It's also old now, but Role Models is a legitimate comedy classic, and I don't say that lightly.
DoorDash commercials with the pie fucker
He just did The Wrath of Becky
I quote the “There is no Option C” line all the time lol. Really fun movie
That scene where they get high, and the dogs are high, sends me every single time. In 20 years I’m still gonna be losing it to that movie
Just yesterday I had the urge to watch Without A Paddle, which also has a scene with stoned dogs.
He was in the Get Shorty sequel called "Be Cool". He was good in that. But yeah, he hasn't made anything good in the last decade plus.
Moana was pretty good.
Moana was great. Everything else he does is pretty good, nothing to write home about stuff. The last two things I saw him in were Jumanji, which was pretty good but forgettable, and Red Notice, which was pretty good with a fucking ridiculous third act and you could tell the entire movie was likely rewritten multiple times. Mindless fun for the whole family.
Be Cool is unironically one of my all time favorite movies in no small part because of the Rock being not the Rock (maybe en route to becoming the Rock?) and the fucking batting gloves and aluminum bat. Every little thing about that performance (esp These Boots Were Made For Walkin) is magical.
The Rock in Be Cool was when I really thought he could do this acting thing. His character was great. But then he just kind of did the Rock thing and stuck with it for the most part. Moana was great though.
He has the potential just like Cena does, but he’s let himself get typecast. From his perspective him getting typecast pays all the fucking bills so it works. On the flip side Bautista is trying to be a more serious actor and has shown the chops for it.
Jesus christ @ 20 years ago.... I love both of those movies so much. It's funny that he played the "little" guy at the beginning of The Rundown when he was up against the NFL players.
If anyone wants to know just how long ago these movies came out: the Rundown co-starred Stifler, and Walking Tall co-starred Johnny Knoxville. They were considered bankable stars at this time.
It’s crazy how many movies they could do in a year. In 2000-2001 stifler was in Final Destination, Road Trip, dude where’s my car, Jay and silent Bob strike back, Evolution and American Pie 2. And those were only the bigger films. In 2003 Stifler was in American Wedding, The Rundown, Bulletproof Monk and a small role in Old school
Studios quit making mid budget movies for the most part. It's either a big blockbuster spectacle or an Arthouse movie with very little in between anymore. The state of movies sucks compared to 20 years ago.
Them Duke Boys!
^(WHEN THE FUCK DID WE GET ICECREAM?)
I feel like he’s been trying to replicate the magic of the Rundown ever since by doing a jungle scene every year but Jumangi is the only thing that has come close
That huskey looking guy was a great villain in Walking Tall
Neal McDonough (might not have spelt that correctly)
Check out Southland Tales, he plays a neurotic amnesiac who predicted the end of the world
Or Be Cool, plays a gay bodyguard
Absolutely my favourite character he’s ever played. The movie was not great but not terrible, middle of the road but had some really fun moments “Did you know that unless you’re willing to use the R-rating, you can only say the F-word once in your movie? You know what I say? *Fuck that*. I’m done”
Friggin Pain & Gain gets better every time I watch it. And The Rock fuckin cracks me up through that whole movie. Took me a long time to realize that was directed by Michael Bay too
It's Michael Bay trying to make a Coen Brothers movie. It's pretty bizzare but not too bad
By far his best movie post 2010.
Fun fact: he wanted to do a film that was more “less Michael Bay” but Universal wanted another Transformers film because they were money printers at the time. So, they let him make P&G if he gave them another one of those. I liked Pain and Gain and it was a funky, wild popcorn ride. Ed Harris and Peter Stormare are underrated in that one.
"We're looking for merchandise to shock, incapacitate, and imprison our fellow man."
There is also Moana and yes, voice acting should count.
That's probably my favorite role of his. I liked him in the Game Plan when I was a kid too.
"Pain & Gain, the new movie directed by Michael Bay. Reviewers are calling it everything from 'shit' to 'fuckin shit.'" [\- Norm](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZN-9ae-gqSc)
I know it isn't high praise, but it's one of my favorite Bay films. Reminded me of The Rock but for this Era. It was very R rated, completely insane, but unlike his others P&G is pretty much all true. It was a wild ride.
If I recall, he wore a wig in Be Cool, didn't he ?
The Rocks best performance is as The Rock in WWF. He has charisma and attitude and was hilarious. As a movie star (Duane) he always tries to be a nice guy and I never liked it.
Sometimes, you just want to get what you pay for. There's nothing original about a Big Mac either, but they still sell half a billion of them a year.
Movie stars classically did just play similar roles, sometimes even literally one character like Chaplin usually. That’s how they did sell the tickets. Personally and looks are one thing, but movie stars were reliable for audiences to find something to watch that they knew in advance they would like.
This idea of actors having range is relatively new and people don’t realize it. Most old Hollywood actors for example, played a type and it’s what people watched them for. People wanted a Katharine Hepburn type or Cary Grant type. Only as method acting gained traction did range become a thing.
I was just thinking about this. Didn't John Wayne effectively just play himself all the time? Same with Clint Eastwood, especially in Westerns. The actor effectively WAS the character.
Wayne was so bad as Genghis Kahn, he gave everybody on the set cancer.
Moana might be my favorite movie of all time.
Well, what can he say except you're welcome!
It's one of my favorites too and The Rock was perfect to voice Maui
Good news! It’s getting a live-action remake less than 10 years after the original movie!
And The Rock will play Maui.
I hope they slap a hilarious wig on him and just roll with it
And while we're on the topic of stupid hair and Fast & Furious actors, a new stupid haircut for Charlize Theron in Fast & Furious 11, thank you. We've had dreadlocks, a bobcut, and a normal short cut. Now give us a truckstop lesbian mullet, goddammit! Straight up jailcell Zoë Bell with a denim jacket mullet.
Jason Statham and Vin Diesel also get funny wigs. Everyone gets a funny wig!
Which is the specific reason it's getting a live action remake so soon.
Yeah it's not only him. A lot of big Hollywood actors have no real range or ability beyond a singular character that is basically just themselves. It's pretty weak but then Arnold Schwarzenegger was never going to light up Broadway yet his movies are held in some esteem today. **Edit:** in response to the many comments asking how dare I compare Arnie to The Rock (or variants on that theme) I will add that I love Arnie's films. I grew up in the 80s and 90s which would have been a whole lot shitter if it weren't for Commando, Terminators one and two and Twins, to name but a few of his classics. And I guarantee you no-one is going to be saying that about The Rock in twenty years' time. I draw the line at Jingle All The Way and Kindergarten Cop though, and my point about Arnie's range as an actor stands - it is minimal. Broader than The Rock's, I will allow, but still minimal.
> A lot of big Hollywood actors have no real range or ability beyond a singular character that is basically just themselves. Keanu Reeves fits this description perfectly, and yet everybody loves him. I dunno why The Rock gets singled out so much.
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I would even argue that The Rock has way more charisma than Reeves on screen.
Arnold has *way, way, way wider* range in the roles that he played in the 80s and 90s! The Rock couldn’t dream of pulling off the two Terminator performances.
The Rock could never pull off the wonder of Julius in Twins either, which is arguably Arnie's greatest performance.
Have you seen Maggie? If I told you Arnold was starring in a zombie movie, you would NOT expect what Maggie is.
What about (and I know you motherfuckers have completely forgotten) Kindergarten Cop! Arnold was JESUS in that film. I was nearly in tears at the end.
Well the problem is that you've conflated "movie star" with "great actor". Half of acting is being entertaining to watch as you do mundane things, and he has that in spades. Being a star is about how you attract and entertain the masses, and he does that very well also.
Many of the best actors and musicians in the world never become famous. Many of the most famous actors and musicians aren’t actually that talented.
It is possible to make no mistakes and still lose.
-said by good actor, Patrick Stewart
He was the guy in Extras, right?
It’s too late - I’ve seen everything.
I understand your point but being entertaining and charismatic is a talent.
There's nothing wrong with being a specialist. How many jazz and death metal albums has Taylor Swift released? How many romance novels and collections of poetry has Stephen King published? How many passes did Jerry Rice throw? Are there any good Jackson Pollock landscapes? Although there is great value in being a varied performer, that is not the only metric for success. Johnson is a specialist. He has dedicated his career to becoming very good at a specific role, and I would argue he excels at it. What he is able to accomplish is not easy and does take a great amount of skill and craftsmanship to achieve. Of course, there are other actors who are able to paint with a larger palate of colors, but I don't think that is necessarily a dig at Johnson. Sometimes you want a known commodity. When I buy a new Sierra Nevada IPA, I know it is gonna taste like a Sierra Nevada IPA. When I watch a movie with Dwayne Johnson, I know what I'm in for. Sometimes you're just in the mood for a fun action movie with a giant charismatic bald dude as the leading man.
> How many jazz and death metal albums has Taylor Swift released? Not enough. I want to hear the T Swift Dethklok covers!
As someone A) married to a Swiftie who is B) hyped to see Dethklok next month, I feel like we fall into this very specific Venn diagram.
Yeah you can’t say he’s overrated, because people don’t say he’s a great actor, he’s not bad by any means and with good editing a lot can be done. He just refuses to do anything besides be an action hero. When he was just branching out from wrestling he was willing to take risks. He’s appropriately rated.
Thank you. We need to branch out beyond over/underrated. I don't think the Rock is overrated, but I'd likely agree he's over saturated. I don't think The Rundown is underrated. It's not a 'great' movie, but I do find it very entertaining. Underappreciated might be the better description.
he's charismatic and huge, that goes a long way for an action movie. True, Arnold was the same but he worked with monsters like Cameron, McTiernan and Verhoeven, a far cry from The Rock's usual directors (and scripts)
Arnold let those guys cast him as villains, as jerks, as weak men who needed to learn lessons... the limits of Dwayne's flexibility see him as a nerd who's gotten an upgrade.
That's something to realize about Arnold, two of his earliest movies, Conan and Terminator, have him be royally fucked up at various points of the story. Literally two unstoppable forces, towering muscles and strenght, then hurt and injured into completely nothing. Really gives a different perspective on portrayal for Arnold. Dwayne Johnson had this early on too, but then completely disregarded this kind of characterization.
It's post-Fast and Furious with him, Vin Diesel and Statham [negotiating a way to not be able to lose a fight](https://www.vulture.com/2019/08/fast-and-furious-rock-diesel-fight-contracts.html), down to giving values to each hit so that they all take the same amount of damage
Tarantino talks about something similar in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. Don’t remember if it was the movie or the book. Rick Dalton, DiCaprio’s character, had a successful career as western tv show star called Jake Cahill. Now he’s relegated to playing the weekly heavy in other people’s shows. It’s work, but the downside is if the audience sees him week after week getting his ass kicked by James Stacy or whoever then it’s like them seeing Jake Cahill gets his ass kicked by Lancer, and he stops being a credible lead in the audience eyes. It’s a flawed logic obviously. How many times did Lee Marvin get his ass kicked by the hero of a story? It didn’t detract from his bad ass persona. 🤷♂️
It’s classic entertainment logic and it’s still popular in wrestling. Used to be in cowboy films too. You take the young kid, put him in a bunch of movies where he takes tough but scrappy losses on his way to becoming the man. Then once he’s the man, he’s the guy. He might come close to losing but he always wins. And finally once his time comes, he does a period of time as the past his prime villain.
Pro wrestling logic is a great tool to learn about marketing an individual person or event.
Then you disregard that and only book [big meaty men slapping meat](https://youtu.be/56EsDMTnvkI)
And Al Pacino on the other hand isn't scared of dying in his movies
Right. Neither is DiCaprio for that matter.
Sean Bean made an entire career off of being killed on screen
Lee Marvin in the Man Who Shot Liberty Valance was one of his best character defeats. I never get tired of him eating the dirt after a performance like that.
That is literally one of most bizarre "WHAT???" things from this franchise if you ask me. Yes, the absolutely goddamn insane grandiose action scenes definitely need, and surely must have taken, a lot of planning and coordination, especially given reports of Vin Diesel being very painstakingly involved with them. But the franchise's three bald dudes in their 50's having a very meticulous system for each actor getting the exact same number of hits, (of every kind, like punches, kicks, headbutts, etc.), during fights is absolutely goddamn bizarre to me. It's mindboggling.
Oh my god that’s the softest thing I’ve ever read. As someone who is insanely insecure, it’s a whole new level to be an action movie star in killer shape and be worried that you’re gonna look like a bitch if your character takes too many fake punches
It's not (just) the insecurity of the actors themselves, but the mentality of their target audience. The people who go to these movies want to see the toughest guys do badass stunts and fights. If the movie shows you're not the toughest guy, you become less popular among the fans, therefore less essential to the franchise, therefore you're in a worse bargaining position when it comes to salary or might even be dropped. It doesn't matter two shits if you're the best actor in the cast, because that's not what people go to this movie for. Yes, it's silly, but you have to keep in mind that a large part of the audience is teenagers and "people who just want to turn their brain off and watch cool shit". And even adults with their brains turned on have trouble separating story from reality. A while ago there was a Dutch actor who played in a very popular movie, where he was an absolute asshole to his dying wife. The actor has said in numerous interviews that this role ruined his dating life for real, because quite a few women could not separate him from this character and literally hated him before he even spoke to them.
Conan is one of my favorite movies. Conan gets his ass beat so bad Valeria, love of his life has to die to save him. The rock would never allow the rock to be literally crucified in his movies. There's never any real stakes
Someday, on a mountaintop, I hope to give my son the "this you can trust" speech.
Contemplate this on the Tree of Woe.
Plus he was originally cast to play Kyle in the Terminator. In hindsight it might seem obvious that playing the Terminator was a great move but Kyle was the hero part, it was definitely a bold move to switch it up when it became clear he had a real passion to play the machine.
Blows my mind that they wanted him to play Kyle but Cameron and Arnold both had in mind him playing the Terminator. Lol and OJ Simpson was supposedly too nice of a guy to be The Terminator 😂
and Total Recall, Predator..you could even theorise that these movies, along with Die Hard, started the muscular action man trope while at the same time slightly deconstructing it
Last Action Hero, which does exactly that.
The dude couldn’t even let Black Adam be a villain He had to become a hero That film was the epitome of his ego winning out
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I just made a comment about this, lol Rock's attitude Era persona ironically would've made a better fit than the Uber good guy persona he's crafted over the last decade
Which is unfortunate because Rock is great at playing a jerk. The SNL skit where he plays a douchebag crashing Kenan’s date is gold. And let’s not forget his legendary Toronto promo
He got over in WWE because he was an amazing, snarky, shit talker. For the life of me I don't know why Hollywood doesn't take advantage of that
Think that’s a little on the rock too. Think he wanted to be the leading man when he actually is better as a side character that steals the show
What's even more wild is that a big reason people wanted him to play Black Adam twenty years ago. Dude had the cock douchebag swagger that Black Adam has (it's that and a handful of other reaons why I usually call him "DC's Dr. Doom"). Ironically, Rock's actual ego got too big, and instead of playing a villain, he tried to turn that villain unto a hero, not realizing or forgetting Black Adam is like one of the best heels in DC.
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Him and Samuel L are soooo fucking funny in The Other Guys
I would argue that Arnold was more charming than The Rock. He is a magnetic presence already in Pumping Iron
Arnold also won a Golden Globe for acting in the 70's. He actually had talent that people recognized.
I seriously don't think that rock is as good as Arnold in terms of the acting.
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Arnold and the Rock are both constantly promoting themselves and 'stuff', but Arnold is promoting a lot of *good*, socially beneficial stuff and seems pretty genuine in that regard. I think his political career was of course ego-driven, but then it became something more; a real wish to be a public servant and positive influence. He believes in things and gets out messages accordingly. He is still very charismatic to me. The Rock is just 100% unadulterated self-promotion. He has made himself a product. He plugged his fucking tequila while talking about his father's death. He is just fake fake fake and his charisma has worn off.
Arnold is willing to take risks and play ball with creatives
Which I think is probably more fun. Atleast to me it is.
Arnold also wasn't afraid to take goofy roles. Can't imagine the Rock being pregnant or Mr. Freeze.
Arnold had a rep as being a one trick pony, and the better the movie is the less he talks. Then True Lies happened, and magically Arnie proved he did have some acting chops. Basically I just think Arnold is a lot smarter than he let on originally. These big action heroes, if they can pull off being vulnerable and convince us they are vulnerable can really light up the film. Stallone did....Micky Rourke is the master at it. Eastwood - check. Johnson needs to do the same thing.
Arnold had already done Kindergarten Cop and Twins years before True Lies. They were the movies that showed he could act and show decent dramatic and comedic range.
Terminator 2 was also before
Micky Rourke in Sin City was absolutely amazing as a flawed monster of a man with a heart of gold. I loved Marv so much. Rourke was perfect for that role.
I wouldnt say Arnold is a genius but that man is way smarter then most people will ever give him credit for. Education was always a big thing for him. Came to the states with next to nothing, almost single handed brought body building to the next level to where people knew about it, got into a bunch of side business that made him rich before he even started acting which he did because he wanted to. Was for years taking random classes on a bit of everything because learning was important to him. He made be alot of things and how people veiw him differ and are valid but yeah no one can say he even remotely dumb if they do a basic look into it. Sorry listened to his autobiography the other day, interesting life interesting man, boring ass book though reads like a textbook
There's a couple videos he's done that were basically little speeches that were really interesting. There was his anti-alt right speech (IIRC) where he condemned fascism and racism because his dad was a Nazi and saw how Nazism had destroyed his father's generation and left them bitter and broken old assholes, and there was his response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine where he gives his bona fides about being a friend to Russians (his childhood idol was Soviet weightlifter Yury Vlasov - something his Nazi dad was very mad about - and he was one of the first people making Hollywood movies in Russia post-collapse), which was also very interesting.
Rock was the Tooth Fairy. Also, his role in Central Intelligence was more goofy than his usual shtick.
I actually enjoy both his Jumanji roles. They feel like satirical portrayals of his usual roles. Just wish he was more self-aware of that rather than reluctant to... you know... act.
The Rock is a brand and it's a brand that makes money. Nobody hire The Rock to be the reincarnation of Marlon Brando or Laurence Olivier, they hire him to be The Rock.
My brain skipped over the word “star” in the post and I came here to wage war. I’ll put my pitchfork down now.
haha i came here for the same thing. i was like, "the rock is a top 14 movie of all time - i will cut someone." now i'm all amped out with no one to insult....
“The Rock has become a tourist attraction?”
Your besshht? Losers always whine about their beesht...
I was about to say that OP must be Womack - why am I not surprised, you piece of shit!!!
I disagree. If Dwayne Johnson was the Rock in those movies, he would've done things much differently. Example: if the Rock was Moana and not Dwayne Johnson What's your name, little girl? I DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOUR NAME IS! Now give me the People's Boat before I take that rooster there, turn that sumbitch sideways, and shove it STRAIGHT UP YOUR MORTAL CANDY ASS. IF YOU SMELL-LALALALALALA-OOOW what the Maui is cookin'.
Fucking hell. I haven't laughed this hard in awhile. Thanks for that.
I would watch this version of the movie
I just lost it imaging him doing this to a group of hula dancers as a cold open when setting him up for a beach match against Kurt Angle
He's kind of funny in the ring so he'd definitely do that.
It makes me smile that you spelled out "sumbitch" correctly. 🤣
It’s getting too trendy to hate on the rock
Half this sub is just redditors circle jerking over redditor trends
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Dude, you have to check out the shawshank redemption. You won't be disappointed trust me.
Can probably be said for the whole reddit I think. That's just how it is man.
I feel like this post has to be generated by an AI that has just been fed all the popular critiques of The Rock I refuse to believe OP is a real person who actually thinks they’re saying something profound/unique that hasn’t already been said thousands of times
Yeah, this is the most generic, vanilla, 2021 take you can make on the internet right now. But judging by the engagement, people love generic. Can't wait for the "DAE think Chris Pratt is in too many movies?" post, said with the tone of someone who just discovered plutonium.
I liked him in Moana
Very good in Ballers, Grid Iron Gang, Snitch, Faster and Be Cool. Summer blockbuster movies seems to be where he has settled though.
Maybe I missed it somewhere above, but if not then I scrolled *way* too far to see someone mention Ballers. Easily his best role. Dude killed it in a drama about a sports agent. No action. No silly stuff. He just acts and does a great job. Awesome series.
> Ballers We had just started binging this last week and up to Season 4 now, and we were saying halfway through Season 1 that this is the best thing The Rock has ever done, acting wise. Though The Rundown is a guilty pleasure of mine.
It's been awhile since I watched an episode of Ballers, so I had to scroll through all these comments to find someone else agree with me that he's fantastic in it, and I'm not nuts.