For twenty years, The Rock has been a successful actor in motion pictures. His studio debut in The Mummy Returns in 2001 marked the beginning of his career. The multiple WWE Champion had quite the journey from “The Scorpion King” to being the highest paid actor in Hollywood. On the big screen, all he had learnt in the squared circle came in extremely handy.
Although most of his films are commercially successful because to his reputation, some of his films have not received as many positive reviews from reviewers. The Rock is undoubtedly aware of what entertainment appeals to the majority of people. Making intelligent project selections and upholding his brand image in spite of the occasional turkey are all components of the Hollywood machine. Having said that, these are his top ten lowest-rated movies ever as determined by Rotten Tomatoes users.
2024-04-24 20:00 EST UPDATE: BY MICHAEL CHIN
Reminding fans of the highs and lows of his film career thus far, The Rock made a victorious transition to professional wrestling.The Rock’s incredible 2024 comeback run to the WWE rekindled the fervor among wrestling fans. Even though The Great One’s feud with John Cena in the early 2010s had its moments, it reached a new height when he reverted to his traditional heel style. As The Final Boss, he revived aspects of Hollywood Rock, but with a newfound brutality because of his affiliation with The Bloodline, actual corporate power, and continued rise in popularity since his last match. There’s never been a better moment to reflect on his filmography, especially the low points when he established himself in Hollywood and the underwhelming early releases that didn’t win over audiences or reviewers.
11Dwayne Johnson (48%) played the role of Hercules in 2014
The Rock Was Next in Line For Actors With Muscles Doing This Role
The Rock had the right look to play Hercules.
This film was based on Steven Moore’s graphic novel.
Though the film drew lukewarm repsonses, Dwayne Johnson was praised for his acting.
The idea of The Rock fronting a movie in the role of mythological hero Hercules isn’t such a bad idea. It’s a role Arnold Schwarzenegger brought to the big screen early in his own acting career, and has since been a vehicle for a number of bodybuilder and action hero types. The version of Dwayne Johnson that emerged after he largely left wrestling for Hollywood was arguably the most jacked he’d ever been.
Dwayne Johnson’s take on the character wasn’t bad, with some critics going out of their way to praise his performance within the film. Moreover, the raw material of a Steven Moore graphic novel had potential. Nonetheless, the screenplay wasn’t the greatest and though the film was ultimately profitable, it nonetheless goes down as one of Johnson’s weaker feature films.
10GI Joe Retaliation Looked To Build On A New Franchise In 2013 (48%)
The Rock Was Part Of A Star-Studded Cast
The Rise of Cobra movie served as the basis for GI Joe Retaliation.
The GI Joe toy series had decades of popularity.
Roadblock is portrayed by The Rock.
Following the addition of new members to Steven Sommers’ original Rise of Cobra, The Rock launched a new franchise. The Joes faced Cobra, the global terrorist group, once more in this animated series based on the popular Hasbro toy line from the 1980s with its posable figures and vehicles.
Together with Channing Tatum as Duke, The Rock portrays Roadblock, second in command, and the main character. Bruce Willis even returns to the fight as General Colton in this iteration of the franchise.
9 Pain and Gain Cast The Rock As A Bodybuilder In 2013 (47%)
The Rock Fit Right In Playing A Bodybuilder
Pain and Gain featured Dwayne Johnson and Mark Wahlberg.
The movie took place in the bodybuilding scene of the 1980s.
It’s a pleasant movie, though not exactly the best cinematography.
Based on a true incident, Michael Bay’s entertaining dramatic comedy stars Mark Wahlberg and The Rock as body builders in 1980s Florida who get into mischief after being abducted. Thankfully, it’s played purely for fun and follows the infamous “Sun Gym Gang.”
The movie, which stars The Rock as Paul Doyle and is essentially a hybrid of three distinct characters from the novel, is one of Michael Bay’s more straightforward works in terms of direction, lacking any overly dramatic explosions, camera movements, or slo-mo lens flare. To be honest, I had a great time watching it, so don’t let the low audience rating deter you.
8 Race to Witch Mountain Was A Remake In 2009 (44%)The Original Film Came Out In 1975
Race to Witch Mountain was the third film in tis series.
With this role, The Rock solidified his status as a Disney favorite.
In the film, Dwayne Johnson plays a taxi driver who gets entangled in a kid’s quest.
a third installment in the series overall, and a remake of the 1975 Disney science fiction adventure feature film starring two kids. Following the Game Plan, The Rock maintained his relationship with Disney and grew to become a cherished fixture at the “House of Mouse.” The first part of the movie takes place in and around Las Vegas, where The Rock plays a cab driver who befriends the two children and becomes entangled in their magical tale.
Seen as a kid-friendly adaptation of the X-Files, The Rock was still getting used to his Disney role as Jack Bruno. The Rock gives it his all, but many fans thought it fell short of the original movie’s caliber and lacked much of the mystery and mystique.
7 The Rock Appeared In Be Cool In 2005 (42%)The Movie Was A Sequel To Get Shorty
Be Cool saw characters set their sights on the music industry.
TThis was among The Rock’s first-ever film roles.
While portraying a Samoan bodyguard, Dwayne Johnson was believable.
In this highly anticipated follow-up to the critically successful Get Shorty, John Travolta played Chilli Palmer, who now sought to take over the music industry due to the influence of the Russian mafia. This was one of The Rock’s first appearances, following Walking Tall, and he would pick up a lot of acting tips from veteran performers like Harvey Keitel, Danny DeVito, and Uma Thurman.
In a clear practical joke, The Rock plays Samoan bodyguard and aspiring actor Elliot Wilhelm. An excessive amount of introspection and self-referential thinking detracts from the rating. The film’s director, Gary Gray, claimed that going from a R to a PG-13 version hindered him.
6 The Tooth Fairy Was A Change Of Pace For Dwayne Johnson In 2010 (41%)Many Fans Were Surprised When The Rock Took On This Role
Fans were skeptical when they learned The Rock would play The Tooth Fairy.
The Rock plays an ice hockey player who takes on the role of The Tooth Fairy for two weeks.
Dwayne Johnson made his debut in family entertainment thanks to the movie.
The Rock plays Derek Thompson in this fantasy comedy, which surprised everyone by doing well at the box office even though critics criticized movie for being unrealistic or “playing by the rules.” A stoic ice hockey player who relishes breaking teeth is chosen to fulfill the role of a tooth fairy for two weeks, complete with wings. Maybe The Hurricane could have made fun of Dwayne for wearing this costume.
It features some fantastic moments and stars Ashley Judd, Billy Crystal, and Julia Andrews. The Rock is trying to break out of the action and adult-oriented genres and become a mainstream movie star. It turned out to be a well-liked combination, since he continues to create successful new content in this genre, such as the highly anticipated Jumanji and Jungle Cruise sequels.
5 An Impressive Cast Couldn’t Make Southland Tales Work In 2006 (41%)Southland Tales Represented A Mix Of Genres
The Southland Tales screenplay shares an author with Donnie Darko.
Southland Tales was panned at the Cannes Film Festival.
Dwayne Johnson was figuring out his acting range at this point in his career.
This was an original screenplay by Richard Kelly who also directed Donnie Darko in this blending of genres. It’s classified as a dystopian comedy thriller but shines the light onto many facets of our world from celebrity culture, surveillance, political corruption and more. It was shown at Cannes and received a terrible reception, running at over two and half hours long.
The cast is impressive though, everybody from Buffy’s Sarah Michelle Gellar to Justin Timberlake, Miranda Richardson and even Kevin Smith show up. The Rock plays Boxer Santaros, an action star with political connections and is right at the heart of the story. This probably explains why he took the role, as it was early in his career and he was still finding out what worked in terms of his acting range.
4 Dwayne Johnson’s Took An Early Foray Into Voice Acting With Planet 51 In 2009 (40%)This Animated Film Didn’t Land As Well As Moana
Planet 51 was an animated feature film that blended science fiction and action.
The Rock voices the protagonist of the movie.
While critics responded poorly to Planet 51, it did turn a profit.This is an animated CG sci-fi comedy produced by Tristar pictures and Spanish based Llion Animation. The Rock plays the protagonist Charles T Baker, a NASA astronaut who discovers Planet 51 on his mission. The 51 refers to everything being frozen in time and resembling 1950s America. Think Pleasantville with colour, set in space, and you will get a great idea.
Despite the critics not being a fan, it still turned a profit and at the time was the most expensive film produced in Spain. An excellent cast rounds out everything with Jessica Biel, Justin Long, Sean William Scott, John Cleese, Gary Oldman and others.
3 The Scorpion King Marked The Rock’s First Time As A Leading Man In 2002 (37%)The Rock Built Off A Star Turn In The Mummy Returns
The Rock had his first opportunity as a leading man in The Scorpion King.
The movie is set 5,000 years before the Mummy series.
For all its failings, The Scorpion King spawned three sequels.
This was The Rock’s original solo film and spin off from his appearance in The Mummy Returns a year earlier. Obviously Universal felt there was potential in this character and delved into his backstory for a full narrative and turned the villain into Mathayus of Akkad and set him on a hero’s journey set 5,000 years before the events of the Mummy series.
It lacks the playfulness and highs of the original movies, The Rock shows some flashes of his charm throughout and the series spawned three sequels for a total of four films, one of which helped launch David Bautista’s film career. Rotten Tomatoes does warn you though “action adventures do not get much cheesier than the Scorpion King”.
2 The Doom Film Was Not As Well Received As The Video Game It Was Based On In 2005 (34%)It Took Some Time For The Popular Game To Become A Movie
Doom was immensely popular as a video game in the 1990s.
The Rock portrayed the character of The Sarge.
In his part, The Rock wields most of the signature weapons from the Doom video game.Yet another early film choice (this seems to be a growing trend). Based off the hugely popular 1990s ID Software FPS video game about battling monster sent directly from a hell dimension, Doom was reworked a little from the original concept. The plot involves a portal to Mars buried deep within the Nevada desert and a squad of Marines sent out that reads like a loose reinterpretation of James Cameron’s Aliens.
The fantastic Karl Urban and Bond Girl Rosmaund Pike turn up as co-stars, and The Rock plays The Sarge who gets to yield the destructive and distinctive weapon of choice from the games. It is lighthearted horror science fiction fun, and easily digestible, with it taking a decade for the film to come to screens.
1 It’s Little Wonder Empire State Was Released Straight To DVD In 2013 (24%)The Rock Played Opposite Rising Stars Liam Hemsworth And Emma Roberts
Empire State was a heist movie set in New York.
The Rock plays a detective in this film.
Empire State was based on a true story.
This was one of the few or only Dwayne Johnson films to bypass theaters and go straight to DVD. It looked good on paper with Liam Hemsworth and the young Emma Roberts co-starring in a New York armored-car heist, crossed with a realistic drama of being born on the wrong side of the tracks. The Rock plays veteran Detective James Ransome (that does sound cliched).
It is all based on a true story so perhaps more “fiction” was needed to push this one into higher box office territory. Even if The Rock’s films are mauled by critics (he sticks to what he does well and knows it), they perform well in terms of numbers so this is an unusual outlier in terms of his filmography.