When it comes to major movie stars, it doesn't get much bigger than Dwayne Johnson.
Leonardo DiCaprio, sure. Brad Pitt, yeah. And stars such as George Clooney and Julia Roberts were minted well before Johnson — who until recent years went by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson — entered the scene.
But over the last 20 years, since Johnson (then simply "The Rock") starred in "The Scorpion King," he has risen to become one of the most massive figures in Hollywood, starring in hit movies and earning up to $20 million per role. His latest, the long-in-the-works DC Universe entry "Black Adam," hit screens last week.
No one would deny his sparkly charisma, his genuine presence, his beaming star power.
But what are his classic movies? What are the lines we're quoting from his films? And what, exactly, is the screen legacy of this superstar?
Johnson rose from the ranks of World Wrestling Entertainment — his father, Rocky Johnson, was a pro wrestler before him — where he was able to hone his talents and become one of the most endearing in-ring figures of all-time.
As The Rock, whether he was a good guy or a bad guy (he played both roles with expertise), he was "The People's Champ," and he did everything anyone can do within a WWE ring: won championships, headlined WrestleManias, created catchphrases repeated by millions (and millions!).
He transitioned to the big screen with "The Scorpion King," anchoring "The Mummy" spinoff and applying what made him a star in the ring to the muscle-bound franchise entry. (The role was setup with his small part in 2001's "The Mummy Returns.") The movie did strong business, earning $91 million at the domestic box office and $180 million worldwide.
The Rock was a movie star, baby.
Over the next few years, he starred in a series of B-movies ("Walking Tall," "The Rundown") that bolstered his screen cred. "The Rundown," in which he was paired against Seann William Scott and directed by "Friday Night Lights'" Peter Berg, is still among his most satisfying screen turns.
He took small roles in ensemble pieces ("Be Cool," "Southland Tales") and knocked out a few family films ("Tooth Fairy," "Game Plan," "Race to Witch Mountain") and helped boost star projects such as 2008's "Get Smart" update (with Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway) and 2010's "The Other Guys" (with Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg) in supporting roles.
But his screen presence was supercharged in 2011's "Fast Five," in which he starred as super ripped law enforcement agent Luke Hobbs, taking the "Fast and Furious" franchise and helping reinvigorate it. He reprised the role in four more "Fast" films, including 2019's spinoff "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw," in which he starred opposite Jason Statham.
The Hobbs role brought him to a new level of stardom. But since then he's starred in a series of aggressively mediocre star vehicles that haven't challenged him as an actor and haven't stuck in the public's memory.
"G.I. Joe: Retaliation," "Hercules," "San Andreas," "Rampage," "Skyscraper" — they're not actively bad, and some movie critics (who shall remain nameless) might have even been quoted on their DVD boxes, but no one is dressing up as his characters from them on Halloween.
His films with Kevin Hart, including "Jumanji" and its sequel, performed well at the box office but were forgettable once the credits rolled.
Same goes for "Jungle Cruise" and "Red Notice," two high-profile films that were passable at best and don't have a high level of rewatchability or cultural stickiness. In essence, they sum up Johnson's screen presence: muscles and smiles with not a whole lot behind them.
Often his movies aren't as enjoyable as their publicity tours, and few stars work harder to promote their films than Johnson. He's a rock star on talk shows and his smile can light up any room. He's the type of guy who will shake every hand and sign every autograph, and that magnetism is part of why people are always begging him to run for public office.
So why hasn't that natural appeal translated into better movies? By this point in his career, Schwarzenegger had racked up "The Terminator" movies, "Predator," "Total Recall," "Kindergarten Cop," "True Lies" — movies which were built off his charisma and physique but also measured up to his star power. He wasn't a star despite the movies, he was a star because of them.
Partly it's because Schwarzenegger worked with better directors. Johnson tends to work with less established directors, and he works with them again and again: Brad Peyton on "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island," "San Andreas" and "Rampage," Rawson Marshall Thurber on "Central Intelligence," "Skyscraper" and "Red Notice," Jaume Collet-Serra on "Jungle Cruise" and "Black Adam." (He did work with Michael Bay on "Pain & Gain," a comic action film that found him moderately stretching his dramatic chops.)
Is Johnson unwilling to challenge himself on screen? Are name directors not lining up to work with him? There's a disconnect somewhere along the line that is affecting his filmography. How many of his characters can you name without looking them up? If you're building a Hall of Fame of Johnson's movies, where do you start? (Oddly, one of his biggest moments is "Moana," the 2016 animated Disney adventure where he's heard, not seen.)
Movie stars need classic movies. Keanu Reeves has "Speed," "The Matrix" and "John Wick." Julia Roberts has "Pretty Woman" and "Erin Brockovich." Stallone has "Rocky" and the "Rambo" movies. Even Vin Diesel — Johnson's supposed-maybe rival on set of the "Fast" movies — has "Pitch Black," the sci-fi cult fave that at least has enough interest in it to have warranted a sequel.
"Black Adam" is very much Johnson looking for that character that is going to stick. It's a project he has been fighting for 15 years to make, and what arrived on screen is a jumbled mix of tones and a pile-up of characters which is difficult to sift through. It's too bad. But Johnson is pushing forward on it with all his muscle — and that's a lot of muscle — and it sets up a showdown that could elevate the character by sheer force of will. We'll see what happens.
Johnson turned 50 this year, and the pro wrestling rumor mill would have you believe he's headed for another showdown at WrestleMania. If it happens, it will find Johnson doing what he does best: entertaining crowds at a high level. We know he's capable of it. His movie career could use a similar infusion of adrenaline.
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ABOUT THE WRITER
Adam Graham is the film critic for The Detroit News.
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