Top 5 – Dwayne Johnson Movies

Back in mid 90’s up until the early 2000’s, I used to watch wrestling.  WWF, WCW, didn’t matter, I watched it.  I remember watching a young wrestler with a bull tattoo on his arm and loving him.  This man was The Rock, a.k.a Dwayne Johnson.  It is crazy to think that I have seen Johnson go from wrestler to arguably the biggest actor in the world.  Johnson has become the greatest action star of the last decade and this Friday, he looks to add another action-packed Blockbuster to his resumé with Skyscraper, a film I am far too excited for.  So in honor of that, here are my picks for the best Dwayne Johnson movies.

5 – SPENCER in JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE (Jake Kasdan, 2017)

My expectations for Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle weren’t very high.  The marketing for the film was terrible, the title is terrible, and the original Jumanji held a nostalgic place in my heart as it was a film I grew up with.  But this movie rocks in every way.  It’s funny, action packed, and pays tribute to the original, yet separates itself to be it’s own movie.  What elevates the movie even more is the cast, led by Johnson.  We see a new side of Johnson here, as the usually confident, swaggerly leading man starts the movie off as a coward and becomes the hero we know him to be.  Johnson plays it perfectly and is the key reason why this new Jumaji is awesome

4 – SEAN PORTER in GRIDIRON GANG (Phil Joanou, 2006)

Johnson’s performance in Gridiron Gang was a giant leap for him.  Still getting his feet wet and establishing himself in the acting world and was being almost type-casted as just a pure action star.  But Gridiron Gang showed Johnson had acting chops.  In this inspiring sports drama about a football team at a juvenile detention center, Johnson pulls out all the stops.  He brings his charisma, intensity, and bravado to the role, giving some emotional, goosebump-inducing speeches and really have us rooting for him and his team.  Gridiron Gang is a rousing, underrated sports film.

3 – MAUI in MOANA (Ron Clements & John Musker, 2016)

Voice-work doesn’t get enough credit.  Great voice-work elevates an animated from a drawn figure to a true, rounded character that is more than just an actor sitting in a booth.  That is what Johnson did in Moana.  He steals the movie as the legendary Demigod who guides our princess to glory, yet goes through is own journey in learning the myth of being a hero and putting other people before him.  Maui is cocky, brash, and quick with one-liners and Johnson nails it all.  And who knew Johnson could sing?!  Maui’s “You’re Welcome” is a showstopper and arguably the best song in the movie.  This is a delightful Disney gem with Johnson in his most unique roll to date.

2 – HOBBS in FAST FIVE (Justin Lin, 2011)

Fast Five is what made Johnson the actor we know today.  He still had not gotten his footing down as an actor, bouncing from genre to genre with nothing fully sticking.  But in Fast Five, Johnson found his footing, as the tough, badass F.B.I agent who goes after Dominic Toretto and his crew.  The Fast and Furious franchise was on life support, having two duds back to back, it looked like the franchise was over.  But then Johnson came in and lit a spark in this franchise and they haven’t looked back since.  The Fast and Furious movies are now a billion dollar franchise and Johnson is a staple of the franchise.  This is the movie where Johnson became a movie star and the movie that made the man we have today.

1 – THE ROCK in WWF 

Is this cheating?  Doesn’t matter.  For over a decade, it wasn’t Dwayne Johnson, it wasn’t even Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.  It was The Rock, the most electrifying man in sports entertainment.  Take everything I said about every character on this list and that is The Rock.  He was bold, brash, cocky, badass, hilarious, physical, and delivered a spellbinding monolog.  The Rock changed the WWF when he stormed in and because of his popularity and persona, he still makes appearances from time to time.  He immediately became the People’s Champion and soon became WWF World Champion.  The Rock fought on the biggest stage and against the biggest names in wrestling and he owned the ring every time.  If you don’t think this is a legendary performance, you’re insane.  Dwayne Johnson will forever be The Rock to me, no matter how many movies he is in.

What are your favorite Dwayne Johnson movies?  Comment below or hit me up on Twitter and Instagram, @kevflix, or on Facebook by searching Kevflix.