While being a part of the WWE undoubtedly demands some acting skill, many wrestlers have had difficulty making the leap to becoming movie actors. The history of wrestlers who became actors is not particularly bright, save from Roddy Piper's legendary portrayal in the John Carpenter masterpiece They Live. But all of that changed because of Dwayne Johnson. Johnson was one of the most well-known wrestlers of his era, but The Mummy Returns from 2001 marked his film debut. Even though it wasn't a big part, Johnson used it as inspiration to create his spinoff series The Scorpion King, which gave him his first leading role.
Johnson kept performing and went on to become one of the biggest movie stars of the twenty-first century. He appeared to be one of the few actors who inspired enthusiasm just on his name alone in an era where franchises and pre-established characters frequently attracted audiences instead than specific performers. Johnson worked on a lot of original projects, but he also contributed to popular franchises like The Fast and the Furious series, the DCEU, the Jumanji series reboot, and even the much awaited sequels Race to Witch Mountain, Be Cool, and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. His most recent activities, though, raise the possibility that Johnson may be losing the hold he once had on the movie business and risk further fading into irrelevance.
His best work is already done.
The overall caliber of Johnson's filmography is not extremely high, unlike action stars from a prior generation like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Keanu Reeves, Sylvester Stallone, or Bruce Willis. He actually gives the impression that his most intriguing work has already been completed. Johnson once demonstrated a readiness to collaborate with independent filmmakers and deliver unconventional performances. The epic dystopian satire Southland Tales by Richard Kelly gave him the opportunity to portray a satirical version of an action movie star who unintentionally becomes a political spokesperson; though the movie was initially scorned, it now has a devoted cult following due to its predictive nature. It would be uncommon to see Johnson give a performance that is this extensively satiric and experimental right now.
Similarly, in the unexpectedly underappreciated 2013 true crime comedy Pain & Gain, Johnson collaborated with Michael Bay on some of his best work to date. As he satirizes America's fixation with status, the culture surrounding body image and working out, and many sorts of toxic masculinity, the movie is a perfect example of how Bay's excess can work. Johnson turns in one of his funniest performances as a shy, passive bodybuilder who is compelled to show his darker side. It's an incredibly delicate performance that showed he could go against popular belief about his star power, but regrettably, in more recent times, he's returned to his usually faultless action roles.
Not all of Johnson's attempts to broaden his appeal have been successful; Be Cool, the sequel to Get Shorty, was a huge disappointment, and few viewers were able to see him in the sports movies Gridiron Gang and The Game Plan. But this doesn't mean he shouldn't attempt these kinds of movies again in the future.
His movies are becoming worse.
The main problem with Johnson at the moment is the caliber of his most recent movies. The intention behind Baywatch, Hercules, and Rampage was to revive well-known brands so that he could make sequels to them, but none of them managed to make a meaningful impact on moviegoers. The stories in each movie were badly thought out: Rampage couldn't justify its own inherent silliness, Hercules felt like a repetitive attempt to portray a "dark and gritty" origin story, and Baywatch was simply too self-aware for its own good. Similar to how Pirates of the Caribbean had previously mastered the Pirates of the Caribbean template, Jungle Cruise may have garnered a lot of attention on Disney+, but it was little more than a shameless copy of that concept.
Although Johnson's highly anticipated collaboration with Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot garnered a lot of attention on Netflix, Red Notice managed to pack in every cliché an action comedy was capable of. In addition to the film's lackluster action, Johnson's charisma was surpassed by Reynolds, who was much more skilled at adding comedic moments. Johnson, who co-starred in Fast Five, initially added a lot of vigor and a new viewpoint to the Fast and the Furious franchise. However, he has since left the main series to work on the spinoff Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw. Hobbs and Shaw lacked the distinctive sense of teamwork found in the best entries in the Fast and the Furious franchise and just feels like another buddy action comedy.
Behind-the-Scenes Disputation
Sadly, it appears that Johnson's ego outside of the camera rivals those of his most well-known personas. Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson have been engaged in a widely publicized spat since since the release of The Fate of the Furious. The franchise, which was at its height in Fast Five, Fast & Furious 6, and Furious 7, was only hampered by the performers' unwillingness to work together.
Since 2014, Johnson had been linked to the role of the renowned DC character Black Adam, and it had been anticipated that he would compete against Zachary Levi's Billy Batson in the Shazam! series. However, Johnson made conscious efforts to distance himself from the lighter tone of the Shazam! series in order to create a darker interpretation of Black Adam. By forbidding Levi from making a cameo appearance in Black Adam and refusing to appear in either Shazam! movie, Johnson essentially sabotaged the future of the DCEU. Longtime DC fans found this absurd considering how frequently the characters appeared together in the comics. Johnson was unable to accept Black Adam's poor performance and went on to debate the movie's relative success with critics and industry experts.
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