A few years ago pre the virus that trapped us all in the house Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson might have been the biggest and most bankable star in Hollywood movies. Fast forward however and while his career is not necessarily on life support there has been a definite staying from the limelight. How did we get here for the WWE superstar and can the man we call The Rock ever find his way back among the Hollywood royalty.
The Rock has an extremely dynamic personality. His ability as an actor may vary based on who you ask but his charisma can’t be denied. Since his days in the WWE Johnson has always effortlessly grabbed the attention of the screen and while it took a while for that spirit to find its way to the big screen once it did it was clear that Johnson had the juice. While his hits may not be critical darlings they are crowd pleasers and it's hard to not think he could be this generation's Stallone or Schwarzenegger.
At his peak Johnson starred in some of the best installments of the Fast and Furious franchise including playing a sort of secondary villain in one of the best action movies of the 2000’s in Fast Five. His career outside of franchise work is still interesting with roles in films like Jumanji and even a solid comedy in Central Intelligence opposite Kevin Hart. Without question though the pinnacle of Johnson’s popularity rests with one movie Moana where even in animation he brings every aspect that makes him a special personality and the audiences ate that shit up.
In the years since Moanna it has been bad scripts and lazy team ups. It feels unfair to go through everyone but most of his projects fall under that idea either a bad script or a lazy team up made purely for quick cash. His most recent film Red One is sort of both a big expensive holiday action movie that sets him opposite MCU star Chris Evans. This film simply does not work on almost all levels and in many ways feels like a movie that tranquilizes what makes Johnson so special. His charisma seems to be gone or maybe it's grown tired. Perhaps it’s a fitting end, it’s kind of how all action stars go out.
Yet there is a beacon of hope for the man we once called The Rock with such a rich excitement. You see as you read Moana, arguably the most popular film in Johnson's filmography, has a sequel in theaters. It’s likely it won't fare as well as its predecessor critically but it’s likely it’ll at least be a moderate hit with critics and audiences. This is a soft launch for two other upcoming films Fast 11 which will represent a return to form and character who accentuates the best part of Johnson persona, this could put him back in the good graces of the audience which for Johnson is key.
Franchise fare aside The Rock has one last key move in his bag UFC biopic The Smashing Machine made by Benny Safdie and A24 this is without question a huge turning point for Johnson. The studio has single handedly brought back the respectability of both Robert Pattinson and Zac Efron the latter being a strong comp for Johnson. If this movie works it could put Johnson in a whole other stratosphere one his fellow action stars don’t get to inhabit and that is critical and award acclaim but i might be getting ahead of myself.
What happens next for Johnson is a fork in the road. Is he bound to slowly wind down as a leading man or can his career be rejuvenated by going back to the basics and trying one bold move. Only time will really tell us how we view the career of Dawyne “The Rock” Johnson but it’s fair to say there is a window for him to stay on the big screen for much longer than we could have ever imagined.
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