20 2000s Movies Audiences Loved, But Critics Hated

These days, Dwayne Johnson is one of the most lucrative stars in the movie business, he is a self-marketing machine, and amongst the blockbusters like Moana, Jumanji, and the Fast and the Furious franchise, he has recently tried his hand in more dramatic roles.

In 2004, however, the wrestler-turned-actor was still in the infancy of his new career. Walking Tall saw him team up with Johnny Knoxville, a duo both insanely popular for reasons other than their acting chops, and they made a fun film.

It's exactly the type of thing you'd expect, barely going any deeper than showcasing The Rock beating people up for two hours. If this is what an audience was expecting, then it was a fun romp, much like Welcome to the Jungle the year before, but for critics it wasn't enough.

Let's face it, neither Johnson nor Knoxville were strong enough to offer any real emotion or gravitas to their characters, and the entire movie was built purely to make the former look as badass as his wrestling persona. Still, for the right audience, this was a perfectly good popcorn flick.