The Rock: Every Movie Ranked From Worst To Best

From WWE hopeful to franchise mega-star.

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson Pain & Gain
Paramount Pictures

With The Rock's (or rather, Dwayne Johnson's) upcoming Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle scoring surprisingly positive reviews so far, the former WWE star's stature as one of the most popular and bankable actors working in Hollywood right now is likely to remain very much in tact.

Johnson has come a long way since he began acting in movies back in 2001, being the highest-paid actor in 2016 and claiming the #2 spot this year, finally ending the jinx of popular wrestlers struggling to "make it" in the film industry.

The Rock has appeared in 35 movies since he started out, from undeniably terrible critical duds to much-loved box office behemoths, with some sneaky cameo roles scattered in-between. Impressively, though, Johnson rarely acts like he's phoning things in, and even in his lesser films, he generally fully commits himself to the part and doesn't disgrace himself.

With around a dozen projects in some stage of development right now, it's safe to say that his output isn't slowing down anytime soon. So, spanning his entire career so far, what are the movies that best explain how he's got to the top of the pay ladder?

35. Longshot (2001)

Longshot Dwayne Johnson
Transcontinental Pictures

It's somewhat fitting that Dwayne Johnson's second movie role is also in his worst ever feature film. 2001's Longshot was created primarily to promote a number of late-90s and early-2000s pop bands such as NSYNC, Lil' Kim, Britney Spears and numerous other, lesser-known acts.

The Rock mercifully only has a cameo appearance in the film, as a mugger who attempts to rob two women, but hilariously gets his a** kicked without much fuss.

The film never even made a fraction of its $20 million budget back and went straight-to-TV in most countries, so at least all but The Rock's most hardcore fans have never even heard of it. Things only got better for Dwayne from here, thankfully.

Contributor
Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.