USA TODAY International Edition
Let’s rank all The Rock’s roles
Before he even set foot on a film set, Dwayne Johnson was creating great characters in the wrestling ring, perhaps none better than the eyebrowraising, People’s Elbowing “The Rock.” He was so naturally likable that the cocky villain quickly turned into a beloved anti-hero. Everybody smelled what The Rock was cooking.
Johnson carried that never-ending charisma to the big screen, and he pairs it with some serious disaster-movie heroism in the action thriller “Skyscraper” (in theaters Friday). The buff actor plays a security specialist in charge of a Hong Kong superstructure that becomes the target of a terrorist attack.
How does he rate in the definitive ranking of best and worst Johnson movie roles? Let’s break it down. (No straight-to-video releases or uncredited cameos are counted. But we saw you there in “Jem and the Holograms,” DJ!)
27. Sarge (‘Doom,’ 2005)
An action-packed video game adaptation may have seemed like a good idea at the time. We’re giving The Rock a mulligan for this one.
26. Chuck Baker (‘Planet 51,’ 2009)
In hindsight, it’s really weird seeing Johnson voice a white NASA astronaut stuck on an alien planet. They did give the spaceman the actor’s famous cocked eyebrow, so ... win?
25. Derek Thompson (‘Tooth Fairy,’ 2010)
Goonish hockey enforcer doesn’t believe in the tooth fairy, gets wings as his punishment and receives a stern talking-to from Julie Andrews.
24. Hank (‘Journey 2: The Mysterious Island,’ 2012)
The mission: to break some codes and save an old man on a wondrous island. Along the way: battles with killer eels, campfire songs and Johnson bouncing berries off his pectorals.
23. Mathayus (‘The Scorpion King,’ 2002)
Johnson rocks his first starring role as an Egyptian ruler rising to power. Not the epitome of acting, but he jumps through fire like nobody’s business.
22. Chris Vaughn (‘Walking Tall,’ 2004)
No frills and all butt-kicking await when a Special Forces soldier returns to clean up his small town. His weapon of choice: a mighty piece of lumber.
21. Mitch Buchannon (‘Baywatch,’ 2017)
The movie’s a miss, but Johnson’s version of the David Hasselhoff beach cop gets some good lines and banters with Zac Efron while carrying fridges.
20. Jack Bruno (‘Race to Witch Mountain,’ 2009)
The ex-con cabbie’s next fare is one for the ages when he helps two alien teens with superpowers get to their spaceship and avoid a secret government crew.
19. Sean Porter (‘Gridiron Gang,’ 2006)
Johnson takes the field as the guru of a football squad made up of juvenile delinquents. When his troubled yet talented athletes don’t make the most of it, Coach puts on the pads himself to lay the smack down, in a teaching way.
18. Hercules (‘Hercules,’ 2014)
He picks up a horse with a dude on it and throws them. A horse. With a dude on it. Enough said.
17. Christopher Danson (‘The Other Guys,’ 2010)
Along with Samuel L. Jackson, he’s one of the NYPD’s finest and cockiest – though they get, well, an early retirement.
16. Driver (‘Faster,’ 2010)
Cops and crooks both have a mission to take down this one-man army bent on taking down everyone involved with his brother’s murder. Like the Terminator but with a really cool Chevelle.
15. Ray Gaines (‘San Andreas,’ 2015)
It’s the The Rock vs. a rocking earthquake when the Big One hits California and his helicopter rescue pilot braves certain doom (plus a ton of falling buildings) to save his daughter and estranged wife.
14. John Matthews (‘Snitch,’ 2013)
They say snitches get stitches, but it’s the devoted dad who doles out the hurting to a bunch of bad guys in an effort to get his kid out of trouble with the government and a Mexican drug cartel.
13. Beck (‘The Rundown,’ 2003)
Johnson’s bounty hunter walks into a nightclub and past Arnold Schwarzenegger, who passes the action-movie baton of sorts with two words: “Have fun.” BALLER.
12. Agent 23 (‘Get Smart,’ 2008)
The top secret agent of CONTROL is a role model for clumsy wannabe Steve Carell, though by the end, Agent 23 is the one throwing an explosive situation into total KAOS.
11. Boxer Santaros (‘Southland Tales,’ 2006)
Richard Kelly’s oddball pre-apocalyptic sci-fi satire/fantasy put Johnson in the interesting role of an amnesiac action-movie star with a powerful congressman father-in-law.
10. Elliot Wilhelm (‘Be Cool,’ 2005)
Johnson showed his stuff opposite a bunch of A-listers (John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Harvey Keitel) as the “Get Short” sequel’s gay Samoan bodyguard and aspiring actor who gets a kick out of singing country music and checking himself out in tight blue pants.
9. Davis Okoye (‘Rampage,’ 2018)
No one else could pull off staring down a crocodile the size of a football field or tag-teaming with a gigantic gorilla.
8. Will Sawyer (‘Skyscraper,’ 2018)
Johnson channels Bruce Willis’ John McClane (“Die Hard”) to play a dude who scales a high-tech, 240story mega-building to save his family. On a prosthetic leg, no less!
7. Paul Doyle (‘Pain & Gain,’ 2013)
Every major character is bonkers and/or on drugs, and kudos to Johnson for his wacked-out criminal Christian cokehead bodybuilder.
6. Joe Kingman (‘The Game Plan,’ 2007)
The highlight of his family-friendly period, playing a pro quarterback with a heart of gold and a surprise daughter. No deflation shenanigans here.
5. Dr. Smolder Bravestone (‘Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,’ 2017)
Now this is acting: Johnson playing a nerdy, insecure high school kid playing a ripped, macho video game avatar. All his tossing around of Kevin Hart and riding on a bike with a flamethrower only adds to the movie’s fun quotient.
4. Bob Stone (‘Central Intelligence,’ 2016)
He has great one-liners and can take out guys four at a time. But the best thing about him is, for most of the movie, you don’t know if he’s really a nice guy obsessed with guns, cinnamon pancakes, unicorns and saving the world or if there are other shenanigans afoot.
3. Roadblock (‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation,’ 2013)
Makes sense: An action figure playing an action figure. Johnson put the toy/comics/cartoons franchise on his large shoulders playing the machinegunning Cobra hater.
2. Maui (‘Moana,’ 2016)
An island girl may get the title treatment, but Johnson’s larger-than-life demigod is integral to her coming-ofage journey, rules as the Disneyapproved comic relief and is quite the singer. You’re welcome, indeed.
1. Luke Hobbs (‘Fast & Furious’ series, 2011-present)
The only person who looks more like a superhero than Vin Diesel, Johnson brought new life to the franchise beginning in “Fast Five” with his heavily armed federal agent. Now that he’s about to do a spinoff with Jason Statham, expect Hobbs to stay No. 1 for a while.