Dwayne Johnson Ranked

Welcome to the latest edition of "Ranked"-where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out related accolades. This week, I'm profiling the work of Dwayne Johnson. 

Dwayne Johnson's Filmography Ranked:

29.Be Cool (F)

28.Southland Tales (D)

27.Empire State (D+)

26.The Scorpion King (D+)

25.San Andreas (D+)

24.Moana (C-)

23.Skyscraper (C)

22.Doom (B-)

21.Faster (B-)

20.G.I. Joe: Retaliation (B)

19.Fighting with My Family (B)

18.Hercules (B)

17.Baywatch (B)

16.Rampage (B) 

15.Walking Tall (B)

14.Snitch (B)

13.Gridiron Gang (B+)

12.Get Smart (B+)

11.Central Intelligence (B+) 

10.Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (B+)

9.Fast and Furious 6 (A-)

8.Hobbs & Shaw (A-)

7.Jumanji: The Next Level (A-)

6.Pain & Gain (A)

5.Furious 7 (A)

4.The Other Guys (A)

3.The Fate of the Furious (A)

2.The Rundown (A)

1.Fast Five (A)

Top Dog: Fast Five (2011)

Fast Five ended up serving as the transitional film between the Fast and Furious' modest street racing origins and its future as a completely over-the-top globetrotting action blockbuster. That blending of familiar and new elements is exactly why it became the high watermark for the franchise that still hasn't been topped. Bringing in Johnson along with past minor characters (Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Sung Kang )to join Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Jordana Brewster helped established a really natural, fun rapport among the lead ensemble, the shift to a more comedic tone really added to the entertainment value and the final heist sequence in Brazil is an electrifying spectacle that set the stage perfectly for the madness that has ensued in subsequent films.           

Lowlight: Be Cool (2005)

With F.Gary Gray, John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Johnson, Vince Vaughn, Harvey Keitel, Danny DeVito, Cedric the Entertainer and Andre Benjamin involved, Be Cool boasted a robust arsenal of talent. Throw this combination of creatives together 99 times and you'll get something that works to varying degrees, but on that 100th you'll get a truly spectacular failure like this that features nothing but annoying characters, lazy jokes and bad times for 2 hours. 

Most Underrated: Pain & Gain (2013)

About 8 months before the awards darling The Wolf of Wall Street was released, another scuzzy, brilliantly acted and darkly funny satire about achieving the American Dream through illegal means was released. The only notable difference between the two is that Pain & Gain didn't dull its impact by stretching out its runtime to the point where it wears out its welcome. Pain & Gain packs its nihilistic chaos and social commentary into an efficient package that depicts the birth and death of its extorting/kidnapping/murdering bodybuilding protagonists (Mark Wahlberg, Johnson, Anthony Mackie) glamourous life of excess without skimping out on characterization or condemnation of their actions, which makes it pretty much the perfect rise-and-fall crime saga.   

Most Overrated: Moana (2016)

Moana's strongest asset is that it's not Frozen. However, it's still a soulless Disney romp with relatively annoying songs, nondescript characters and no real laughs or heart to speak of.

First Sign That He Was Going to Be An Action Superstar: The Rundown (2003)

There's been a lot of wrestlers that have attempted to venture into mainstream acting in the past 20 years with no positive results. Steve Austin's big personality didn't translate to the big screen, Kane really wasn't qualified to play anything other than the physically imposing, mostly silent serial killer known for ripping his victims eyes out that he portrayed in the mediocre late 2000's slasher movie See No Evil and Goldberg just has no screen presence whatsoever. It became clear very early on (his 3rd ever movie role to be exact) that Johnson wasn't going to be another failed wrestler-turned-actor. In this quietly iconic action comedy from Peter Berg, Johnson was given the perfect character (bounty hunter Beck) to flash the off-the-charts charisma, impeccable snarky line delivery and generally badass demeanor that eventually made one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood.    

Worst Choice of Project Since Becoming an A-List Actor: San Andreas (2015)

A key part of Johnson's longevity as an actor has been his tendency to pick projects that are good fits for his skill set. One of the rare instances where he failed to do that came on the blockbuster disaster movie San Andreas. Bringing in Johnson was a golden opportunity to make a distinctly light entry in a genre that often takes itself too seriously, but San Andreas blew that by completely burying his magnetism in yet another groanworthy cheesefest that features more familial melodrama than catastrophic, weather-induced destruction.