Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's Best Movies, Ranked

This misguided adaptation of a campy TV series took itself a little too seriously as an action film, turning off critics and viewers in the process. Johnson plays seasoned lifeguard Mitch Buchannon, who butts heads with a new recruit (Zac Efron). The film flopped domestically but performed better overseas for a global box office haul of just over $177 million.

With help from a Vegas cabbie (Johnson), two super-powered siblings flee from government agents in this extraterrestrial adventure. A remake of the 1975 film “Escape to Witch Mountain,” it represents the third Disney adaptation of the same source novel.

Honorably discharged from duty, Special Forces Sergeant Chris Vaughn (Johnson) returns home and takes on local corruption in this remake of a 1973 action film. Both versions are loosely based on the true story of Tennessee sheriff Buford Hayse Pusser, a former wrestler himself.

After getting out of prison, an ex-con (Johnson) seeks brutal revenge on those who betrayed him. Crafted in the spirit of 1970s action movies, the film was Johnson’s lowest-grossing wide release at the time.

NFL quarterback Joe Kingman (Johnson) finds out he has an 8-year-old daughter from a previous relationship in this Disney comedy. While reviews were mostly negative, a number of critics agreed that Johnson delivered a surprisingly effective performance.

This fantasy adventure sequel draws inspiration from Jules Verne’s “The Mysterious Island” and even works the novel into its premise. Josh Hutcherson reprises the role of Sean Anderson and journeys with his stepfather (Johnson) to a mythical island. As with a number of Johnson’s films, this one performed better overseas than it did domestically.

Director Michael Bay took a break from the “Transformers” franchise to offer this wild action comedy, in which three dimwitted meatheads enact a kidnapping scheme. Playing one of the bodybuilders, Johnson expertly embodies a satirical balance of brainlessness and brawn.

In the midst of catastrophic earthquakes, a chopper pilot (Johnson) and his estranged wife race across California to rescue their daughter. The disaster film was released in both 2D and 3D and heralded for its visual effects and solid performances, but not much else. A sequel is reportedly in development.

The son of Zeus and a sword for hire, Hercules (Johnson) is put to the test in this action-packed fantasy flick. Based on a graphic novel, it tries to conjure up the tone of previous hits such as “Gladiator” and “300.” Whether or not it succeeds depends on who you ask.

Johnson’s disaster movie phase continued with this 2018 outing, in which he scales a burning skyscraper and takes down assorted criminals. Most critics were less than impressed, citing the film’s ridiculous plot points and formulaic execution.

Loosely inspired by actual events, this dramatic thriller follows a desperate father (Johnson) deep into the criminal underworld. Hanging in the balance is his son’s prison term and his own personal survival. The story doubles as a pointed indictment of America’s mandatory minimum sentencing for certain types of drug convictions.

Johnson plays a supporting role as model spy Agent 23 in this blockbuster comedy, based on the former TV series of the same name. The story follows bumbling intelligence analyst Maxwell Smart (Steve Carrell), who gets partnered with Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway) for an important assignment.

Released the same year as “Skyscraper,” this superior counterpart unleashes a trio of mutated animals upon the city of Chicago. It takes loose inspiration from an old arcade game and stars Johnson as a primatologist turned hero. To prepare for the role, the actor spent quality time with real-life gorillas at the Atlanta Zoo.

This sports drama takes place at the Kilpatrick juvenile detention center, where supervisor Sean Porter (Johnson) puts together an unlikely football team. As the players overcome their differences and get with the program, they discover a newfound sense of belonging and responsibility. It’s based on an Emmy-winning 1993 documentary of the same name.

Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart demonstrate natural on-screen chemistry in this action comedy, which lures an unwitting accountant (Hart) into a high-stakes spy mission. Initially developed for Will Ferrell and Ed Helms, the project underwent significant changes before arriving on the big screen.

Johnson was coming off his success in “The Scorpion King” and still being billed as The Rock when he starred in this over-the-top action comedy. He plays no-nonsense bounty hunter Beck, who’s tasked with bringing home his boss’s loudmouth son (Scott). Despite underperforming at the box office, it helped establish Johnson as a formidable talent.

Johnson reprised his role as agent Luke Hobbs for this eighth installment of the blockbuster “Fast & Furious” franchise. This time around, Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) must choose between two sides after he’s recruited by a terrorist organization. It was the first entry in the series not to feature Paul Walker, who’d tragically died in a 2013 car accident.

The character of Luke Hobbs (Johnson) was so popular that he and nemesis Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) received their own spinoff. It finds the two adversaries forging an uneasy alliance to take down a cybernetically-enhanced supervillain (Idris Elba). The film underperformed domestically but still achieved a global haul of $759 million.

The 2017 fantasy flick “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” (see No. 5) was a surprise smash, making this follow-up more or less inevitable. It brings back the original cast for another epic adventure through perilous terrain. Johnson was also on board as a producer.

Taking cues from its immediate predecessor (“Fast Five”), the sixth film in the series drifts further away from the franchise’s street racing origins. With help from Dom and Brian (Paul Walker), Hobbs pursues criminal mastermind Owen Shaw (Luke Evans). That gives way to outrageously impossible action sequences of globe-spanning proportions…naturally.

One of Sony’s biggest (and most unexpected) hits sends four teenagers into a board game-based fantasy world, where they each assume a respective avatar. Johnson and his talented cohorts provide consistent comic relief in the midst of perennial danger. Despite the occasional callback, this film has almost nothing to do with the Robin Williams “Jumanji” vehicle from 1995.

The fifth “Fast & Furious” installment is widely considered the best to date, steering away from street racing in favor of a vehicle-themed heist movie. It introduces Johnson as U.S. Diplomatic Security Service agent Luke Hobbs (Johnson), who’s hot on the tail of Dom and his team. Director Justin Lin has helmed five entries in the franchise to date, including the soon-to-released “F9: The Fast Saga.”

Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) is a sibling scorned and he has enemies in his crosshairs by the opening of this seventh “Fast & Furious” installment. He and Hobbs square off during an early showdown, which results in an explosive getaway. This was the last film of the franchise to star Paul Walker, whose unfinished scenes were completed using CGI and body doubles.

Johnson brings his career full circle in this endearing biopic, starring as The Rock and also producing. Based on the true story of British wrestling star Paige, it follows Saraya Knight (Florence Pugh) to a WWE training camp. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a critic score of 93% and an audience score of 86%.

Heeding the ocean’s call, a young Polynesian girl (voiced by Auli’i Cravalho) embarks on an epic adventure in this computer-animated Disney film. Johnson provides the voice of Maui, a mythical demigod who once stole a precious and powerful stone. A sequel is reportedly in the works.