(Photo by Universal/courtesy Everett Collection. Thumbnail image: Sony Pictures, Warner Bros./courtesy Everett Collection.)
If we had known that The Rock was indeed cooking a biggest-star-in-the-world movie career, we would’ve stuck our noses up in there a lot sooner. Yes, we would have sniffed up those early stinkers Doom and Be Cool, because at least nestled somewhere in there was The Rundown, which featured peak Seann William Scott and a cameo from Arnold Schwarzenegger passing the action torch to this upstart, the man who would be Dwayne Johnson. And indeed Johnson was the action man of the mid-aughts, tacking on the likes of Walking Tall to his brawny resume. And like his action forebears, he made a curve into family comedy, releasing The Game Plan, The Tooth Fairy, and Race to Witch Mountain to the delight, we assume, of some people. On a scale between Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot to Kindergarten Cop, we rate Johnson’s comedy career detour Top Dog.
But things turned around in 2010. That’s the year he jumped face first off a building into the pavement. And thus was born a new action/comedy classic: The Other Guys. Meanwhile, ’70s-style throwback Faster showed a leaner, meaner Johnson back in a hard-hitting groove. He was invited into the Fast & Furious family, helping turn Fast Five into the franchise’s first Certified Fresh entry and a global phenomenon. San Andreas, Rampage, and Skyscraper turned him into the master of disaster, while Moana and Fighting With My Family, which he also produced, are among his highest-rated movies.
Central Intelligence was the first collaboration Johnson had with Kevin Hart, which was merely the opening for the main course: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, the unlikely reboot-sequel that connected with audiences and critics worldwide. He, Hart, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan all came back for Jumanji: The Next Level. And since then, he’s been in league with DC (Black Adam, League of Super-Pets), Disney (Jungle Cruise), and Netflix (Red Notice). —Alex Vo
#1
Adjusted Score: 108566%
Critics Consensus: With a title character as three-dimensional as its lush animation and a story that adds fresh depth to Disney’s time-tested formula, Moana is truly a family-friendly adventure for the ages.
#2
Adjusted Score: 105443%
Critics Consensus: Much like the sport it celebrates, Fighting with My Family muscles past clichés with a potent blend of energy and committed acting that should leave audiences cheering.
#3
Adjusted Score: 94300%
Critics Consensus: Serving up a fresh round of over-the-top thrills while adding unexpected dramatic heft, Furious 7 keeps the franchise moving in more ways than one.
#4
Adjusted Score: 87291%
Critics Consensus: A clever parody of cop-buddy action-comedies, The Other Guys delivers several impressive action set pieces and lots of big laughs, thanks to the assured comic chemistry between Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg.
#5
Adjusted Score: 86107%
Critics Consensus: Sleek, loud, and over the top, Fast Five proudly embraces its brainless action thrills and injects new life into the franchise.
#6
Adjusted Score: 88831%
Critics Consensus: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle uses a charming cast and a humorous twist to offer an undemanding yet solidly entertaining update on its source material.
#7
Adjusted Score: 84668%
Critics Consensus: Like many classic games, Jumanji: The Next Level retains core components of what came before while adding enough fresh bits to keep things playable.
#8
Adjusted Score: 80492%
Critics Consensus: With high-octane humor and terrific action scenes, Fast & Furious 6 builds upon the winning blockbuster formula that made Fast 5 a critical and commercial success.
#9
Adjusted Score: 79457%
Critics Consensus: Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson make for well-matched comic foils, helping Central Intelligence overcome a script that coasts on their considerable chemistry.
#10
Adjusted Score: 74942%
Critics Consensus: The Rundown doesn’t break any new ground, but it’s a smart, funny buddy action picture with terrific comic chemistry between Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Seann William Scott.
#11
Adjusted Score: 84904%
Critics Consensus: Hobbs & Shaw doesn’t rev as high as the franchise’s best installments, but gets decent mileage out of its well-matched stars and over-the-top action sequences.
#12
Adjusted Score: 84113%
Critics Consensus: The Fate of the Furious opens a new chapter in the franchise, fueled by the same infectious cast chemistry and over-the-top action fans have come to expect.
#13
Adjusted Score: 80419%
Critics Consensus: Its craft isn’t quite as sturdy as some of the classic adventures it’s indebted to, but Jungle Cruise remains a fun, family-friendly voyage.
#14
Adjusted Score: 63219%
Critics Consensus: Hercules has Brett Ratner behind the cameras and Dwayne Johnson rocking the loincloth — and delivers exactly what any reasonable person reading that description might expect.
#15
Adjusted Score: 64507%
Critics Consensus: Though it features one of Dwayne Johnson’s more thoughtful performances, the presentation of Snitch‘s underlying message is muddled by lackluster storytelling and some tonal inconsistencies.
#16
Adjusted Score: 66435%
Critics Consensus: Rampage isn’t as fun as its source material, but the movie’s sheer button-mashing abandon might satisfy audiences in the mood for a brainless blockbuster.
#17
Adjusted Score: 59785%
Critics Consensus: Get Smart rides Steve Carell’s considerable charm for a few laughs, but ultimately proves to be a rather ordinary action comedy.
#18
Adjusted Score: 58993%
Critics Consensus: It may be his most thought-provoking film to date, but Michael Bay’s Pain & Gain ultimately loses its satirical edge in a stylized flurry of violent spectacle.
#19
Adjusted Score: 64071%
Critics Consensus: Well-cast yet derivative, Skyscraper isn’t exactly a towering action thriller feat, but it’s solidly constructed enough to stand among the genre’s more mildly diverting features.
#20
Adjusted Score: 61139%
Critics Consensus: San Andreas has a great cast and outstanding special effects, but amidst all the senses-shattering destruction, the movie’s characters and plot prove less than structurally sound.
#21
Adjusted Score: 50748%
Critics Consensus: In The Mummy Returns, the special effects are impressive, but the characters seem secondary to the computer generated imagery.
#22
Adjusted Score: 50777%
Critics Consensus: Aggressively unambitious, Journey 2 might thrill tween viewers, but most others will find it too intense for young audiences and too cartoonishly dull for adults.
#23
Adjusted Score: 47824%
Critics Consensus: Despite the best efforts of a talented cast, Race to Witch Mountain is a tepid reboot that lacks the magic of the original.
#24
Adjusted Score: 45724%
Critics Consensus: It’s good to see Dwayne Johnson back in full-throttle action mode, but Faster doesn’t deliver enough of the high-octane thrills promised by its title.
#25
Adjusted Score: 46608%
Critics Consensus: The role of probation officer Sean Porter fits Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson like a glove; however, the execution is so cliched, the youths’ stories (based on real events), fail to inspire.
#26
Adjusted Score: 45247%
Critics Consensus: Action adventure doesn’t get much cheesier than The Scorpion King.
#27
Adjusted Score: 44834%
Critics Consensus: Southland Tales, while offering an intriguing vision of the future, remains frustratingly incoherent and unpolished.
#28
Adjusted Score: 45284%
Critics Consensus: Red Notice‘s big budget and A-list cast add up to a slickly competent action comedy whose gaudy ingredients only make the middling results more disappointing.
#29
Adjusted Score: 36043%
Critics Consensus: Be Cool is tepid, square, and lukewarm; as a parody of the music business, it has two left feet.
#30
Adjusted Score: 36998%
Critics Consensus: Though arguably superior to its predecessor, G.I. Joe: Retaliation is overwhelmed by its nonstop action and too nonsensical and vapid to leave a lasting impression.
#31
Adjusted Score: 33579%
Critics Consensus: Despite The Rock’s abundant charisma, The Game Plan is just another run-of-the-mill Disney comedy.
#32
Adjusted Score: 30068%
Critics Consensus: The Rock makes a competent hero, but the movie is content to let a 2×4 do all the talking.
#33
Adjusted Score: 26812%
Critics Consensus: Planet 51 squanders an interesting premise with an overly familiar storyline, stock characters, and humor that alternates between curious and potentially offensive.
#34
Adjusted Score: 22676%
Critics Consensus: The FPS sections are sure to please fans of the video game, but lacking in plot and originality to please other moviegoers.
#35
Adjusted Score: 30236%
Critics Consensus: Baywatch takes its source material’s jiggle factor to R-rated levels, but lacks the original’s campy charm — and leaves its charming stars flailing in the shallows.
#36
Adjusted Score: 21064%
Critics Consensus: Dwayne Johnson brings the full force of his charm (and his appropriately pale chompers) to the title role, but flat direction and a committee-written script render The Tooth Fairy unacceptably dull.