r/movies • u/lostmybih • Jun 27 '25
Discussion The Rock is a terrible actor compared to John Cena and Batista
I've been watching lots of movies lately which some involved these 3 actors and I've come to the realization that The Rock is a terrible actor
like he actually doesn't even act he does the same things reactions talk faces for every movie and calls it a day
while on the other hand both John and Batista showed very good acting in recent work they've done
for example Peacemaker John absolutely killed that rule he did a very good job with the character that I doubt Rock can even reach half of it
so what are your opinions on this?
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u/GrayRoberts Jun 27 '25
Cena is a good comedian. Bautista is an Actor. The Rock is The Rock.
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u/MamaTalista Jun 27 '25
Bautista has been interviewed and he stated that he went to classes to learn how to be a better actor so he would get taken seriously and not so much Santa With Muscles.
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u/Successful_Ideal9649 Jun 27 '25
Funny enough, I remember The Rock talking early in his career about taking classes to learn to act better.
Bautista must have just wanted it more. Dude is legitimately great.
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u/Dash_Underscore Jun 27 '25
Bautista must have just wanted it more
I remember reading that he said he broke down and cried when he was cast as Drax, he was so excited. He immediately started the acting classes to prepare. And honestly? He's amazing in those movies. Especially the first one.
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u/Successful_Ideal9649 Jun 27 '25
Seriously! He's shown SO MUCH effort and the payoff is really clear. I hope he's proud and confident, he deserves it and I'm excited to see where he goes in the future.
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u/huskinater Jun 27 '25
His bit part in Blade Runner 2049 is fantastic.
And while I'm biased because I love dune, he was a great choice for Rabban.
I genuinely hope he continues to work with Denis V on more projects.
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u/Wompguinea Jun 28 '25
One of the things that sets him apart from The Rock is his willingness to play the part appropriately and not always like a badass.
Rabban is a bully, and a coward. When he has the upper hand and plenty of backup he throws his weight around knowing that he's safe to be the monster people think he is. When Gurney Halleck comes chasing him through fire, calling him out, you can almost hear him piss himself.
Being willing to play the character who is genuinely such a weak and pathetic person is something the Rock would never do, and that's why he's boring to watch.
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u/Mr_Show Jun 28 '25
Came looking for this.
Batista isn't above being vulnerable and Cena is willing to be the butt of the joke. Rock realized he can get 20 million a picture to play the Rock and never looked back.
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u/Paradigmpinger Jun 28 '25
And that's why I'll always think of this when I see the Rock trying to be a badass.
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u/Alik757 Jun 28 '25
Rock realized he can get 20 million a picture to play the Rock and never looked back.
With a contract which specifically states he can't be defeated in any way inside the plot so everything needs to be ajusted around that rule.
Talk about having an ego.
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u/R1ckMartel Jun 28 '25
The Rock was much more willing to expand the limits of his range before Fast Five. Not a lot of guys with his size and history would have played the character he did in Be Cool. Southland Tales and Pain and Gain were other projects where he checked his ego.
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u/Prauphet Jun 28 '25
I have struggled to pinpoint where The Rock fell off but Fast Five certainly is in the timezone. Really close to the timezone. It will make a good landmark.
Rock's early work was so good, Walking Tall will be a classic when it's revisited. Be Cool as you said. If you guys can go find the first time the Rock hosted SNL, he really checked his ego and showed insane comedic timing.
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u/someofthedead_ Jun 28 '25
Also the short film centered on Bautista's character:
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u/Skizot_Bizot Jun 28 '25
Hes so good it's actually convincing when he's entering the bar and the thugs are like "oh look a nerdy pipsqueak scientist" giving him a hard time even though he's like a foot taller with traps bigger than their heads.
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u/Big_fern189 Jun 28 '25
He did a great little action flick called Bushwick that I personally think is underrated. He and Brittany Snow with an excellent soundtrack by Aesop Rock.
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u/Psychoray Jun 28 '25
Looked it up, seems like a great movie! I'll be watching it this week. Thanks for mentioning it
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u/SfcHayes1973 Jun 28 '25
Don't forget Specter
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u/ArgusTheCat Jun 28 '25
His role in Specter as the classic "Bond henchman that simply does not perish" is really weirdly impressive to me, because I am positive he was typecast in the role, and yet, it is so easy while watching him to forget that it's Bautista. A lesser actor could have just coasted on the one big dangerous guy gimmick they had going on, but he's developed multiple exclusive styles of being a big dangerous guy, and that's just cool.
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u/Dash_Underscore Jun 27 '25
lol My Spy was so much more enjoyable than it had any right to be.
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u/Deputy_Beagle76 Jun 27 '25
Watch Stuber if you haven’t.
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u/Dash_Underscore Jun 27 '25
Oh shit, I forgot about that one. And I absolutely love Kumail Nanjiani. Thanks for the reminder!!
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u/Deputy_Beagle76 Jun 27 '25
I think you’ll love it! It’s right in that same sweet spot of being way more enjoyable than it should be
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u/Spiritual-Smoke-4605 Jun 27 '25
Damn, I haven’t watched Stuber yet bc I heard it wasn’t good, but I too love Bautista and Nanjiani so I may check it out
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u/sentient-meatball Jun 28 '25
I remember back in 2014 being genuinely surprised by him and I seriously think GotG has quite a bit of their success that they should attribute to Bautista. He's a great screen presence and has definitely made a name for himself.
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u/jdragon3 Jun 28 '25
Id say especially the 2nd one. The scene where he talks to Mantis about his family is legitimately devastating
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u/Ok_Confection_10 Jun 28 '25
He’s so good as Drax I always forget he’s Batista the WWE star
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u/Caprikaa Jun 28 '25
Damn, i found out today he was a WWE star. I knew about Cena and the Rock due to the memes and stuff, but never this guy. Wow!
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u/TheArtlessScrawler Jun 28 '25
I remember reading that he said he broke down and cried when he was cast as Drax
That is very cute. He really is a big ol' teddy bear.
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u/AdDelicious4911 Jun 28 '25
What's crazy is the Rock used to play roles where he displayed legit acting skill. Then he became a brand and started being a generic action hero. Back when he was trying to prove himself he really tried. Southland Tales, Be Cool, We Are Marshall, Pain and Gain. It looks like he's trying again with the Smashing Machine, the Scorsese movie and the Afronofsky movie he's about to be in. We'll see.
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u/Data_Chandler Jun 28 '25
Agreed across the board, except for the We Are Marshall bit, he's not in that movie! But you listed all the other ones I was thinking of too where he shows some acting skills.
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u/Janet-Yellen Jun 28 '25
Kind of like how Tom Cruise was in Rain Man and Magnolia, but since 2010ish he just plays some variation of Ethan Hunt
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u/HenryDorsettCase47 Jun 27 '25
Well, they had two different goals. The Rock wanted to become a movie star, and Bautista wanted to become an actor. I too think Bautista is better acting it, but he’s said himself what he’s chasing is recognition from his peers, great directors, awards. The Rock on the other hand wanted to make millions at the box office, and he has. 🤷♂️
I remember seeing an interview with Will Smith back in the day talking about his career and how he planned it. He said him and his agent sat down and looked at the highest grossing films from the past few decades and most were summer releases so he made a decision to only make mostly blockbusters that came out in July. He did and it paid off. At the time I thought it was a pretty cynical approach to art, chasing money and stature over good work, but to each their own I guess. I feel like the Rock made a similar move.
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u/broha89 Jun 28 '25 edited Jun 28 '25
Will Smith also went all-in on a ton of Oscar bait roles to varying levels of success- Ali, pursuit of happiness, seven pounds, concussion, king Richard, emancipation
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u/AdDelicious4911 Jun 28 '25
I loved Ali though I haven't seen it in years. I remember being genuinely sad during the train station bathroom scene of pursuit of happiness.
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u/OhMrsGellerYUCry Jun 28 '25
Seven Pounds was terrible
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u/LuchadorBane Jun 28 '25
Wouldn’t the jellyfish toxin ruin any of the organs he was trying to donate?
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u/MonkeyBoatRentals Jun 27 '25
He may not be a great talent but I believe the Rock can act more than he is required to. He's quite different in Southland Tales for example. His career has just turned into playing The Rock, so that's what he does.
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u/LairBob Jun 27 '25
This is 100% it. He showed potential for a while to have a real range…but then he doubled-down on becoming a living caricature.
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u/Naive_Wolf3740 Jun 27 '25
And that’s it. Makes more $$$ just being a ham that does The Rock every single movie. Batista has the drive and understanding of character. Cena has the timing and improv. The Rock is now just marketing and brand recognition.
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u/skolioban Jun 28 '25
Bautista wants to be a better actor. The Rock wants to be a more valuable brand.
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u/tehnoodnub Jun 28 '25
I was really irritated that his role was so limited in Blade Runner 2049
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u/mama_tom Jun 28 '25
Ive been getting wrestling podcast clips on my shorts feed and one thing Bautista brought up in an interview was that he would rather go broke than do wrestling again (at least at the time of his retirement, before Drax. And he was broke). So it makes sense that he would take classes.
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u/Gone213 Jun 28 '25
I remember there was a movie that Dwayne, Wahlberg and Mackie did together way back in the mid 2000s about some gym bros who scammed and murdered a rich client they were training.
That was the best and funniest acting I've seen from them even though the movie was based on a true story.
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u/jetjordan Jun 27 '25
Cena showed some actual acting chops in peacemaker season 1 imo.
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Jun 28 '25 edited Jul 20 '25
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u/Insectshelf3 Jun 28 '25
he has remarkably good range. i thought he crushed it as rabban in dune.
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u/GrapefruitAlways26 Jun 28 '25
Convincing as a complete idiot brute in Dune.
Convincing as empathetic and compassionate to his kind's cause in BR49.
Everyone's watching his career with great interest
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u/Terakahn Jun 28 '25
I look forward to seeing old Cena as an actor. He's apparently retiring from wwe soon, so he'll have plenty of time.
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u/dj_soo Jun 28 '25
He’s basically been retired for years only occasionally going back for the occasional appearance and wrestling the occasional match or in-ring segment.
This last run is his first extended run in what feels like 7 years or so and is being billed as his farewell tour.
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u/GreenGoblinNX Jun 28 '25
Retirement means very little in profefssional wrestling. Terry Funk had his first retirement match in 1983. His actual final match was in 2017.
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u/codithou Jun 28 '25
exactly. in peacemaker he proved he was an actor. to talk down about his ability by calling him a comedian is an insult.
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u/NativeMasshole Jun 28 '25
It's a weird distinction anyway. Comedic actors have historically proven time and again that they can transition to dramatic roles, while very few dramatic actors can do comedy. I just don't think Cena has been given much a chance to do a lot beyond comedy and action hero roles.
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u/Killbot_Wants_Hug Jun 28 '25
John Ritter said to be an actor you have to be able to express emotions. To be a comedic actor you have to be able to express emotions and have timing.
And I generally tend to agree. To be a good comedic actor requires you to be a good actor and have good comedic chops.
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u/GhostDieM Jun 28 '25
Cena also surprisingly showed a vulnerable side to Peacemaker. A lot of it was quips and Peacemaker being a "toxic male" but once the mask slipped Cena totally sold me on the serious side. Dude's got some acting chops.
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u/Tarcion Jun 28 '25
Peacemaker had no right to be as great as it was Cena brought a shocking amount of depth to what otherwise would have just been a goofy side character. My respect for him skyrocketed after that.
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u/Cordura Jun 27 '25
Bautista really surprised in Blade Runner 2049. Did not expect good acting.
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u/Pterodactyl_midnight Jun 27 '25
I wouldn’t say this is the film he shows acting chops. It’s literally a “wtf” face and a fight scene.
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u/Cordura Jun 27 '25
No doubt he has better roles. Blade Runner was the first movie I saw him doing real acting, and I was pleasantly surprised.
He was fun in Guardians of the Galaxy, though...
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u/NostalgicBear Jun 27 '25
I’m on your side here. It’s Blade Runner that made me really take notice. That whole scene was incredible.
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u/Martin_Aurelius Jun 27 '25
There were shorts released along with BR2049, one of which really showed off his chops
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u/icyhaze23 Jun 27 '25
It's just the subtlety of the delivery for such a big man.
They did mini short movie with him where he showed more range.
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u/ArcadianWaheela Jun 28 '25
Cena was stellar in The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker! I definitely want to see him branch out and do more rolls.
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u/droidtron Jun 27 '25
It was the lukewarm response to Southland Tales that killed The Rocks attempt at good acting and he would rather be a brand than Oscar worthy.
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u/Klausvendetta Jun 27 '25
This is it right here. The man can act, but he's settled into a niche that gives him a steady income stream and all he has to do is act like himself.
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u/droidtron Jun 27 '25
And to be fair, so has Ryan Reynolds, but he can put out a serious film once in a while.
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u/Tibetzz Jun 28 '25
Buried is almost literally a one man show, and I still think about it 15 years later. Hell of a job he did with that role.
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u/droidtron Jun 28 '25 edited Jun 28 '25
I bring it up all the time. He did a Hitchcockian film in between "smarmy a-hole is kinda awesome" films.
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u/Capt_Clown77 Jun 27 '25
I don't know, Smashing Machine actually looks kinda promising.
I mean, it's blatantly just Oscar bait for him BUT I kinda hope it's more of a return to him actually trying vs. him just flexing & raising an eyebrow every 5 minutes.
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u/ThatDamnRocketRacoon Jun 27 '25
Yep. This is the answer. He was actually trying early in his career and took various kind of roles. Then he turned into the guy that talks about product synergy.
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u/WileEPeyote Jun 28 '25
Pain and Gain was another good one. It wasn't a hard role, but it's far from the types he plays now.
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u/Cyke101 Jun 28 '25
I used to not think all that highly about John Cena's acting, but headlining a TV show, holding his own in movies, and even showing up on The Bear have all proven his work to me.
Albeit those are all comic roles, but it also means that I now look forward to him when he's on screen.
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u/Successful_Ideal9649 Jun 27 '25
Cena reminds me of peak Arnold. Not a great actor, but talented enough and well aware of his strengths and weaknesses.
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u/Vaxus335 Jun 28 '25
Cena has some genuinely strong dramatic material in Peacemaker. He's really good in comedy but I think he also has more range than people tend to expect from him.
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u/lostmybih Jun 27 '25
Cena is also a great actor not just a comedian he really gave depth to Peacemaker you could feel how troubled that character was
but overall I think Batista is the better actor of all 3 the type of roles he chose gave him the space to showcase that where Cena mostly went for comedy
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u/GrayRoberts Jun 27 '25
Ask yourself: Could Cena have played a Bautista role? There is a lot of overlap, but the last Shamalan Movie, and Dune, I think Bautista was the better choice for those roles.
That said: I would love to see Cena take on a serious role. I think he has it in him. He just needs to find a director that can bring him out like James Gunn did with Bautista.
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u/sinburger Jun 27 '25
Cena has got the chops to do roles similar to Bautista. Peacemaker had many subtle moment layered within the comedy that wouldn't have worked if Cena didn't have a decent level of acting ability.
I think between the two of them, Cena just goes for more comedic roles whereas Bautista seeks out more variety.
The funny thing is, Johnson can also actually act pretty decently. You can see that in Be Smart or Paint & Gain. He just obviously has his ego get in the way, and never picks roles anymore that show any sort of vulnerability (therefore don't require much "acting" beyond 80's one liners).
TLDR; On a sliding scale of Actoring, The Rock is on one end, Bautista is on the other, and Cena theoretically occupies the grey area in the middle, but nobody can see him.
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u/jexdiel321 Jun 28 '25
I agree. Cena has more range. His role in Peacemaker was freaking fantastic. I still replay that scene where he confronts his father because he freaking acted his ass off in that scene. That single tear in his eye when he pulled that trigger was chef's kiss.
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u/Migraine_Megan Jun 27 '25
In Dune Part 2 there is a scene where Beast Rabban loses his shit and within a second he is slamming that dude's head into the keypad over and over. The shift from his tirade to sudden and extreme violence without warning, was so realistic it makes me jump and the hair on my neck stands up, every single time I watch it. I've been around that kind of rage and it felt very realistic. I think Cena certainly has skills but that is a difficult thing for any actor to pull off.
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u/SpicyButterBoy Jun 27 '25
I think Cena could do it, the problem is that it would have to be so well done by the entire film making team to not be immersion breaking. Cena is so well known as a standup guy that him playing a heel or villain would be hard to square.
I’d love to see him take a crack at it.
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u/FrontBench5406 Jun 27 '25
Shockingly, the SNL skits he does, he is tremendous in them. And he has shown great performances before, like in Pain and Gain.
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u/JavierLoustaunau Jun 27 '25
His SNL skits are some of the best of all times... and did he have something to do with them? Because they are also some of the darkest SNL skits ever. Seems like too much of a coincidence.
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u/FrontBench5406 Jun 27 '25
IDk the Wrestling promo one with what he did the guy's life is epic. And then the Robot that molests children that then turns into a White Castle ad is somehow even funnier. The robot one, he actually does amazing acting in it... haha
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u/GardinerExpressway Jun 27 '25
"What you do is start by building a regular robot, then you molest it and hope that it continues the cycle"
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u/JavierLoustaunau Jun 27 '25
Male Enhancement is a wild ride too. Like 20 quotable lines in that one.
"When I wear gray sweatpants people cross the street to avoid me"
"Hail Satan!"
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u/reddit_sells_you Jun 27 '25
He was a scene stealer in Get Shorty, too.
https://youtu.be/swo423cXQuE?si=g7OFWviOXxjk0X7d
I thought for sure after this movie he was going to be a big star. He is, but for all the wrong reasons.
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u/yipeekayayKemosabe Jun 28 '25
He was really good in that. Not a great movie but him and Vince Vaughn stole the show.
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u/blondie1024 Jun 27 '25
Came here to show some love for Dwayne in Pain and Gain as well.
Great performances all round but he really stood out.
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u/FrontBench5406 Jun 27 '25
Yeah, he was the best in that movie. And Mackie is awesome. The Rock steals the show. That is such an underrated movie too. Outside of Transformers movies, Bay is awesome. Pain and Gain, 13 Hours and Ambulance were fucking awesome.
And 6 Underground was a mess, but I loved that opening car chase through Florence.
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u/Early-Eye-691 Jun 27 '25
I also love the boat sequence in 6 Underground. You could feel some Nolan inspiration but completely in Bay’s style.
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u/Dash_Underscore Jun 27 '25
The Rundown is easily my favourite performance of his. "I hate this place. I hate penis-eating minnows and I hate freaky fruit. I want to go home. I want concrete. I want home made tortellini. I want my Los Angeles Lakers. I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to go hoooome!!! Get outta here Monkeys!"
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u/yipeekayayKemosabe Jun 28 '25
That hand off with Arnold at the start was genius. I really was hoping he'd keep doing performances like this.
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u/Fortestingporpoises Jun 27 '25
Because he’s playing the roles he chooses which are often just the Rock character. He did some good stuff in the Jumanji movies as well. They used to say the same stuff about Tom Cruise (they really only shut up about that after Tropic Thunder.
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u/Patjay Jun 28 '25
The Rock plays The Rock because tons of people are willing to pay to see The Rock.
I actually think a lot of people would be disappointed if they went to one of his standard action/comedy movies and he didn’t just do his normal schtick
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u/Deputy_Beagle76 Jun 27 '25
I love him in Walking Tall, as well. I feel like there was a good actor in there, but it got lost in the $$$ of just being himself in everything he does
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u/Silent-Selection8161 Jun 28 '25
The Rock is hilarious, he plays a great awkward teen in the second Jumanji, he just doesn't take comedy parts all that often.
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u/SittingEames Jun 28 '25
I don't think the Rock is actually that bad an actor he's just being paid millions to be the Rock at this point. There is a long list of extremely talented actors from Anthony Hopkins to Dennis Hopper to Harrison Ford and Tom Cruise who play themselves in a lot of stuff for the money yet when given the opportunity or interest in a project can knock it out of the park.
John Cena made a lot of unwatchable garbage before James Gunn showed people he could be great in the right circumstances. He's had a lot better opportunities since then. Dave got a similar start, but would have gotten there on his own since he's just the kind of guy who puts in the work. He had basically nothing in Bladerunner 2049 and is somehow one of the most memorable characters in the film.
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u/opaeoinadi Jun 28 '25
Hmm. Am i being unfair to say Harrison Ford is basically always Harrison Ford? I am probably forgetting some great role, right? He is good at it and very charming when he wants to be, great timing, etc.
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u/SittingEames Jun 28 '25
He's not exactly a Daniel Day Lewis or Gary Oldman where you forget that it's them, but Witness, the Fugitive, Regarding Henry, and What Lies Beneath are all good performances where he's not just playing his usual character. It's just someone backed a dump truck full of cash onto his driveway every few months since 1977 and he's never really turned it down.
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u/SaintPeter74 Jun 28 '25
Maybe? He is pretty amazing in Shrinking on Apple TV. He manages to balance grumpy old man with lovable curmudgeon while displaying some real vulnerability. It's a pretty far cry from the cocky pilot of Star Wars or the doctor on the run from the law in The Fugitive. I think he has some decent range, but is maybe a bit of the lovable scamp underneath? That crooked smile always gets me.
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u/Forgotten_Lie Jun 28 '25
grumpy old man with lovable curmudgeon
It's a great performance but that's really just Harrison Ford.
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u/George__Parasol Jun 28 '25
Performance itself should win out over ‘becoming unrecognizable’ every time imo. Some actors approach a character by totally becoming who that character is. They change their physicality and their voice and their mannerisms and so on. Become a totally brand new person.
Other actors approach it from a perspective of “what if this character was actually me?” and the changes they make are much more subtle. Both are completely valid, acting is about listening and responding within a scene
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u/daveblazed Jun 28 '25
Will Smith made an entire career out of playing Will Smith. Pretty decent actor when given the chance, though.
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u/LongTimesGoodTimes Jun 27 '25
I don't really know if he is or not. We'll see with the new Safdie movie. He's hasn't been asked to do much in the last decade plus.
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u/AdDiligent7657 Jun 27 '25
Also the new Scorsese movie and another A24 project. Looks like he’s seriously trying to turn his career around. Remains to be seen how he does.
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u/pp21 Jun 27 '25
lol turn his career around isn’t the right verbiage here, the dude has made hundreds of millions of dollars as a successful action movie star. Hes more so possibly reinventing himself as an actor
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u/AdDiligent7657 Jun 27 '25
Yeah pivot to more serious roles is what I meant haha
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u/Waste-Scratch2982 Jun 27 '25
Tom Cruise also took a similar approach after his hits in where he tried to mix in more dramatic/serious roles around the late 80s to early 2000s, but he seemed to have gave up after the whole Oprah couch/scientology/Katie Holmes relationship got so much media attention, that he pivoted to only action movies for the next 20 years. We’ll see if his next movie will show a different side of him. The Rock has had some blunders with Black Adam not becoming the launching point for a revived DCEU, so he’s moved back to what has worked in the past with Fast and Furious, Moana, WWE, and now is trying to become a serious actor.
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u/deadscreensky Jun 28 '25
American Made was pretty good and I wouldn't count it as an action film.
I don't know if it's so much that he gave up on non-action stuff, but more that those big budget action films take up so much time he usually isn't able to do other stuff.
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u/emmarh13 Jun 27 '25
It’s not the best film ever, but I feel like he was pretty decent in Faster (2010). It was a different type of role for him, he wasn’t a straight forward hero - it was more nuanced. It would be great to see him choose/be offered projects that give him a chance to act instead of just being a generic hero.
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u/drewed1 Jun 28 '25
This will be telling, from the interviews I've seen of people that worked on the movie says he showed up for this.
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u/VintageLV Jun 27 '25
John Cena is hilarious. I loved him in Trainwreck.
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u/Zestyclose-Oil-6687 Jun 27 '25
Ricky Stanicky was just comedy gold. He carried that movie
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u/_ROBEAST_ Jun 27 '25
Felt like it was from an era passed. They don't make 'em like that much these days, loved it.
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u/TensorForce Jun 27 '25
Yes!! Definitely felt like a late 2000s comedy. I also liked that it didn't go the cheap route with the ending.
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Jun 27 '25
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u/ZeroOhblighation Jun 28 '25
What a brave take from the elites of Reddit, next they'll claim Keanu is wholesome
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u/UnbuiltIkeaBookcase Jun 27 '25
Oh it’s time for the same weekly discussion already?! 😂
Can we at least change it up and talk how the Speed Racer movie I underrated or how Christopher Nolan is a great director?
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u/malin7 Jun 27 '25
Something something Gal Gadot and Ryan Reynolds too
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u/astrobagel Jun 28 '25
Don’t forget that Avatar is overrated and has a story like other movies!
And that Crash is the worst Best Picture winner, except for maybe Shakespeare in Love. Saving Private Ryan should’ve won!
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u/StuMacherGhostface Jun 28 '25
I unironically thought this was /r/moviescirclejerk or something lmao
DAE think Rock bad???
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u/JimFlamesWeTrust Jun 28 '25
It’s actually wild how often this thread pops up.
I’m not a fan of most of his movies but the rock is a movie star. People go to see him be The Rock.
Movie stars and their personas have existed for decades. It’s not that complicated.
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u/TheAnon13 Jun 28 '25
DAE think Denis Villeneuve is le underrated? Why is nobody talking about Moon, Dark City and Arrival? Am I the only one that thinks the Nice Guys was a good movie
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Jun 27 '25
Think he's pretty good in Moana and was good enough for me to watch three seasons of Ballers. But he's also just the Rock in all of those
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u/kloiberin_time Jun 27 '25
Ballers jumped the shark in later seasons, and then sprouted rockets and jumped the moon when he bought the Chiefs, but early Ballers was fantastic and he was great in it.
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u/Wavenstein1 Jun 27 '25
I know it's cool to dump on The Rock because the algorithm told you too. But Rock actually has some decent acting performance. Pain and Gain was good. Be Cool was good. And The Smashing Machine looks promising.
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u/Chief--BlackHawk Jun 28 '25
Sometimes I wonder if people get tired posting the same topic. I feel like between this sub and r/moviecritic I see something along this and one that will include will smith and Kevin Hart. Like we get it, reddit doesn't like those actors lol.
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u/Wavenstein1 Jun 28 '25
Yeah it's weird for sure. Everyone "hates" these people but people keep watching and responding to their material
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u/gate_of_steiner85 Jun 27 '25
The Rock is a fine actor when he tries, the issue is that he hasn't tried in years. His last role where he wasn't just playing The Rock was probably Pain & Gain and that was over a decade ago. Check out some of his earlier movies like Southland Tales, Be Cool, Gridiron Gang, and The Rundown and his acting is far better since he was actually playing a character in those movies.
That being said, he has The Smashing Machine coming out later this year which is going to be interesting. He's also been cast in Scorcese and Aronofky films which should give us a better look at how his acting is.
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u/Notoriously_So Jun 27 '25 edited Jun 28 '25
I think Dwayne Johnson is about to surprise everybody with 'The Smashing Machine' coming out October this year, so watch out for that.
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u/deltajvliet Jun 27 '25
In Be Cool, Dwayne Johnson out-acted John Travolta, Harvey Keitel, Vince Vaughn, Uma Thurman, and Danny DeVito.
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u/ryderawsome Jun 28 '25
The Rock is pretty good if he has a character to play that isn't just "The Rock". Pain and Gain, Be Cool, that Juamnji movie from a few years back. He pretty much only gets cast in bland broadly appealing action stuff now because thats just where the most money is right now.
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u/Less-Network-3422 Jun 28 '25
What an original and insightful post. Yep, never seen a hundred variations of this exact post before
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u/max1001 Jun 28 '25
He can act. Watch Be Cool. He just chose roles where he doesn't have to act well.
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u/teamregime Jun 28 '25
I disagree. I think Dwayne can act when he wants to, but hasn't needed or wanted to be anyone but The Rock for years. They all have chops
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u/Croaker715 Jun 29 '25
The Rock's No Lose clause makes it impossible to take him seriously as an actor. I honestly liked him in his early acting days before he bought into his own hype and took himself so damn seriously. He needs to be silly again, take a role like Jason Momoa in Minecraft. I mean, it wasn't a great movie, but Momoa knew exactly what kind of film he was in and nailed it.
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u/AcademyBorg Jun 27 '25
I agree with you on a fundamental level, more so for Batista who has actively tried to take different roles (Bladerunmer and Bond were great) and when you hear him speak about acting, you can tell he takes is very seriously. Whereas John Cena does seem to be going towards the typecast comedy route which is comparable to The Rocks typecast action route
Everyone forgets when The Rock made the jump in the early 00s his first roles were 'woah look Dwayne Johnson can act another character apart from the Attitude Era The Rock wrestling character', Scorpion King and The Rundown were semi-decent mid budget movies. Then towards the later 00s/early 10s he found his niche as an action star/playing off a comedian vibe and made 100s of millions from them. I can't blame him.
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Jun 27 '25
Y’all need to wait for the Smashing Machine. I think it’s gonna be cool
Also if you want movies where the rock plays an actual character, watch Southland Tales and Pain and Gain
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u/mtnfox Jun 27 '25
His best acting is Southland Tales and Be Cool. Both early in his career and not well regarded so I think that’s why most people believe he is a bad actor
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u/GTS_84 Jun 27 '25
Cena is better than The Rock, but Big Dave is easily the best from those three.
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u/oscarx-ray Jun 27 '25
Dave Bautista >> John Cena >>> Dwayne Johnson
They all have their merit, but I don't think there are many people who'd disagree.
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u/Lone_Buck Jun 27 '25
After the rock it’s all the wrestlers who never tried acting. And then bringing up the rear is Hulk Hogan.
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u/oscarx-ray Jun 27 '25
Stone Cold actually did a serviceable number in his movies, and I will defend "Rowdy" Roddy "Da Maniac" Piper and Jesse "The Body" Ventura until the day I die... the rest did what they did.. Then fuck Hulk Hogan.
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u/rajde1 Jun 27 '25
Roddy piper was great in “they live”.
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u/oscarx-ray Jun 27 '25
Absolutely fuckin' smashed it in "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" as well.
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u/Major__de_Coverly Jun 27 '25
And Jesse in Predator.
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u/oscarx-ray Jun 27 '25
He was a god-damned sexual Tyrannosaurus in Predator, but The Running Man is my favourite.
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u/CorrickII Jun 28 '25
The Rock is very charming and entertaining when he's playing various versions of the Rock. But that's all. He is typecast to being literally himself. In fairness though, there are at least a few versions of himself.
I'd say Bautista has the most range. Cena is closer to the Rock than Bautista.
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u/Easy-Alfalfa-4961 Jun 27 '25
Oh cool another past about the rock being a bad actor. Totally unique opinion
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u/TheIronHaggis Jun 28 '25
People don’t hire the Rock to act. They hire him to be the Rock.