9 times Dwayne Johnson proved he’s the biggest badass in movies

JOE

Brought to you by Warner Bros.

Can you smell what The Rock is cooking?

In more ways than one, Dwayne Johnson is unquestionably the biggest movie star in the world. There’s the fact that he seems to always have at least 10 films in production at any given time (actually it’s 13 according to his IMDB at the time of writing).

He’s consistently one of the very top paid and top grossing actors in the world.

Also, he is friggin’ enormous… literally.

the rock power GIF by Baywatch Movie

But you don’t reach the top by simply packing on the pounds. Just look at how many other wrestlers have attempted the transition to the big screen. None have come as far as the artist formerly known as The Rock.

Not content with pitting himself against other imposing human beings, Johnson has turned his attention to oversized animals in his latest cinematic effort, Rampage.

In honour of this latest dollop of Johnson goodness, we’ve combed through his previous work to find moments that prove that giant crocodiles and flying wolves are no match for the man who bills himself as the People’s Champion.

Extreme frisbee – Welcome to the Jungle

Clip via Movieclips

Having kicked off his acting career playing The Scorpion King (the less said about that, the better), Johnson got things back on track with this underrated gem.

Bounty hunter Beck is tasked with recovering Sean William Scott’s Travis from a mining town in Brazil. Before we get to that though, we see him take down a nightclub full of NFL players. The pièce de résistance being the moment he flings a record turntable across the room like a frisbee in order to apprehend his man. Welcome to the movies, Dwayne!

Trashing the casino – Walking Tall

Clip via Movieclips

When you’re an army vet, determined to clean up your hometown, sometimes a massive plank of wood is all you need. There’s a fair amount of pleasure to be taken from watching Johnson go to town on some bad guys with a 4×4.

There goes my hero – The Other Guys

Clip via Movieclips

The Other Guys does a good job of playing up to certain expectations we have of Johnson, before bringing them crashing to the ground quite literally.

While he’s not able to fly, he can certainly fall with style…

“Fucking Centaurs” – Hercules

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jnpcCZRtKk

Clip via John Trevor

With a physique that looks like it was carved by Michelangelo himself, it was only a matter of time before Dwayne took on the role of a Greek god. If your only exposure to Hercules is the Disney movie, you’re in for something entirely different here.

During the film’s climax, Hercules leads his forces against the armies of John Hurt’s evil Lord Cotys.

When a film is aiming for a PG-13 rating in the States, it’s usually allowed a single f-bomb during its runtime. It’s sometimes used to great effect, as in X-Men: First Class. Dwayne gets an equally cool f-bomb here. We’ll let the clip speak for itself.

Singing in the shower – Central Intelligence

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMIWthiVD-o

Clip via Matthew Ball

It takes a big man to make fun of himself to this extent.

Bob Stone is a CIA agent, a lethal weapon, “Jason Bourne in jorts.” He doesn’t start out that way though. We get a glimpse of his past as an overweight teen with a penchant for singing in the shower.

This wasn’t Johnson’s first time flexing his comedy muscles. In fact, most of his roles have a strain of humour running through them. But this is one of the more self-deprecating examples in the big man’s filmography.

You’re welcome – Moana

Clip via DisneyMusicVEVO

He can sing too!

Kicking a torpedo – The Fate of the Furious

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxjvKfaAoqk

Clip via Filmic Box

In Superman The Movie, Supes alters the course of a missile mid-flight. In Fast 8, Luke Hobbs does pretty much the same thing.

As far as we know, Hobbs is not an extra-terrestrial being who gets his strength from Earth’s yellow sun. What we do know is that he’s played by Dwayne Johnson. Which is just as plausible a reason to believe he’s capable of such a feat.

Jailbreak – Fate of the Furious

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rV4W4rrlIrw

Clip via Filmic Box

Johnson was introduced to the Fast franchise for the fifth instalment. It’s no coincidence that this is when the series really kicked into gear (pun intended).

Having tossed people about to great success in both Fast Five and Six, he found himself sidelined for much of number Seven. It made very little sense to keep the series’ MVP in a hospital bed.

Luckily, the filmmakers saw the light for Fast Eight, giving Johnson at triple the screen time. That’s why this list contains two moments from the film. Hobbs teams up with The Stath to beat their way out of prison. Nuff said.