Dwayne Johnson's 10 best and 10 worst movies, according to critics

While the former pro-wrestler commands a huge paycheck, not all of his movies have been critical darlings.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 37%

This Netflix movie stars Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot. At first, viewers think that an art thief named Nolan Booth (Reynolds), has teamed up with FBI profiler John Hartley (Johnson) to capture Booth's rival Sarah Black (Gadot), but all is not what it seems.

As of December 2023, "Red Notice" was Netflix's most-watched movie, with 454.2 million hours watched.

"'Red Notice' is limp and dull, and does more to showcase the shortcomings of each of its marquee idols than it does to highlight their bankable charisma," wrote Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 33%

In the world of "Red One," a military organization known as MOAR (Mythological Oversight and Restoration Authority) makes sure that humans and mythological creatures, like Santa Claus, live peacefully. But when Santa (JK Simmons) is kidnapped, one of MOAR's best agents, Callum Drift (Johnson), is forced to team up with Jack O'Malley (Chris Evans), a hacker on the Naughty List, to find him.

"We all need a little Christmas now, but not this cynical cash grab faking it as holiday fun. The mind boggles that it cost $250 million to produce a big, bloated fiasco about Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans saving kidnapped Santa (JK Simmons). Bah, humbug," wrote Peter Travers of ABC News.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 30%

"Be Cool" is a sequel to the 1995 film "Get Shorty." After the events of "Get Shorty," mobster turned filmmaker Chili Palmer (John Travolta) decides to leave the movie industry behind and instead turns to music.

Johnson plays Elliot Wilhelm, a bodyguard and aspiring actor who also happens to be gay, and is the subject of many homophobic jokes that wouldn't fly today.

"The movie feels more like a cavalcade of personalities than anything resembling a story," wrote Salon's Stephanie Zacharek.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 29%

"Retaliation" is the sequel to 2009's "GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra." Johnson takes over as the franchise's lead after Duke (the first film's main character, played by Channing Tatum) is killed in a raid early in the film.

"As to be expected, Johnson actually imbues his character with some humanity, but in the cacophony that is this movie, this doesn't really amount to much," wrote Louis Black for the Austin Chronicle.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 29%

In "The Game Plan," Johnson stars as Joe Kingman, a football player (and playboy) whose bachelor lifestyle is turned on its head after he finds out he has an 8-year-old daughter.

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian called this movie "a barf-inducer. A hurl-promoter. A projectile-vomit-stimulator."

Rotten Tomatoes score: 27%

"Walking Tall" stars Johnson as Chris Vaughn Jr., an Army veteran who returns to his hometown and discovers it's been overrun with corruption. So, he decides to become the sheriff and clean up the town himself.

"'Walking Tall' actually underserves its star, who is better than schlocky material like this would lead you to believe," wrote Michael O'Sullivan for The Washington Post.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 23%

In this animated film, Johnson voices an astronaut, Chuck Baker, who discovers Planet 51 while on a mission and is surprised to find it inhabited by aliens who think he's a scary alien going to take over the planet.

Perri Nemiroff wrote for CinemaBlend that the movie is "so inane that not only is adult enjoyment unattainable, even younger audiences will be on to its lack of intelligence and novelty."

Rotten Tomatoes score: 18%

Yes, this is the film in which Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson plays the Tooth Fairy. He's roped into the job after he steals a $1 bill that had been left under his stepdaughter Tess' pillow for the actual Tooth Fairy.

"Basically, if you've seen the ads, you've seen the only joke in this one-joke movie, although there are also endless groan-worthy gags about wings and teeth," wrote the New York Post's Lou Lumenick.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 18%

"Doom" is based on the video-game series of the same name, in which a team of space Marines is sent to Mars to deal with a mysterious threat. Johnson plays the leader of the squad, Sarge.

"The Rock's ungainly performance is somewhat alleviated by Karl Urban as a crew member and Rosamund Pike as his twin sister, a doctor on the project," wrote the Chicago Reader's JR Jones.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 18%

The other worst film of Johnson's career, at least according to critics, is "Baywatch," a movie reboot of the '90s series of the same name. In it, Johnson costars with Zac Efron as lifeguards for Emerald Bay Beach in Florida who become entangled in a conspiracy to "privatize the beach."

"The 'Baywatch' reboot is mildly diverting but altogether dull. Summer fun shouldn't feel like such a chore," wrote K. Austin Collins for The Ringer.

Almost all of these movies, in addition to being critical successes, were huge hits at the box office, as well.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 71%

In "Central Intelligence," Johnson and Kevin Hart play two friends from high school who reunite 20 years later to bring down a terrorist, with Johnson playing CIA agent Bob Stone and Hart playing forensic accountant Calvin Joyner.

"Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart give 'Central Intelligence' all the charisma they can, and through their combined sheer force of will, this comedy works," wrote Chesapeake Family Magazine's Roxana Hadadi.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 71%

Johnson makes his second appearance as DSS agent Luke Hobbs in "Fast & Furious 6." This time, instead of chasing Dominic Toretto and the rest of the family, Hobbs asks them to help him track a new terrorist, Owen Shaw.

"Just as the plot threatens to run out of gas, [director Justin] Lin rescues the film with a spate of vastly ridiculous and therefore enjoyable set-pieces, most of which involve means of conveyance designed to make the cars look puny," wrote Anthony Lane for The New Yorker.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 72%

Johnson and Hart teamed up again to voice super-powered pets Krypto (Superman's dog) and Ace (Batman's dog), respectively, in "DC League of Super-Pets."

"[Director and writer Jared] Stern and co-writer John Whittington's clever script is engaging enough for children to enjoy, and even funny enough for adults to emit the occasional chuckle," wrote Susannah Gruder for IndieWire.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 72%

"Jumanji: The Next Level" is technically the third film in the "Jumanji" series, but is more a direct sequel to "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle."

In this film, our heroes are once again sucked into the video-game version of "Jumanji," but this time with two senior citizens, played by Danny DeVito and Danny Glover. Johnson plays one of the playable avatars in the game, Xander "Smolder" Bravestone.

"The action is fun enough, but I could watch Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, and Jack Black play with the body swap concept for hours," said Perri Nemiroff in a video review for Collider.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 77%

"Welcome to the Jungle" was ruled slightly better than its successor by critics. This film is a classic body-swap comedy set in the world of "Jumanji": Four high schoolers (a jock, a nerd, a cheerleader, and a bookworm) are sucked into "Jumanji" and are turned into avatars played by Hart, Johnson, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan.

"Beneath the action-packed game is another story, one about kids learning to come to terms with who they are and to value the differences in others. So there is educational value in this holiday film," wrote The Australian's Stephen Romei.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 78%

Johnson joined the "Fast" franchise in "Fast Five" as DSS agent Luke Hobbs who makes it his mission to track escaped convict Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his family across Rio de Janeiro. But by the end, he learns that Dom and the rest of the crew aren't so bad.

"If you can overlook the collateral casualty count racked up in the wildly excessive car-chase sequences, that spirit of boyish enthusiasm can be infectious," wrote Dana Stevens for Slate.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 79%

In "The Other Guys," Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson had cameo roles as superstar cops who die at the beginning of the film after jumping off a building, mistakenly thinking they'd survive.

Empire's James White wrote that the film "skewers the action genre while also finding room for sheer madness."

Rotten Tomatoes score: 82%

This wrestling documentary was Johnson's first on-screen appearance, though he has a small part. The documentary mainly focuses on Mick Foley, Terry Funk, and Jake Roberts.

"A gently and genuinely observed film whose subject is a garish, artificial display of mayhem," wrote Robert Koehler for Variety.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 82%

This time, Hobbs is a full-fledged member of the family and helps the rest of the crew take down a new threat, Mose Jakande (Djimon Hounsou), who wants to use a mysterious tracking algorithm called God's Eye to take over the world.

"'Furious 7' is respectful, even solemn, when it needs to be, but is still, thank God, plenty of crazy fun," wrote Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%

Johnson plays himself in "Fighting With My Family," which is based on the real-life wrestler Saraya Bevis, played by Florence Pugh. The film documents Bevis' first foray into professional wrestling and the challenges she overcame.

"Though it's set in the world of wrestling, 'Fighting With My Family' can be understood by anyone who has ever wanted anything intensely, which is everybody," wrote Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 95%

Johnson's best film, thus far, is the Disney animated film "Moana." In "Moana," he voices Maui, a shapeshifting demigod who reluctantly teams up with Moana, the daughter of a Polynesian chieftain, to save her island.

"Great fun. A traditional Disney Princess film but with a little more depth to it, being about personal discovery and bravery," said the BBC's Victoria Luxford.