# New movie staring WWE star... John Cena?!? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 1, 2006, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-staring-wwe-star-john-cena/374810 "2006-10-01T05:05:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2006, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-staring-wwe-star-john-cena/374810/1 "2006-10-01T05:05:54Z")
And apparently, he’s just not any Marine, [he’s THE Marine.](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0419946/) I have serious doubts about this movie, and all I’ve seen is part of the TV ad and the IMDB publicity stills. Cena IS athletic and good-looking, but he also certainly seems a little… cold, as far as facial expressions go. Sorta like Dolph Lundgren and Steven Seagal - you can’t imagine any of these guys smiling. The Rock at least has some personal charisma and humor to him. Whaddya all think? ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2006, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-staring-wwe-star-john-cena/374810/2 "2006-10-01T06:11:52Z")
The director is a newcomer (I probably shouldn’t hold that against him though), one of the writers has a writing credit on **Left Behind** (that god-awful Kirk Cameron movie) and **Halloween 4** , and one of the executive producers is Vince McMahon. That doesn’t exactly instill me full of hope that it’ll be oscar worthy. I just watched the trailer and, frankly, it looks like a rip-off of any Schwarzenegger movie as the plot is dead simple and it had dialogue that any 1980’s Schwarzenegger movie would be proud of. This movie has the potential to be really unintentionally funny. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2006, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-staring-wwe-star-john-cena/374810/3 "2006-10-01T06:46:42Z")
[QUOTE=Leaper] Whaddya all think? [/QUOTE] Vince McMahon should really stick to wrestling. The WBF and XFL were both abject failures and I imagine WWE Films won’t fare any better if this, _[See No Evil](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1158185-see_no_evil/)_, and the upcoming _[The Condemned](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443473/)_ and _[Jornada del muerto](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0380466/)_ are indicative of what they’re going to be producing. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2006, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-staring-wwe-star-john-cena/374810/4 "2006-10-01T06:58:10Z")
[QUOTE=Aesiron] Vince McMahon should really stick to wrestling. The WBF and XFL were both abject failures and I imagine WWE Films won’t fare any better if this, _[See No Evil](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1158185-see_no_evil/)_, and the upcoming _[The Condemned](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443473/)_ and _[Jornada del muerto](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0380466/)_ are indicative of what they’re going to be producing. [/QUOTE] _See No Evil_ seems to have done pretty well, as cheesy horror flicks go. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2006, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-staring-wwe-star-john-cena/374810/5 "2006-10-01T07:13:45Z")
Has it? I don’t know a single person that has seen it so I honestly have no idea how it was popularly received and looking at it at boxofficemojo, it’s grossed $15M on a $8M budget. Would that enough to recoup its merchandising, advertising, and distribution costs? ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2006, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-staring-wwe-star-john-cena/374810/6 "2006-10-01T13:04:50Z")
That’s the guy who was on MAD TV last night, right? I watched a little bit and was wondering who the heck he was. I thought he was one of the Wahlbergs. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2006, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-staring-wwe-star-john-cena/374810/7 "2006-10-01T13:27:20Z")
[QUOTE=Rodgers01] I thought he was one of the Wahlbergs. [/QUOTE] That’s just the Boston accent. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2006, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-staring-wwe-star-john-cena/374810/8 "2006-10-01T14:30:39Z")
[QUOTE=Aesiron] Has it? I don’t know a single person that has seen it so I honestly have no idea how it was popularly received and looking at it at boxofficemojo, it’s grossed $15M on a $8M budget. Would that enough to recoup its merchandising, advertising, and distribution costs? [/QUOTE] Saw it. Too pointlessly gory and such…very SAW-like. Interestingly, the star, Glen Jacobs, actually pulls off some characterization as the killer. Nothing immense, but a dusting of potential. Not worth seeing unless you really want to see a “mainstream” Gregory Dark’s film. Also, The Rundown starring The Rock was pretty darn good for a brainless actioner. I guess it’s just dependent on which wrestler you pick. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2006, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-staring-wwe-star-john-cena/374810/9 "2006-10-01T17:57:42Z")
[QUOTE=Leaper] Cena IS athletic and good-looking, but he also certainly seems a little… cold, as far as facial expressions go. [/QUOTE] The first few times I saw the ad I thought Robert Patrick, of Terminator 2 and X-Files fame (I think it’s him), was the star because he was the one on screen doing all the talking in the promos. If the supposed “star” of the flim doesn’t even have the charisma to sell the movie in 20-30 second promos I don’t think it bodes well for the film. Marc ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2006, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-staring-wwe-star-john-cena/374810/10 "2006-10-01T18:08:37Z")
[QUOTE=Love Rhombus] Also, The Rundown starring The Rock was pretty darn good for a brainless actioner. I guess it’s just dependent on which wrestler you pick. [/QUOTE] As mentioned, The Rock has some charisma. John Cena has the acting range of a UniSol. I predict the most ridiculous athlete to actor transition since Brian Bosworth or Howie Long (although I do find Stone Cold mindlessly entertaining). ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2006, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-staring-wwe-star-john-cena/374810/11 "2006-10-01T19:36:13Z")
[QUOTE=Love Rhombus] Saw it. Too pointlessly gory and such…very SAW-like. Interestingly, the star, Glen Jacobs, actually pulls off some characterization as the killer. Nothing immense, but a dusting of potential. Not worth seeing unless you really want to see a “mainstream” Gregory Dark’s film. Also, The Rundown starring The Rock was pretty darn good for a brainless actioner. I guess it’s just dependent on which wrestler you pick. [/QUOTE] The Rundown was AWESOME – a great and surprisingly funny action-adventure buddy movie. It helped that The Rock had a strong supporting cast: Sean William Scott as the goofy buddy, Rosario Dawson as the girl, the always-fantastic Christopher Walken as the villain, and Ewen Bremner (Spud from Trainspotting) in a small comic relief role. But The Rock is a fantastic screen presence who can be naturally charming and funny and kick a lot of ass as well.