I imagine anyone would say that. John Cena, too.
The difference between Arnie and Johnson is that Schwarzenegger was willing to take orders from talented directors with their own vision - Cameron, Milius, McTiernan, Verhoeven, Reitman - while the Rock only works with hacks he can control.
I can’t address that. I only know what I see on screen.
Hollywood is full of actors that don’t take direction. Some of them have Oscars. Some never work again.
Just look at the directors I listed, and consider their other films, too. Has Johnson ever worked with anyone of their caliber? He could if he wanted to - he’s big enough to work with whoever he wants. But that would mean that the film wouldn’t be about him.
Just my theory.
Indeed:
In 2016, a Florida jury awarded Hogan over $115 million against Gawker Media, after Hogan sued them for posting a video of him having sex with his former best friend’s wife. The litigation led to the discovery that Hogan had used racial slurs in 2007 to describe his daughter’s Black ex-boyfriend.
“I am a racist, to a point,” Hogan said, before adding the slur against Black people, according to a transcript.
Stranger
Every racist is racist to a point.
I’m sure there are some well-rounded racists out there but many of them do seem to have odd ethnic fetishes or a soft spot for the neighbor that took them in when their father came into the house in a drunken rage. It’s really difficult to hate absolutely everyone with the same degree of unbridled passion.
Stranger
Those Klan hoods are pretty pointy.
Maybe. But the Dwayne Johnson films I’ve seen, I’ve mostly enjoyed, and I mostly thought he did a good job with his characters. Could he do better? Perhaps. But he’s definitely not a bad actor.
I haven’t seen them mentioned yet. Coco B Ware, Jake the Snake, The Honky Tonk Man, Ted DiBiase, The Red Rooster, and Ricky Steamboat are still kickin. Ricky Steamboat was a favorite of mine as a kid.
When I was a kid, I thought it was real. Those old CRT televisions did a wonder to help that illusion. I think it’s interesting that Hogan got me to start following WWF, but he’s also the reason I quite watching. Specifically, it was his match against Mr. Perfect in Saturday Night’s Main Event.
I hated Hogan’s “finishing move”. I was scripted almost the same way almost every single time. It usually started when he broke out from a pin that everyone was sure would end the match, and then he’d go into freak-out, invincible Hulk mode. The other wrestler would stupidly start punching him, and he’d Hulk out just a little bit more and more. Sometimes we’d get a finger wag before he’d block a punch, and then he’d go on this own punching spree with the crowd counting along. Then he’d throw his opponent off the rope and give him the big boot. Then Hogan would go off the rope and execute the leg drop and then the pin.
It was the longest finishing move in WWF history, and it was annoying. Sometimes, a heel would break off the Hulk out finishing move, and those matches would invariably end in some kind of disqualification so Hogan could keep his title.
But when he Hulked out after the perfect plex, that about did it for me.
My favorite character, though, was always Jesse Ventura. I used to watch a lot of the matches just to hear Jesse Ventura’s wisecracks.
I think Johnson is a passable actor who gets by because he has good comedic timing and a tremendous amount of charisma.
Which action directors do you think were their equivalents during Rocky’s career? It was a different entertainment ecosystem, I think.
It’s evident to my eyes and ears that Johnson’s a much better performer than Bollea could have ever been.
I think it’s fair to say that The Rock just plays The Rock same as Hulk just plays Hulk, but at the end of the day The Rock is still more likeable and charismatic than Hulk Hogan ever was.
Also, Johnson’s type of movies don’t really need a legendary director.
A lot of those guys are still working. Besides them, I don’t know - Chris Nolan? Chad Stahelski? Paul Greengrass? Doug Liman? James Gunn? Tarantino? Even Zack Snyder, who I dislike, would have made something more interesting than the Rock’s regular pics. Can you honestly tell me that any of his movies will ever be considered genre classics? Not fun flicks, not good Rock performances, but classics like Terminator or Predator..
To me, it’s no surprise that Johnson’s best movie, and the only one that even approaches classic status, was Moana - which not coincidentally, was the only film he ever made that forced him out of his comfort zone. I mean, he sang! He emoted! His character was a bit of a jerk! He’s never done anything like that since, and that’s too bad, because he could if he wanted to.
Hulk Hogan’s memorial thread turning into a discussion of Dwayne Johnson is just what the Hulkster would have wanted.
The best way I can put it is that he had the ego of Super Macho Man, the speaking skills of Muscle Power, and the reasoning ability of Bass Armstrong (along with the ethics and empathy of Wario).
Even in my most credulous, markish days, I never bought him as the face of wrestling. Just too polished, too scripted. All that preaching about vitamins and prayers and homework and respecting one’s parents didn’t jibe with me at all. And I honestly can’t remember a single genuinely great match he had. Even the epic double-title match with The Ultimate Warrior I remember because he lost his belt clean (something I found utterly unthinkable at the time), not anything he actually did in it. And then the Internet came along and I learned all the disgusting crap about him, that was the end of me giving a damn. The one overriding lesson I learned about his life and career is to never blindly follow the mainstream on anything, especially anything involving a rich guy with millions and millions of rabid supporters.
Hey, you know who’s a real American? The Korean or Chinese immigrant who arrives with the clothes on his back and 20 years later has a thriving business and a stable, loving family, that’s a real American. The activist who marches on the front lines to protest police brutality or the latest senseless gun massacre and risks becoming the next victim, that’s a real American. The executive who takes DEI and workplace safety seriously, pays his taxes in full without a word of complaint, and limits his salary so everyone can benefit from his company’s prosperity, that’s a real American. The ER surgeon who operates on a desperately poor black kid with zero insurance without hesitation, that’s a real American. The social worker who helps drug addicts, criminals, runaways, and failures get back on the road to respectability, that’s a real American.
Since you just mentioned him: at my most credulous and markish, yeah, Hogan getting the win upon ‘hulking up’ when a guy starts battering him to no effect — granted, maybe that was as impressive a finisher as, say, the Macho Man Randy Savage diving elbow-first off the top turnbuckle.
But looking at it with even a slightly more jaded eye: it’s obvious that, before lining up an elbow drop, Savage reacts to getting battered as if he’s getting battered, truly selling the idea that attacks on him are as real as they are devastating. Hogan, by comparison, would no-sell stuff by just — acting like someone is merely pretending to attack him?
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle might count. But it was an ensemble film, he didn’t carry it on his own. I haven’t seen the sequel but heard it was also really good.
You’re right that Rocky’s movies don’t compare to Arnold’s. Total Recall is a bonkers action flick and something Rocky would never do. It’s a shame, really.
He chose to be a Movie Star in an era where Movie Stars in general don’t make interesting movies. Shame.
Yup, the sequel was also good, in the same kind of cheesy way as the first one. And also provided an opportunity for the actors to show their diversity, through body-swapping (which is a cheesy plot device, but fun for actors).