I’m Desperately Waiting for Dwayne Johnson’s A24 Movie After Red One

The mixed response to Dwayne Johnson Red made me even more excited about his next film A24 The crushing machine. At this point in his acting career people have gotten used to what they can expect from a Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson moviewhich has provided millions of people with a safe choice to watch in the cinema or on various streaming services. Johnson’s latest film Red pairs him with another monolithic Hollywood actor, Chris Evans, who is also known for taking on more predictable roles following his departure from the MCU as Captain America.

The Red The cast also employs the acting talents of Lucy Liu, Bonnie Hunt and Oscar winner JK Simmons. Red has stunningly divided fans and critics following its theatrical release on November 15, 2024, leaving many people wondering who Red is ideal when considering your target audience. Like a light-hearted holiday comedy, The Red Rotten Tomatoes’ 33% critic score might not mean as much as Verified Hot Popcornmeter’s 90% score. The question I have is not so much about the quality of the Red like an action blockbuster. I’m more curious to know when Johnson will branch out into a more serious side of actingas he is expected to do with The crushing machine.

Red One is a lot like the movies Dwayne Johnson keeps making

Johnson has made safe and consistent choices in his projects for a long time

If I had to name one flaw about Redis that he adds yet another big-budget action film, full of A-list co-stars, to his already repetitive filmography. As an avid HBO fan PlayersI’ve been waiting for Johnson to return for a more serious role since the acclaimed series ended in 2019. There’s no doubt that Johnson has established one of the best-selling brand identities in Hollywood and has maintained it for some time alongside the likes of Kevin Hart and Tom Cruise. I certainly don’t mean to suggest that Johnson needs to remodel his image, but rather expand his talents into something more, in a word, different.

Red was designed as a crowd-pleaser, orchestrated around Johnson’s charismatic “gimmick,” which proved to be enjoyable and profitable time and time again. It’s part of the reason why your two Jumaji films have grossed more than $1.76 billion combined and why the Fast and Furious the films combine to be the eighth highest-grossing film franchise of all time. Based on his track record, there isn’t a single person in the industry asking Dwayne Johnson to be anything other than Dwayne Johnson. At a certain point, however, fans of Johnson’s more grounded and realistic projects, like me, will want to see him back in more dramatic rolesthat’s why The crushing machine I can’t get there soon.

The Crushing Machine Is the Dramatic Role Dwayne Johnson Needs

His partnership with Benny Safdie could earn him his first Oscar nomination

It appears that Johnson will take note of the Dave Bautista manual by doing something completely new and refreshing with The crushing machine. Bautista, like Johnson, rose to fame as a WWE superstar and primarily starred in big-budget action blockbusters such as Spectrum, Riddickand Guardians of the Galaxy before taking on some more dramatic roles like those seen in Blade Runner 2049 and Hit the booth. Bautista didn’t abandon big-budget blockbusters for good, but he expanded his filmography to increase and improve your range of work. Johnson is so big that he doesn’t need to change anything, but it’s very encouraging that he’s willing to do so in The crushing machine.

The crushing machine offers a welcome change for Johnson and something viewers have never seen before. He is set to play UFC champion and MMA fighter Mark Kerr in the true-story sports biopic alongside his Jungle Cruise co-star Emily Blunt. The crushing machine is Benny Safide’s first solo directorial effortwho directed Adam Sandler in Rough gems and Robert Pattinson in Good time with his older brother, Josh. Safdie is also an actor known for The Curse and Oppenheimer. It feels like two very separate cinematic worlds are colliding with Johnson starring in a Safdie film, which couldn’t come at a better time. Red.

How The Smashing Machine could change Dwayne Johnson’s film career

Johnson could be more comfortable in dramatic roles with complex characters

It’s probably no coincidence that Johnson signed on for a Benny Safide film after Rough gems helped legitimize Adam Sandler’s venture into more dramatic roles in recent years. After the release of Rough gems In 2019, nearly half of Sandler’s film roles were in dramas like 2022 Toil and 2024 Astronaut. Sandler was even up for a Best Actor nomination and was considered by some to be an affront for not being recognized.

With that said, Sandler still maintains his roots with the highly anticipated release of Happy Gilmore 2 while also playing dual dramatic roles with Safdie and writer/director Noam Baumbach. If Johnson’s role in The crushing machine is great and he is praised for his performance, his career could follow a similar trajectory to Sandler’s, meaning he could make fewer commercialized and stereotypical efforts like Red.