John Cena has probably been in better movies than 2006's The Marine, but I don’t care. It will likely always be my favorite movie of his.
Which is interesting, right? Because among Dwayne Johnson, Dave Bautista, and John Cena, I actually hold Cena in pretty high regard when it comes to wrestlers-turned-actors. Take the recent movie, Heads of State, for instance, which we gave a really good review. I would say that it's an objectively “better” movie than The Marine.
However, “better” doesn't necessarily mean I'll like it more. For example, critics will say Citizen Kane is better than Big Trouble in Little China, which I've rewatched endlessly, but I'll watch BTILC over Kane any day of the week. (Though I LIKE the latter!) So, here's why I adore Cena's first film.
The Marine Is Gleefully Ridiculous, And Revels In It
Do you know what's ridiculous? Professional wrestling. So, it makes little wonder that WWE Studios Inc. (formerly WWE Films) would produce a film like The Marine. Prior, they focused on movies starring The Rock, such as Walking Tall, and The Rundown, which is one of Dwayne Johnson's best movies.
For 2006, the company experimented a little bit, and made two movies. One was the horror flick, See No Evil, starring Kane, and the other was the Cena-led The Marine, which is about a discharged Marine whose wife is kidnapped, and he has to rescue her.
That's it. There's nothing deep about it. In fact, it's no deeper than what you might find in a typical WWE storyline. Cena has a certain set of skills, and he uses them against bad guys. In the opening scene, he could wait for reinforcements at an Al-Qaeda hideout, but then, all of the hostages would be beheaded.
What does he do? He goes in, guns-a-blazing, (Arrrgghh!!!) and saves the day. Guess what? The whole movie is like this! It's all gleefully ridiculous, and I love it with my full heart and soul.
The Action In It Is Really Intense
Another reason why I prefer this to other Cena movies is because the action in this one is really intense, like the car chase scene where Cena uses a bullet proof vest to deflect gunfire. Or, what about the fight in the meth lab where he is literally doing wrestling moves against a guy who's way bigger than him?
I just love this about the film, as it prioritizes action over anything else. Forget logic, or the fact that putting a bulletproof vest in front of your face isn't going to save your life. If it's cool, it's in this movie, and this movie is very cool.
Plus, it's not like Cena hasn't been in other enthralling action flicks. Like, I love him as Peacemaker in The Suicide Squad. As somebody who has been a loyal Fast & Furious fan since the very beginning (though, I consider Tokyo Drift to be peak Fast & Furious), his inclusion in the series as Dom’s estranged brother elevated the 9th and 10th movies for me.
Even so, I still can’t get over the action here. I think it might be because the star is usually in ensemble pictures these days, whereas The Marine and 12 Rounds (which also rules), are almost entirely carried by Cena. But, out of those two films, I prefer the former because the action never lets up for a single second. It’s just so cool!
You Can Tell Cena Was Hungry To Get Into Show Business When You Watch It
Here’s another interesting thing about his film career. He may be getting more ensemble pieces than leading roles these days, but I think this has actually boosted his cred more than if he had stuck with doing films like The Marine. After this one, there were actually five other movies in this franchise (mostly starring The Miz) that went straight to DVD and Blu-Ray.
Even so, you can tell that Cena was hungry to get into acting when he made this movie, because there’s an intensity here that you don’t really see in any of his other films. Now, yes, that might be because intensity is what was called for in the role.
Shots of him running full speed at enemies and lifting them up is reminiscent of what you’d see him do in the wrestling ring. However, I just get a feeling that Cena was trying to prove himself as an actor when he made this film.
By 2006, The Rock had made a few films, but the history of wrestlers-turned-actors wasn’t anything to boast about. Hulk Hogan had been in films like Rocky III and No Holds Barred, but those really played upon his wrestling persona. The Rock had fared better, but even he at this point seemed to lean more on being “The Rock” than Dwayne Johnson, the movie star. So, The Marine feels like Cena is trying to branch out from being just a wrestler, and I appreciate it for that reason.
Robert Patrick Is Always A Good Villain
Few movies have impacted me more than Terminator 2: Judgment Day. I mean, just the opening scene alone is worth the price of admission. In fact, when I first saw the movie at the tender age of 8, I remember being wowed by it, but also utterly terrified because of one actor, and his name is Robert Patrick.
As the terrifying T-1000, Patrick stole every scene he was in. Though he was much smaller than Arnold Schwarzenegger, he was several times more intimidating. That’s the power of Robert Patrick. Well, he’s also the main antagonist in The Marine, and he plays the gang leader, Rome.
Now, Rome is the kind of guy who can wear a suit and tie, but also walk out to the White Zombie song, “More Human Than Human,” and it feels completely legit. He’s also the kind of guy who has underlings who carry around rocket launchers and blow up police vehicles. In short, he’s a really bad dude.
At the same time, he’s got a great sense of humor. He’ll smirk while blowing up a building, but then comically frown when he realizes that the Marine escaped just before the building exploded.
My favorite part of the movie is when Cena is chasing him in a car, and one of Rome’s subordinates comments on how The Marine is like The Terminator, to which Patrick glances in the rearview mirror as a nod to his former character. In short, Patrick is a stellar villain, and he's a highlight of this film.
It's A Great Time Capsule Of Early 2000s Action Movies
Lastly, this is an amazing time capsule for the early 2000s, which is one of my favorite time periods when it comes to action movies. For example, take the Crank movies (my favorite Jason Statham franchise). These flicks were straight up balls to the wall action, and they still kick ass to this very day.
Well, I'd also put a movie like The Marine in that category, since they honestly don’t make action flicks like this anymore. I love the John Wick movies, but they're…I don't know. Too slick? Too…dare I say, artsy?
The Marine, like a lot of action movies from the early 2000s, was super shaggy. They were almost a return to form to the ‘80s action movies where big dudes with muscles laid waste to other big dudes, and I like to rewatch a film like this to take me back to that time period.
What do you think? Do you also love this 2006 John Cena gem? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
