Last Updated on September 6, 2024
John Cena may have earned initial fame through wrestling. But the 16-time World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) world champion is probably most noted for his tremendous contribution to the film industry.
After making a name for himself in the ring, John Cena followed in the footsteps of fellow former wrestlers like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and George “Roddy Piper” Toombs by transitioning from wrestling to acting.
Cena made his cinematic debut in the 2000 comedy film Ready to Rumble. However, his breakout role came in 2006 when he starred in the WWE production The Marine.
Thanks to his exceptional performance in The Marine, it wasn’t long before Cena landed starring roles in subsequent Hollywood blockbusters. Here are the top 10 movies featuring John Cena.
10. Sisters (2015)
IMDB Rating: 6.0/10
Sisters follows adult siblings Kate (Tina Fey) and Maura Ellis (Amy Poehler) who are trying to come to terms with the fact that they’re about to leave their family home for good. Kate is an irresponsible single mom while Maura is a kindhearted nurse who’s recently divorced.
Kate and Maura’s parents decide to sell their home. They summon the siblings back to the house and ask them to clean out the junk from their old bedroom before the house can be sold. The sisters have only one weekend to do that.
Although Kate and Maura are unhappy with the news, they’re out of options. So, they plan to throw one final bash and invite their former classmates, ostensibly to rekindle their old memories.
Many of the invitees attend the bash. But as the party continues, Kate and Maura realize that their former classmates have matured enough and no longer fancy wild parties. Since the sisters invested so much into throwing this bash, they’re not about to let their guests leave.
They approach a guest named Dave (John Leguizamo) and asks him to invite his drug-dealing partner Pazuzu (John Cena) over so everyone can buy some weed. This ingenious plan works like a charm as more of Kate and Maura’s friends attend the party while those initially planning to leave stay put.
9. The Marine (2006)
IMDB Rating: 4.7/10
The Marine is unarguably John Cena’s breakout movie. In this sensational thriller, Cena portrays John Triton, a former US Marine who returns home from Iraq to news that his wife Kate (played by Kelly Carlson) has been kidnapped by a ruthless jewelry gang.
Apparently, Kate was kidnapped after she witnessed the gang committing a crime. So, the murderous criminals may be out to silence her for good.
Triton must employ all his military skills to track down the gang and rescue his wife before she can possibly be executed. But as he soon finds out, that quest won’t be as easy as he might have imagined.
8. The Reunion (2011)
IMDB Rating: 5.2/10
The Reunion centers on the life of Leo (Ethan Embry), Sam (John Cena), and Douglas (Boyd Holbrook) Cleary, three estranged siblings born to the same father but with different mothers.
The siblings’ father died a wealthy man. But before his death, he asked his daughter Nina (Amy Smart) to round up the three brothers in order to find out which one of them would inherit his fortune.
However, Sam, Leo, and Douglas are hit by a rude shock. Before they can claim their inheritance, they must team up and establish a business as bail bondsmen.
They agree, but their first assignment takes them all the way to Mexico where they encounter a swindler.
7. Blockers (2018)
IMDB Rating: 6.2/10
Three high school seniors named Julie Decker (Kathryn Newton), Kayla Mannes (Geraldine Viswanathan), and Sam (Gideon Adlon) plan to lose their virginity on prom night. However, their overprotective parents Lisa Decker (Leslie Mann), Mitchell Mannes (John Cena), and Hunter Lockwood (Ike Barinholtz) get wind of their daughter’s sinister plan and vow to stop it.
To prevent their daughters from pushing through with their plans, the parents join forces and embark on one of the most daunting quests of their life.
Although they’re joined together in a common mission, the parents also have their own problems to contend with. Lisa Decker is a single mom, Mitchell Mannes is a sports-obsessed dad, while Hunter Lockwood is an absentee divorced father.
6. 12 Rounds (2009)
IMDB Rating: 5.6/10
A New Orleans detective Danny Fisher (John Cena) foils a major heist. He does what any patriotic cop would do. But he’s unaware that his heroic deed is about to cost him big time.
The criminal’s girlfriend is accidentally killed. Determined to exact vengeance at all costs, the thief stages a successful prison break and kidnaps Fisher’s fiancée.
To save his girlfriend, Danny Fisher must complete 12 dangerous tasks and quizzes set up by his girlfriend’s captors. Should he fail to complete all twelve challenges, he’ll be forced to watch his sweetheart die.
5. Daddy’s Home (2015)
IMDB Rating: 6.2/10
This film pretty much revolves around Brad Whitaker (Will Farrell) and Dusty Mayro (Mark Wahlberg), with Roger (John Cena) only making a cameo appearance.
Brad is portrayed as a mild-mannered radio executive vying for the attention of his step-kids. Suddenly, the children’s biological father, a freewheeling, athletic Dusty returns.
Dusty immediately makes himself comfortable in Brad’s home. His children love him too and his ex-wife has no problem having him around. But this sudden turn of events makes Brad highly insecure. Before long, his insecurity develops into an inferiority complex.
Brad and Dusty are eventually able to get along. Dusty moves on and marries a divorced woman. A year later, he finds himself in the exact same position that Brad was in a year ago when his stepdaughter’s more athletic biological father, Roger, shows up.
4. The Wall (2017)
IMDB: 6.2/10
The Wall is a film about U.S military action in Iraq.
As the Iraq War comes to an end, U.S Army Staff Sergeant Shane Matthews (John Cena) and Sergeant Allen “Ize” Isaac (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) answer a distress call. Suddenly, Sergeant Matthews is shot by an Iraqi sniper nicknamed Juba (voiced by Laith Nakli).
Matthews is staring at death in the face. As Isaac attempts to come to his rescue, he also gets a bullet in his leg. In addition to suffering a gunshot wound, Isaac’s radio also gets damaged, making it difficult to request reinforcement. He takes cover behind a crumbling stone wall to tend to his wounds, leaving Mathews totally exposed.
Juba manages to get through to Isaac through an American channel, disguising himself as a high-ranking allied soldier. His deceptive tactics allow him to get more information about Matthew and Isaac’s mission, which he plans to use in gaining an undue advantage over the two soldiers.
3. Trainwreck (2015)
IMDB: 6.2/10
Trainwreck tells the story of a promiscuous men’s magazine columnist named Amy Townsend (Amy Schumer), whose insatiable sexual desires are motivated by her dad’s teachings that monogamy is unrealistic.
Although she prefers open relationships, Amy soon realizes that her life is still empty. While writing a profile about a successful sports doctor named Aaron Conners (Bill Hader), she finds herself falling in love for the first time.
Interestingly, Aaron also seems to like her. That makes Amy wonder whether it’s time to start pursuing a normal romantic relationship.
Trainwreck is another movie where John Cena plays a relatively minor but still highly influential role.
2. Bumblebee (2018)
IMDB Rating: 6.7/10
Bumblebee is set on the planet Cybertron, where the Autobot resistance is preparing to evacuate as they’re about to lose the civil war to an opposing faction, the Decepticons. The Autobot is led by Optimus Prime while the Decepticons is led by Starscream, Soundwave, and Shockwave.
But before the Autobot can evacuate from Cybertron, they’re intercepted by the Decepticons. Autobot scout B-127 is sent to Earth to set up an operations base where all the Autobot can regroup and restrategize when they finally make it to Earth.
However, B127 crash-lands in California, disrupting a training exercise of Sector 7, a covert US intelligence agency monitoring extraterrestrial activity on earth. What follows is a series of intrigues pitting the Autobot, the Decepticons, and US intelligence agencies charged with monitoring extraterrestrial activities.
1. Legendary (2010)
IMDB Rating: 6.2/10
This is another John Cena movie with familial ties as its underlying theme.
The movie documents the struggles of a delicate teenager (played by Devon Graye) who enrolls for his school’s wrestling team with the hope that his estranged brother (John Cena) will train him. His ultimate goal is to reunite his surviving troubled family members, who split up following his father’s death.
The boy sacrifices a lot to see his family back together. But he must face numerous setbacks before eventually succeeding in this noble mission.
Wrap Up
John Cena has successfully established himself among Hollywood A-listers. That explains why some of his best movies are those in which he merely made cameo appearances.
