John Cena made his big screen debut withThe Marine, but this stealth Arnold Schwarzenegger remake almost killed his movie career before it began. Like Dwayne Johnson before him,John Cena felt destined to become a movie star right from the start of his WWE career.
Nowadays, he’s the star ofHeads of State,Peacemakerand theFast & Furiousfranchise, butJohn Cena’s moviecareer once lookedveryuncertain. He was essentially pushed into making his 2006 debutThe Marine, an explosion-laden chase movie where he plays retired marine John Triton, who must rescue his kidnapped wife from diamond thieves.
Cena was cast after Stone Cold Steve Austin and Randy Orton both dropped out, and given Cena’s natural charisma as a wrestler, handing him an action vehicle felt inevitable. Sadly, it didn’t work in anybody’s favor, asThe Marinegrossed a tepid $22 million worldwide(viaThe Numbers).
Luckily, it arrived during a time when DVD sales gave even modest performers a boost, with the film earning an additional $27 million from home video sales. Still,The Marinewas critically panned(it sits at 17% onRotten Tomatoes), and did little to convince audiences Cena was a starin the making.
John Cena’s The Marine Is A Loose Remake Of Arnie’s Commando
“Somewhere, somehow, someone’s gonna pay!”
WhileThe Terminatorwas Arnold Schwarzenegger’s big breakthrough, it was 1985’sCommandothat cemented his stardom. This cast him as a retired Special Forces commando who has to rescue his kidnapped daughter and kill a LOT of people inbetween quips and puns.
WhileThe Marinescales down the puns and bodycount, it’s basically Cena’s take onCommando.Both films are virtually plotless exercises for their leading men to flex their muscles, make cheesy gags and run away from gigantic explosions. Both have great antagonists for their heroes, too, withCommandohaving Bennett (Vernon Wells) andThe Marinefeaturing Robert Patrick’s smarmy Rome.
Al Pacino was originally cast as Rome inThe Marine, but opted out when the studio tried to lower his salary.
The Marineis a fun, undemanding Wednesday night action flick, with occasional flashes of greatness. Still, it’s just not onCommando’slevel, where it’s rare for a scene to pass by without some outrageous gag or act of violence.With its PG-13 rating,The Marinefeels much tamer than its inspirationand suffers as a result.
Both The Marine And John Cena’s Follow-Up 12 Rounds Were Bombs
Cena also did his own take on Die Hard with a Vengeance
The Marinemay not have lost money, but it was far from the hit WWE hoped it would be. Cena’s next starring vehicle came with 2009’s12 Rounds, where he plays a cop whose wife is kidnapped by a vengeful arms dealer. To get her back, Cena’s Danny has to survive 12 deadly games the killer has created.
12 Rounds failed to recoup its $20 million production budget, and in the aftermath, Cena’s movie career appeared DOA.
12 Roundsis very much a riff onDie Hard with a Vengeance, which is something all the reviews picked up on.Cena felt more engaged with12 Roundsthan he did withThe Marine, but it still didn’t feel like he was having much funeither.
12 Roundsis another film that can be entertaining with some pizza and beer, but it borrows too much fromSpeedand theDie Hardfranchise to feel in any way original or unique. The movie also failed to recoup its $20 million production budget, and in the aftermath, Cena’s movie career appeared DOA.
John Cena Said He “Wasn’t Ready” For Movies When He Made The Marine
Cena really wanted to be in the ring while filming his debut
In a candid chat withHappy Sad Confused, Cena grew candid about his early movie failures.Cena claims that in 2009, “I was told I would never work in movies,“and that he had wasted his opportunity for movie stardom. He also claims to have “earned” that grim assessment and puts it down to missing being in the ring.
No, I didn’t like making movies, because I was a young man going from town to town and audiences went berserk and I could go around the world. I’d been to Moscow and Tokyo and Delhi and you name it, everywhere, and the same thing happens. Music hits, people go nuts, and 25 minutes later I’m like we’re gonna do it again tomorrow night, right?
In Cena’s mind, he was then “plucked” from the adrenaline rush of performing live and pushed to front films he didn’t want to make. “It was just that it found me at the wrong time in my life,” is how the wrestler explains it, asCena’s heart just wasn’t in the early movies he made.
That’s reflected in the aloof performances he gives in12 RoundsandThe Marine. He largely coasted on his larger-than-life persona without trying to dig into his characters. Of course, they were both pulpy action flicks, so there wasn’t much depth to start with - but it feels like the modern-day Cena would have atleasttried to find some.
John Cena’s Scene-Stealing Trainwreck Performance Saved His Movie Career
Cena went back to basics to revive his acting career
In the sameHappy Sad Confusedconversation, Cena admits he could have just made crappy, STV action movies coasting on his fame. He didn’t want to do that, though, and decided to give his acting career another shot. Cena thus avoided leading roles in favor of supporting parts to build his skills with the likes ofDaddy’s HomeandSisters.
The unlikely project that gave Cena a second shot wasTrainwreck, where he gave a hilarious supporting turn as one of Amy’s (Amy Schumer) love interests.Trainwreckgave Cena the chance to display his comic chops, which let audiences (and filmmakers) see him in a totally different way.
Considering how poorly his career was going around 2009, John Cena’s acting comeback is nothing short of miraculous.
This led him to movies likeBlockers,F9,The Suicide Squad, and beyond. Considering how poorly his career was going around 2009, Cena’s acting comeback is nothing short of miraculous. He’s had his share of duds since, like the long-delayedHidden Strikewith Jackie Chan orFreelance, but he’s had more hits than misses.
John Cena has also come a very long way sinceThe Marine, a movie he didn’t want to make, but the one that kickstarted his career regardless. It should be noted that the film received five sequels - but Cena missed out on them all.
The Marine
Cast
The Marine is an action film featuring John Cena as a recently discharged Marine whose wife is kidnapped by diamond thieves. Released on August 17, 2025, the film follows his relentless pursuit through the South Carolinian wilderness to rescue her from the criminals.
Commando
Commando is a 1985 action movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as John Matrix, a retired special forces soldier who sets out to rescue his daughter from a group of mercenaries. Alyssa Milano, Vernon Wells, Bill Duke, Rae Dawn Chong, and Dan Hedaya round out the rest of the cast.
