It should come as no surprise that Race to Witch Mountain, starring The Rock, is the number-one film in America right now. Disney? Check. Little white kids? Check. Steroid-enhanced Hunky action star playing nice for the family? Check. That's box-office money straight to the bank, word to Curtis.
Your boy Dwayne isn't the first (or last) action star to turn his testosterone level down a notch to cash in on a crowd-pleasing family flick. After all, dumb action movies and inane kiddie films require about the same minimal level of acting ability. With that in mind, we thought there were at least a few Hollywood tough guys who haven't fully realized their box-office potential as PG-rated stars. Check out our wish list of family movies starring action stars below...
Star: TONY JAA
Title: Ong-Bak to School
Tagline: "They made fun of his broken English. They left with broken bones."
Plot: In real life, Tony Jaa can't speak English. So it's only right for him to play Alak, a Thai immigrant who moves to his distant cousin's house in L.A. and enters the local high school as an ESL student. After hearing one too many "Me-Chinese" jokes, he unleashes his high-flying Muay Thai abilities to show them who truly runs shit.
Star: EARL "DMX" SIMMONS
Title: One More Bus to Drive
Tagline: "The kids drove him up the wall. Now he has to drive them to safety."
Plot: X plays Todd, a school bus driver who found his job through Candid (played by Karrine Steffans), his childhood crush. When Todd and Candid begin dating, Candid's psycho ex Steve (Ja Rule) starts catching feelings. One winter morning, Steve engages Todd and his school bus full of kids on a dangerous high-speed chase. Will Todd's magic school bus survive?
Star: JASON STATHAM
Title: The Protector
Tagline: "He's got your daughter's back. Pause."
Plot: Jason Statham plays Pierre, a secret agent from the MI-6. He gets sent to a private academy in Wales to protect Cynthia, the daughter of a former British prime minister. When the members of the opposing party send assassins to murder Cynthia, Pierre and the girls of the academy must fight back with full force (and loads of barely-legal shots of barely-legal school girls).
Star: JOHN CENA
Title: Rumble with the Dog
Tagline: "Sometimes two species are simply better than one."
Plot: A world famous K9 gets saved by the daughter of a mild mannered gym trainer, Michael (played by John Cena). Soon, he realizes the dog's inner potential as a certified fighter. As the dog and Michael watch Ready to Rumble on TNT, they decide to form an inter-species tag team-wrestling duo. But when a local pro athlete/dog-fighting enthusiast named Vikel Mick plots to kidnap the dog, all hell breaks loose.
OLD SCHOOL BONUS!
Star: STEVEN SEAGAL
Title: Karate Polar Bear (animated)
Tagline: "This dude is cold."
Plot: Seagal is the voice of Kohei, one of the last surviving members from the polar bear clan. He enters the annual karate competition for the title of "Undefeated of the East" and to repossess the northern property taken away by the monkey clan.
