The Rock pays tribute to Brendan Fraser for helping launch his Hollywood career

Dwayne Johnson has thanked Brendan Fraser for helping him launch his Hollywood career.

A teary Fraser recently received a six-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival after his film The Whale got a great reception from viewers.

James Mottram wrote for South China Morning Post: "This is a transcendent, triumphant film. Without doubt, the Oscar race has begun and Aronofsky and Fraser are at the head of the queue."

The Playlist's Jack King said: "What The Whale boasts in abundance — in this riveting study of a deeply broken man, suffocated by nine years of self-immolation — is a rare and deep compassion, elevated by Brendan Fraser’s transformative turn."

Robert Ruggio from AwardsWatch said: "The Whale wouldn’t be as effective if it wasn’t for the incredible lead performance given by Brendan Fraser...and I don’t think anyone could have played Charlie the way Fraser did."

The Next Big Picture's Tom O'Brien said: "The fact that Fraser is so good in the role and that Aronofsky is so skilled at shaping the performance combine to make The Whale a uniquely powerful film experience."

Collider's Brian Formo wrote: "It is inorganic, gimmicky, manipulative, and its lessons are simplistic. As a character, Charlie remains mostly a body. He has a kindness to him, but this role is mostly to react to the wants and needs of others."

TheWrap's Ben Croll thought: "Most of the fatalism comes from a heavy-handed style that sees this closed world as a closed circuit, a place for figurative characters to come and express what they Represent. And then to come back the next day and do it again."

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