It’s official. WWE superstar The Rock has become Hollywood’s new action hero. His predecessor officially crowned him in the opening minutes of his new movie, The Rundown. While entering a club, The Rock passes by Arnold Schwarzenegger who tells him, “Have fun.” Schwarzenegger was on his way out, both physically and metaphorically, while Miami’s own Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was on his way in.

The Rundown, which opened on September 24, is an action/comedy with an all-star cast. Beck (The Rock) is a retrieval expert whose one last job is to go deep into an Amazon jungle gold mine and return safely with Travis Walker (Seann William Scott). Along the way he crosses paths with Hatcher (Christopher Walken), the town’s tyrannical leader, and the rebels that oppose him, led by Mariana (Rosario Dawson).

“The first time I read it, I fell in love with the story,” The Rock told the press (including the UP) after a recent screening of the film. “It was a very easy story – a simple story to follow.”

In regards to his upcoming projects, The Rock also acknowledged that choosing the right script is no easy task. “It’s hit or miss a lot of times,” he said. “I love Ben [Affleck] to death, but Gigli…(laughs). It could happen like that.”

Considering that the last time The Rock had a starring role (The Scorpion King), box-office records were broken, it’s probably safe to say that The Rundown will not be a disaster, especially not one of Giglic proportions.

His biggest advantage right now is that critics and fans have all seen a major improvement in his acting ability. “Peter [Berg] was almost like having a really good acting coach on set every day with me,” The Rock said, “and having my best interests in mind…plus, we really get along well; we’ve really become best of friends.”

The Rock credits much of the film’s success to Berg, but also enjoyed working with his high-profile co-stars. “Acting-wise, a scene that I really liked was the scene with myself and Christopher Walken,” he said. “It establishes how the hunt and the chase will begin.”

As for Walken himself, The Rock said, “How he is in the film is pretty much how he is. He talks that way, in that certain rhythm and pitch.” Laughing, he added, “I didn’t know he was in Gigli. He’s a sweetheart of a guy.”

Making the transition from seven-time WWE champion to silver-screen celebrity was not necessarily a taxing one. “Physically, coming from that background of wrestling helped me throw a punch and take a punch in the theatrics of wrestling and really exaggerating movements,” he said.

Showing once again that this film’s star is a big tough guy with a soft spot, The Rock said he’s learned a lesson after working with Berg and Walken. “As long as whatever it is, is said from here,” he said as he drew invisible circles around his heart, “this is instinctively my honest-to-God feeling . . . then it’s real and it cannot be wrong.”

Overall, the interaction between the characters makes this film an enjoyable experience, despite some minor flaws in the plot and poor editing. For example, Beck’s connection to his employer is never revealed. All we know is that Beck owes him big for some horrible past misdeed.

“That’s back story we haven’t explained,” The Rock said. “Maybe in part two.” Luckily, the movie is so much fun that nobody seemed to mind the little bits of missing information.

Next up for The Rock is Walking Tall, a remake of the 1973 film of the same name. Jackass’s Johnny Knoxville will also star in the drama, which is based on the life of Buford Pusser, a small-town sheriff whose only goal is to rid his town of its sinners via 2 X 4. Don’t expect this one to be funny though. If The Rock is going to elevate himself to true Schwarzenegger status, he must next work on being taken seriously.