Wrestling fans and filmgoers alike know that The Rock doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to choosing movie roles. Given his muscle-bound physique and grappling background, the man otherwise known as Dwayne Johnson is obviously suited for certain types of characters. And in recent years, he has gradually started to find roles in the Fast & Furious and G.I. Joe franchises that not only utilize his physical appearance, but also allow him to capitalize on his verbal skills. But if you thought government agents and action figures were the roles The Rock was born to play, just wait until you see him adorned in loincloth and armor as the titular character in Hercules.

The story of Hercules is the stuff of legend, having been recounted numerous times since the son of Zeus was born to a mortal mother so long ago. But the twist with Hercules is that it’s never clear how much of his legend is true and how much of it is myth. After slaying the nine-headed Hydra, besting the Erymanthian Boar, laying waste to the Nemean Lion with his bare hands and completing other laborious tasks, Hercules is now a sought-after warrior willing to carry out other adventures for the right price.

Despite what legends say, however, he is not alone in his battles. Aiding in the cause are Autolycus (Rufus Sewell), the Amazon Atalanta (Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, who appears to have some of Nicole Kidman‘s DNA), the mute and animalistic Tydeus (Aksel Hennie) and the prophet warrior Amphiaraus (Ian McShane), with Hercules’ nephew Iolaus (Reece Ritchie) being the carnival barker responsible for perpetuating his uncle’s legends. In much the same way that The Rock’s professional wrestling background blurs the lines between fact and fiction, it’s hard to tell which aspects of Hercules’ adventures actually happened and which ones are exaggerations and hoaxes. But when the King of Thrace (John Hurt) offers you twice your weight in gold (which is a lot of gold if you’re built like The Rock) to train his people to become an unstoppable army to vanquish the marauding centaurs, you best just let people keep believing the myths and do as your told.

Haunted by the mysterious murder of his wife and kids a few years earlier, Hercules is not a warrior without conscience. In fact, even he has a hard time differentiating between reality and fantasy as he tries to sort out who actually killed his family, and if he is actually the son of the most powerful of all Greek and Roman gods. When he begins to realize he’s not the only one altering people’s perceptions, he has a hard time looking the other way. So after he trains Thracian farmers to become unstoppable soldiers and leads them to victory, he’s tipped off to the fact that he may have inadvertently helped further a secretly tyrannical cause.

You can’t really have a Hercules story without a scene in which the demigod is bound by chains, arms outstretched to each side, allowing him to eventually display his strength by muscling his way out of bondage to get vengeance upon his captors. And you get that climactic scene here. But in Hercules it’s about more than just physical strength overcoming evil. It’s also the metaphorically pivotal moment when Hercules finally sees through the illusions to find the inner strength to overcome his own self doubt. These personal triumphs lead to moral victories for him and his companions as they set out for yet another seemingly impossible battle against overwhelming odds. While The Rock clearly has the physical attributes to make Hercules a convincing warrior, he’s also strengthened his acting chops enough to properly convey the complexities of this character with a little more depth than we’ve previously seen from him. Sure, Hercules is, at times, somewhat predictable and formulaic. But if people are willing to just go along for the ride (which they likely will be), Hercules could be the beginning of a Pirates of the Caribbean-like franchise.

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