The Rock (1996)
Directed by: Michael Bay
Written by: David Weisberg, Douglas S. Cook & Mark Rosner
Genre: Action
Cast: Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage, Ed Harris, John Spencer, David Morse, William Forsythe, Michael Biehn, Vanessa Marcil, John C. McGinley
Plot:
A mild-mannered chemist and an ex-con must lead a strike force to break into the infamous Alcatraz prison after disgruntled soldiers threaten San Francisco with nerve gas.
Review:
Although once described as the "cinematic axis of evil", you have to admit that the Michael Bay/Jerry Bruckheimer production team know how to produce a damn good action movie and The Rock is an example of one of their finest works. The plot is suitably light, the action is suitably heavy, the visuals are spectacular and the cast are excellent.
The plot involves a group of US Marines, led by the highly decorated Brigadier General Francis X. Hummel (Harris), taking 81 tourists hostage on the disused prison of Alcatraz ("The Rock"). Hummel demands $100 million in 40 hours as restitution for families of soldiers who died carrying out covert operations and hence were denied compensation, otherwise he'll launch 15 rockets contaning the deadly nerve agent VX. A strike force consisting of elite Navy SEALs, lead by SEAL Commander Anderson (Biehn), is assembled but the problem is that nobody knows how to get into Alcatraz. So they turn to the only man that ever broke out - John Patrick Mason (Connery). Together with an FBI chemical weapons expert, Special Agent Stanley Goodspeed (Cage), they must break into Alcatraz and neutralise the threat before time runs out.
What sets The Rock apart from other run-of-the-mill action movies is undoubtedly the "mismatched buddy" duo of Cage and Connery, with Cage's ordinary, "what the fuck am I doing here?" FBI agent contrasting perfectly with Connery's hardened, "I eat danger for breakfast" ex-con. The rest of the cast all put in good performances, giving the movie a touch of class not normally associated with action films. The action itself is suitably intense, well-filmed, and once the film gets going the pace doesn't let up. The Cage/Connery team are also very good at making the funny moments actually funny. I definitely recommend this movie to action fans and to those who detest Bay/Bruckheimer movies because I think this movie is a classic.
Rating: R for strong violence, language and a sex scene (US)
Links:
IMDB page - http://us.imdb.com/Title?0117500
Source:
IMDB