La Roca

Wow! The Rock is one of the most rewatchable films I own. I've watched it countlessly, and it seems to have the quick, energizing effect of a good song that we love to play again and again. The dialogue is at times funny, always fresh, and sometimes intelligent. This film shines as an actioner that actually has a great, plausible plot, with some characters we wouldn't mind following on a journey. (I really liked Sean Connery's character; maybe a sequel with "Mr.John Mason"?)

And then there are the heavyweights in acting, a rarity in action films. Ed Harris, Sean Connery, Nic Cage, and a few others are so talented in reading their lines in a unique way, one can see that these are truly great actors. I loved Ed Harris' character, since it was not the standard black & white type, but a complex person. Who would've thought I'd be saying "complex" in an actioner? Well, that's how The Rock surprises you, like a vicious left hook to the face. Oh yeah, the Hans Zimmer score is a knockout, as always.

The Rock was an awesome film to see in the cinema. Over the top action, amasing driving scenes, an all round enjoyable film. Excellent casting of Sean Connery and Nicholas Cage, interesting idea, ex-military take tour hostage and threaten chemical warfare. But it's all in a days work for the FBI. Scientist risks life and limb to rescue city while pregnant girlfriend looks on. Sean Connery' character is portrayed as a hard ex SAS spy and Nicholas Cage is the mild mannered Scientist/Chemical Expert. Good film, not too taxing on the brain and overall, very enjoyable! A must see for Action Fans.

Renegade general Hummel (Ed Harris) has stolen 15 VX rockets, taken over Alcatraz, taken 81 hostages, and threatens to strike San Francisco unless The Pentagon pays him $100M from their slush funds. He intends to use the money to pay the families of the soldiers under his command who the government has disavowed over the years. In order to disarm the rockets, the FBI is sending their chemical weapons expert Stanley Goodspeed (Nicolas Cage). And they're digging up a mysterious British agent prisoner John Mason (Sean Connery) who once escaped from Alcatraz. When the team sent in to take on Hummel is decimated, Goodspeed and Mason must disarm the rockets on their own.

This is Michael Bay audacity to bring his heart pumping action style to bear. The action is big time bombastic joy. And for the best effect, he allows the actors to have fun in between the action. Nicolas Cage brings a lot of his manic energy and a bit of his crazy humor. And Sean Connery brings the Bond gravitas to the action. Plus the Cage Connery duo is a lot of fun, and they have great chemistry together. This is the best kind of popcorn movie-making.

In an attempt to get the US Government to pay for soldiers lost on secret missions General Hummel and a group of soldiers steal biological weapons and take control of Alcatraz, threatening to launch on San Francisco if their demands are not met. Running out of options the FBI take Mason out of prison as he has a knowledge of the island, being the only man to have escaped from there. Mason and bio-chemical expert Goodspeed join a group of Navy SEALS to enter the island and destroy the weapons before they can be used. However the death of the whole SEAL unit leaves Mason and Goodspeed to use stealth to avoid the terrorists and destroy the weapons.

This is nothing more than a big summer blockbuster that relies on plenty of big bangs to get it's audience. It relies on the usual Die Hard set-up of "one man (2 men!) take on heavily armed group in set location". However here the plot is a little iffy - Hummel isn't a terrorist, in fact his stance is almost sympathetic. This makes it all a little funny morally but the film turns it round at one point to go back into traditional good guy/bad guy roles so that the audience don't start to think too much! The action is very good - plenty of bangs for your buck! Even though it's all pretty OTT (like the car chase at the start) the mood of the film is such that it's all a great deal of fun.

Connery is really good in the lead and is funny and rather dashing! Cage's character is not as good and is too weedy at the start and some of his dialogue is grating. The support cast is deep and really good - usually big budget action movies have some well known support actors but this has tonnes! Check the names - Ed Harris, David Morse, John Spencer, William Forsythe, Michael Biehn, John C. McGinley, Bokeem Woodbine - the list goes on!

Overall, if you hate big, dumb summer movies then you'll hate this. I'm split down the middle but the sheer sense of fun that this brings combined with a great cast makes this a winner in my book!

"The Rock" combined action, adventure, comedy, romance, special effects and a great plot into one of the biggest worldwide blockbuster action films in decades. Add to the mix, Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage, Ed Harris and a great supporting cast including John Spencer, William Forsythe and David Morse, and "The Rock" is one of the best ways to spend two hours. This film also devotes a great deal of time and effort to character development, something that most action movies neglect. This film is definitely underrated and is worth more praise than it has received.