Rock

"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.

The 90s was home to a slew of great raw, uncut, action flicks that shot straight for the rated "R," despite the guarantee that it would make less money than the money-friendly PG-13 rating. While Die Hard and Lethal Weapon may have jump-started this craze, the peak of this was during the next decade, when we saw the likes of Terminator 2, Speed, Face-Off, Con Air, Die Hard: With a Vengeance, The Matrix, Bad Boys, Point Break, Under Siege, True Lies, Desperado, among others (Quite a list I accumulated, eh?). The 90s was certainly a good decade for action fans, but few movies of this genre can quite top the powerful, gripping, and edge-of-your seat action blockbuster The Rock. The name alone sounds powerful, and behind it is two hours of incredible special effects, superb acting, great action set pieces, and good dosage of writing, and Michael Bay on top of his game.

Few action movies carries as much morality and questionable circumstances as this one. In The Rock we follow a furious general (Ed Harris) leading a group of Marines to take control of Alcatraz Island (along with tourist hostages), a location that used to house criminals. Accompanying them are over a dozen missiles that can spell tens of thousands of innocent lives with every blast. However, he isn't just a trigger-happy man gone crazy, he is a man seeking justice for the dozens of lives he saw taken from warfare without compensation. A villain with a "moral" agenda, yikes. The only hope for the United States is the only man that has ever broken out of that prison (Sean Connery) and a chemical "superfreak" (Nicholas Cage). With the odds obviously against them, the Pentagon is one order away from destroying the entire location regardless of the innocent lives located in the island. Mindless this movie is not, as the stakes are high, there is always a risk of an innocent life going under, and our heroes rarely ever have the scenario under control. It's just enough to make you squeal in frustration.

With the tension remaining edgy and the solution never being oh-so-close, we can thank the writers for delivering a slam-bang storyline full of great one-liners, likable characters, and a villain that isn't as simple to figure out as the average evildoer. The writing staff ranges from the writer of the third Die Hard to even Tarantino. A major reason for the film's quality is the casting. Sean Connery and Ed Harris are excellent in their roles and Nicholas Cage albeit a few lines does a good job. The supporting staff helps as well, as we see the likes of David Morse, John Spencer, and Cage's love interest Vanessa Marcil.

Unlike Michael Bay's latest films, which run from mediocre to just plain bad, he blends plenty of drama and suspense along with action here. As a matter of fact, the first half of the movie is all suspense, as the situation is developed, and the risks are presented. Disregarding a superb car chase, there isn't much exploding in the first 80 minutes. However, once the protagonists enter the Rock, it all goes on the uphill action swing. We get brutal fights, brutal shootouts, near-misses, double-crosses, triple-crosses, chases, and enough explosions for action fans to sink their teeth into. The funny thing, the two main actors at the time weren't expected to be in such action. Connery was aging, and Nicholas Cage just didn't have the look or the attitude for it. Fortunately for us, they proved us dead wrong.

Bottom Line: If you want to see a true action classic, The Rock is a great example. Rising above the average action movie and above the decent ones as well, this is by far Michael Bay's best work and one of the signature flicks of the 90s. Combining tension you can cut with a steak knife with thrills, chills, and plenty of carnage, The Rock has aged well and continues to influence the work of modern action movies and the work of Michael Bay as well. Grab some popcorn and enjoy this ruthlessly clever movie. Recommend to the max, as long as you don't mind a bit of blood spewing onto the screen. They just don't make em' like they used to.

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 is amazing because it mixes an outrageously cornball plot with some of the best acting in an action movie.

Although i have seen many of Bay's films and enjoyed most of them, nothing is in comparison to this 1996 bay area based action film. I am just curious why it is not as popular or well known as it should. Dont get me wrong, granted it is a familiar film amongst most people yet it never appears in their top ten? Currently this film sits at number 5 on mine. I felt this film carried the most wide range of cinema aspect that any action film can carry. There was a mixture of minor romance, drama, and comedy which is why i am pleased to see that the criterion collection values it. Apparently the AFI probably wont but what do they know, the most action based film they would even consider is Saving Private Ryan which was also a good film but it seemed to be more of a Drama than action even if i reconsider the opening seen. What I think Michael Bay does best it simply put, he makes his stuff cool. He chooses the right angles to show the right section of what every he is filming. You can shoot a navy seal rising from the water in many different ways but his straight on established shot as the seal so rises up and pans his weapon from left to right was amazing. It is the small things like that which eventually amounts to a great film. He doesnt only focus on the big action scenes but the minor ones as well and it work wonderfully because it keeps us all tuned for the duration of the film. It is a film that any action enthusiast would enjoy over and over again. If your considering on purchasing this on DVD, remember to shell out a few more bucks and get the Criterion Collection version, the extra money will be well spent once you see Ed Harris re-doing his takes. I must also give the writers of this film some credit because or it's several directions they went with the script while keeping action the main subject. I mainly focus on action films (although currently in film school i am considering on doing dramas) and from all the ones i had ever seen i think this film is surely the best overall, not my number 1 favorite but the overall best pick for anyone to see and i truely believe that is someone doesnt enjoy this film regardless of age, gender, etc. you have problems and something is wrong with you. And for all the people who have seen this film, i would like to ask ou to reconsider this film's greatness for what it deserves. ENJOY THE ROCK!