Seems like we're getting back on an even keel with the rating viewings now. Quite liking the new pag...
Seems like we're getting back on an even keel with the rating viewings now. Quite liking the new pages in a way. Thanks for all your rates.
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The Rock is the 1996 film from Transformers director Michael Bay. It features the world's most notorious prison, Alcatraz, in an action packed film featuring Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery as a pair of unlikely heroes.
The Plot
Renegade Colonel Hummel takes a team of US marines over to the infamous prison island of Alcatraz and takes control, threatening to unleash biological weapons on San Francisco unless the US government pay $1 million in reparations to each of the families of the men who died under his command in covert operations for the US. He has 81 hostages on the island as well as his band of US marines turned mercenary. The only two men who can stop them are Stanley Goodspeed, a chemical weapons expert, and the only man to have ever successfully escaped from the island. The only problem is getting them back on there to stop Hummel and his men. But first, they have to convince them to do it!
The Cast and Performances
Nicolas Cage is well known for portraying
blockbusting action heroes with muscle and power. Here, he ticks the boxes of action and blockbuster, but plays mild mannered nervous scientist Goodspeed. He does the role very well, and is persuasive as a bit of a geek. Sean Connery plays John Patrick Mason, the only man to have ever successfully escaped Alcatraz. He is imprisoned following his escape, and the former SAS officer is convincingly played by the charismatic Connery. The two lead actors combine very well in what is often a comedic way, lending a little light humour to a dangerous situation.
Ed Harris plays Hummel, and is spot on for the role of the lead villain. He enjoys success as a villain, most recently in the mob film A History of Violence, and has a haunting look that would make you look away. The remainder of the cast features some familiar names and faces, including Michael Biehn, John Spencer and Bokeem Woodbine, with David Morse and William Forsythe lending their experience in some quality performances. The remainder of the cast do well.
My Opinion
If you are looking for a non stop action thriller which doesn't worry about political fallout or glaring plot holes then this is the film for you. It touches on the subject of covert operations and low payouts for the families of injured or killed mission operatives, yet glosses over it, although this is the central reason for Hummel's stand. The film instead concentrates on long flowing views across the San Francisco Bay and some heavy backing soundtrack chords to provide a danger element and some panoramic action scenes. There are also some plots that need explaining a bit further. To go into these would be a plot spoiler so I won't elaborate. Indeed, they are nothing major anyway.
Alcatraz as a setting for the film is a wonderful choice, and the plot is reputedly written with the aid of The West Wing's Aaron Sorkin and controversial director Quentin Tarantino, which explains some of the quality moments, although there is nothing wrong with the original story by David Weisberg and Douglas Cook nor the screenplay adapting of Mark Rosner.
Any work of fiction has a believability problem. This tale is helped along by convincing direction from Bay making everything seem real and possible. Bay was criticised for the way the US marines were portrayed, with many in the forces saying how way off the mark he was with this portrayal. Other criticisms include the ridiculous notion of an escapee getting back in with a scientist and saving San Francisco against a group of covert marines, but again, it is not the reality of the plot, it is the storytelling, and this is done very well to make the viewer believe the plot is real.
I don't really have any negatives for this film. Occasionally, Sean Connery slips into a cheesier mode of acting, whoich does not suit the film. Cage's performance is sound all the way through, and although the film is not as good and memorable as other action blockbusters such as Die Hard or the Lethal Weapon series, it provides a visual delight with some awesome camera shots and some unadulterated entertainment.
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Mar 5th, 2009
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