Good plot gone bad. There were a lot of things I didn't like in this one, too much to count them now, but at the same time I somewhat enjoyed watching this typical-American-action-movie. Wasted
A group of U.S. marines under the command of renegade General Frank Hummel take over Alcatraz and threaten San Francisco with biological warfare if their demands arent met. FBI chemical weapons specialist- Stanley Goodspeed and the only man to have ever escaped from Alcatraz- Major John Mason, British Secret Service and a notorious federal prisoner, are the only ones who can prevent total chaos. Edge-of-your-seat suspense and unstoppable action explode off the screen in this must-see motion picture event! Extraordinary and powerful cast performances from Sir Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage and Ed Harris
This Movie has it ALL. From action, adventure to comedy. These kind of Movies are the one I prefer to watch Sean Connery in. As a Fan of Sean Connery, David Morse, Nicholas Cage, Michael Bien, and Ed Harris I say This Movie was just EXCELLENT!!
Some great Quotes below
General Hummel: "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." Thomas Jefferson.
John Mason: "Patriotism is a virtue of the vicious," according to Oscar Wilde. [Hummel strikes him, and he falls to his knees]
Commander Anderson: Thank you very fucking much Mr. Mason, you've led us into a room with no exit.
Stanley Goodspeed: Well, I'm one of those fortunate people who like my job, sir. Got my first chemistry set when I was seven, blew my eyebrows off, we never saw the cat again, been into it ever since.
Stanley Goodspeed: "I'd take pleasure in guttin' you, boy. I'd take pleasure in guttin' you... boy." What is wrong with these people, huh? Mason? Don't you think there's a lot of, uh, a lot of anger flowing around this island? Kind of a pubescent volatility? Don't you think? A lotta angst, a lot of "I'm sixteen, I'm angry at my father" syndrome? I mean grow up! We're stuck on an island with a bunch of violence-for-pleasure-seeking psycophatic marines, SHAME-ON-THEM! [clears throat] Stanley Goodspeed: Anyway, I only got one chem round, and there's two left... Mason?
John Mason: Yes, I'm here. I was just thinking how wonderful it was when the inmates weren't allowed to talk in here.
The Rock is an action-packed movie set mainly on the famed Alcatraz Island which tells the story of "Brigadier General Francis Xavier Hummel," (Ed Harris) who, with a group of mercenaries, takes over one of the hardest prisons in the world to escape from -- Alcatraz. He is determined to get United States government to honor his men who lost their lives in service to their country during highly covert military operations by providing their families the same benefits and tributes due other war veterans -- by unleashing a deadly gas onto the San Francisco Bay area that kills within a matter of seconds.
The city's only hope are FBI chemical/biological weapons expert, "Stanley Goodspeed" (Nicholas Cage), and "John Patrick Mason" (Sir Sean Connery), a prisoner who does not exist in the eyes of the government -- and the only man ever to escape Alcatraz alive.
This is one high-impact action movie, but sometimes has silly dialog that will get you to chuckle out loud. The action scenes are well produced, and leave little to no rest for the viewer. They are, for the most part, shot quite well.
The acting is strong from the entire cast -- including the minor characters. Harris, Cage and especially Connery standout from the rest of the pack.
Sadly, the supporting characters are not well defined. I would have liked to have seen "Agent Goodspeed's" fiancée (Vanessa Marcila) a little better defined than she turned out. Also, I would have liked to seen more of a backstory on how "Brigadier General Hummel" was able to convince his men that what they were getting involved with was the right thing to do.
Also, this movie has a great soundtrack. All the music fits what is happening on screen.
There is a bit of graphic violence. There is a lot of blood that flies around in the shootout scenes. I would recommend that this movie is not viewed by younger children (after all the movie is Rated R).
I just love this film. Ed Harris in my opinion took the show with his role as General Hummel. Nick Cage did a good job as well as Sean Connery. I think David Morse although a small part gave depth to Ed Harris's character.
One of the best action movie ever. Seen it dozen of times and never get bored of it. NEVER....well so far.
- Good cast: Nicholas Cage and Sean Connery having a good chemistry, Ed Harris brings some depth as a villain and even Michael Biehn was cool for a short while.
- Exciting action scenes: the hummer vs Ferrari chase, mine cart gun fight, shootout at the end.
- Heart pumping soundtrack: Easily THE acton movie theme for me. Dundun Dundun Dun DUN! Dundun Dundun dun DUN!!
A crack team of US marines led by a disillusioned war hero take a group of tourists hostage and occupy the island of Alcatraz, threatening to wipe out San Francisco if their demands aren't met. In response the FBI call in the Navy seals, a chemical weapons expert and the only man ever to escape "the rock" to retake the island. Well, it's a Michael Bay film so you know what you're going to get; a bunch of neanderthals with bad haircuts running around shooting each other, expensive cars exploding into flames in slow motion and a camera that stubbornly will not stay still for a nano-second. The "plot" is nothing more than a series of ill-conceived excuses for ridiculously over the top set pieces, the characters a bunch of two dimensional caricatures who spout nothing but lame one liners and cliches and the less said about the dialogue the better. Reliable old warhorse Sean Connery manages to inject some charm and charisma into the only interesting character in the film, and Ed Harris does bring some small modicum of depth to his under-written part but Cage presents nothing but his usual blend of weak sarcasm and shouting and the rest of the cast are the usual collection of grinning, psychopathic cartoons. Bay stamps his brand of mindless overkill onto the proceedings, as literally everything in sight explodes into slo-mo fireballs and it is of course not enough to see the bad guys shot or thrown out of windows, they must be impaled on scaffolding or have their innards melted by bio-weapons AS WELL. Having said that, he does know how to do glossy action, so it never bores during it's 2 hour length, but it's nothing more than a testosterone fueled firework display that made me feel like my IQ had dropped a point for every minute it lasted. And I'm STILL to figure out why the basement of Alcatraz seems to contain the set for The Goonies...
I saw this movie yesterday which was the 1st time I'd seen it in years. It's a good action flick. Some of the action sequences are a little over the top(as most action movies are)but not so much that it appears unrealistic. It had a good story, great actors, killing, exploding stuff, FBI agents, military peeps, what more could one ask for... yes, I know....naked women. No nudity in this one but I'll let it slide.
Action packed thriller about a retired British spy who escaped from Alcatraz has to help the FBI break into the prison to stop a missile attack. Great cast.
great action film with good effects and a reasonable plot.connery is cool for once and the gunfights rock hehe nic cage sucks ass as usual.probably bays best film to date on his own...it is explosive fun with many many great sequences.the yellow sports car gunning down the hilly streets of san francisco dodging trams is a great setup,the gun fight in the rocks shower room between elite cops and the terrorists.....the deadly gas and sweaty finale...all popcorn tastic hehe and the ending with harris turning right at the end was decent and original...u thought he would go out guns blazing.
One of the best Michael Bay films there is. Biehn's scene with Ed Harris is one of my favorite in a film. Very entertaining movie with good morals. "Winners go home and f*ck the prom queen."
Probably the only Michael Bay movie I actually like. Despite the bad dialog and excessive explosions, there's something about it that makes me sit through it every time I run across it. I guess even Bay can't make Sean Connery look bad.
Ironically funny: when Nicolas' character asks the bad guy about Elton John's hit "Rocketman"!! And then he blows him away! The bad guy is very good actor, by the way: Ed Harris
MCT:September 5, 2008
MCT:August 28, 2008
MCT:August 27, 2008
MCT:July 28, 2008
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MCT:June 3, 2008
