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The RockRating:
Release Date: 13 August, 2002 Retail Price: $14.99 OUR Price: $10.99 You SAVE: $4.00! Cast: Complete Cast (18 total) |
The Rock Reviews
"Welcome to The Rock." - Sean Connery
As an inmate of The Rock for a good number of years, Sean Connery's fictional character knows the place all too well which was also home to thousands of real life convicts for decades. The Rock of course is the colorful name for Alcatraz Prison sitting high on a rocky island in San Francisco bay. Now a national landmark and tourist attraction, Alcatraz has been the focus of the public's fascination for years and The Rock wasn't the first movie set in the humongous penitentiary. But it's arguably the most exciting one and certainly it's the most expensively produced. The Rock serves as high gloss, high octane entertainment which works as a thunderous action packed popcorn movie, but also as an indictment of America's treatment of war veterans and "enemies of the state". In many ways, the issues in the film couldn't be more topical. We still have a major military presence in Iraq and our treatment of veterans and enemies is coming under fire with the Abu Gharab debacle and the like, along with the less than shocking revelation of the existence of "secret prisons" where American intelligence agents detain, debrief and interrogate enemy operatives. The controversy has boiled over and now has political leaders discussing a major overhaul of the way in which the USA fights wars. Is it at the expense of basic human rights? Is the Geneva convention regarding such issues being violated or just being misinterpreted? Director Michael Bay's movie never tries to answer any questions, but they always loom large in the background as the intriguing story unfolds.
Maybe I should say four stories: Nicholas Cage and Connery share protagonist duties equally while Ed Harris shines as the sympathetic antagonist as they collide against the backdrop of terrorism and mass kidnapping fueled by desperate mercenary mindsets. The screenplay skillfully balances the three men's fascinating lives and each story could easily hold a film on its own. Cage plays Goodspeed, a scientist first and federal agent second. He's a biochemical weapon's expert whose education and chemical expertise both eclipse his necessity for carrying an FBI badge and using a firearm. He's not quite a geek, but he's no Elliot Ness. There's more than an element of Fox Mulder in him - the brainy, paranormal expert of X-Files fame. But while Mulder never could get the family thing together, Cage's girlfriend is pregnant and they're on the verge of marriage. When Goodspeed is ordered into action after a group of ex US soldiers steal several missiles armed with deadly VX gas, Goodspeed must leave his girlfriend immediately after she gives him the good news about her impending stork visit.
Ed Harris plays a highly decorated war veteran whose outrage at the manner in which the US handled his men's deaths and how their families were treated has brought him into the darkest of decisions and perhaps over into insanity. He leads the mercenary group who steals the VX missiles and then proceeds to take an Alcatraz tour group hostage to ransom the US government of millions of dollars. His motive so he says his financial restitution to the family's soldiers who died under his watch and weren't treated fairly by the country they helped to protect. It's a difficult role and one which could be played too broadly. Harris makes the character into a true human being, never a two dimensional villain. His character is torn between his high moralistic value regarding his fallen subordinates and the savage terrorist action he has masterminded. The conflict tears him up and Harris plays up all the emotions like the master thespian he always shows us.
Sean Connery plays a kind of older Bond without benefit of gee whiz gadgets or a license to kill - but kill he does. Even at his age, his larger than life presence and demeanor make you firmly believe he could snap your neck with little effort and do it gracefully and with class. Most of Connery's scenes are with Cage and their chemistry definitely works. Connery's character is beyond bitter for is treatment at being hidden away in a federal prison after being an inmate of Alcatraz years before. He's still treated as a dangerous enemy of the state even now and his quietly controlled anger at his situation explodes at just the right moments. After a promise of release and clearing his name, he agrees to help. He's really the only one left alive or willing to aid the strike force assembled to free the civilians now inmates themselves of Alcatraz.
The supporting cast is stellar and includes Michael Biehn and David Morse, both consistently solid and always more than watchable. Morse especially brings a quiet sadness to his roles and this one is no different. He's loyal to his commander, yet almost as torn as Harris over the sticky moral implications of their actions. Biehn a veteran of James Cameron actioners like The Terminator, Aliens and The Abyss plays the military leader of the strike force which Cage and Connery must assist in freeing the hostages and dealing with Harris and his soldiers.
The Rock's visual FX are a mix of old and new. It was filmed during the time of Hollywood's greater reliance of digitally produced opticals. The result was so well conceived and executed that a special episode of the cable series MOVIE MAGIC was devoted entirely to the film. In one of the stirring finale scenes, Nicholas Cage is slumped over barely able to stand while framed overhead by two high powered air force jets as they streak across the sky At the time. it surprised viewers to learn the aircraft were created totally by artists in a computer. It gave a clear glimpse into today's movie world which relies almost exclusively on computer generated images for more expensive FX demands or ones nearly impossible to achieve through other means. There are 3 versions of the rock on DVD a bare bones movie only, a studio special edition release and then there's The Criterion Collection version. Criterion treats the movie to an excellent 2 disc set complete with informative audio commentary and the aforementioned Movie Magic episode.
The Rock is definitely more of thinking man's action movie. It moves along at an electric pace, never fails to deliver the thrills and it's 2 hours and 15 mins running time never lags. But where some action thrillers merely offer up snappily executed set pieces with little story or character, The Rock embraces its plot and characters. The motivations behind them are believable and genuinely performed. Michael Bay would go on to give us Armageddon and Pearl Harbor and most recently The Island. He's a director whose popular tastes and sensibilities don't always translate well with audience and critics. With The Rock however, it's safe to say he's successful in pleasing most any viewer or critic alike.
A Thriller That Rocks
There are a variety of many-splendored reasons to watch this 1996 action flick, where an early peek at pre-9/11 terrorism rears its ugly head. The performances soar: Sean Connery as a nonchalant killer intent on saving "The City By the Bay" - Nicholas Cage, as his astute but nervous student - and Ed Harris as a fearless mad Marine who formulated a plot to blow up San Francisco through the tunnels of Alcatraz. I enjoyed the love angle between Nicholas Cage and his girlfriend and the redemption of Sean Connery for the one reason on earth he has to live: to make amends with his lovely daughter. See the movie! And have in hand, as I did, your remote control to lower the crash-bang volume. This movie was sooo exciting I lay in fetal position at the end!
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