A glorious action movie that never takes the third choice, paying the terrorists money to right the wrong of militairy neglect, seriously. But that only matters if you can look past the progan... I means SPLOSIONS.10 out of 10. MURICA!!!

Continuing my plant to watch every Sean Connery movie in order, I come to The Rock (1996)Plot In A Paragraph: A group of U.S. marines, under command of a renegade general, take over Alcatraz and threaten San Francisco Bay with biological weapons. Stanley Goodspeed (Nicholas Cage) chemical weapons specialist and John Mason (Connery) the only man to have ever escaped from the Rock are the only ones who can save the day.I love this movie. Both my kids love this movie. Everyone loves this movie. Even people who think it's rubbish, love this movie. Anyone who doesn't love this movie is just wrong. Any way you look at it, The Rock stands the text of time, and after 21 years, remains a perfect example of nineties action cinema and one of the most is one entertaining action movies ever made.The cast are all on top form, Connery and Cage make for a great double act, and it is a pity that nobody had the idea to reteam these characters in a sequel (OK it may have been more than a tad far fetched) or someone else reteamed them as they do have genuine chemistry that you can not buy. Ed Harris invests Hummel with real empathy!! In fact, of all the villains in most movies, Hummel has a genuinely understandable motivation. Personally I think more should have been made of this. John Spencer, David Morse, Michael Biehn and John C McGinley all offer solid support It's not perfect, there are parts of this movie, which drive me crazy. The car chase in San Francisco is a major culprit - the cutting is so fast and disorganized that the it's a headache!! You get an even bigger one if you look at the destruction of property and the lives endangered. Isn't this movie all about saving people from a terrorist attack?? That's my only gripe!! The Rock went on to become the highest grossing movie starring Connery in a leading role, as it grossed $134 million at the domestic box office, to end the year, the 7th highest grossing movie of 1996.

General Francis X. Hummel has had enough of the way US service personnel have been treated; especially how the families of those who died on top secret missions are told a string of lies and not compensated for their loss… to this end he decides to blackmailing the government by stealing a quantity of deadly VX gas; taking over the island of Alcatraz and threatening to launch the gas into the city of San Francisco if is demands to compensate the families aren't met within forty hours. Of course he can't do this alone; he is supported by a squad of ex-marines who expect to be paid handsomely.The government have no intention of paying him so assemble a team to go to Alcatraz and neutralise the VX rockets that are to deploy the gas. The team will consist of a squad of Navy Seals; Stanley Goodspeed, an FBI specialist in chemical weapons and finally John Patrick Mason, the only man to have escaped from Alcatraz who will be needed to guide the team in. Mason could be a problem; he is a former captain in the SAS who has spent the last thirty years in jail but has never been formally charged with any crime and is considered extremely dangerous. Once inside Alcatraz the Seals are quickly eliminated leaving Goodspeed and Mason to deal with Hummel and his men and neutralise the weapons.This film is packed with action; there are shootouts, a car chase, explosions and the threat of a deadly attack on a major city… the action moves at such a pace it is easy to overlook many of the more unlikely moments… the scenes in what looked like ancient mine carts under the old jail seemed too far-fetched but once that was over it was soon forgotten; at least while watching the film. The story may include numerous clichés but that doesn't matter as it is a lot of fun. Nicolas Cage does a solid job as Goodspeed and Sean Connery is in top form as Mason; he may be old but he makes us believe that is character is tougher than the young marines he is up against. Ed Harris does a fine job as General Hummel; a character who isn't just a pantomime villain. This is probably director Michael Bay's best film; he keeps the action moving at a cracking pace without losing the story in the process; don't be put off if you dislike his 'Transformers' franchise. Overall I found this to be a lot of fun; it won't be for everybody but if you want a solid action film it is definitely worth watching.

The Rock (1996)2h 16min | Action, Adventure, Thriller 7/10 A mild-mannered chemist and an ex-con must lead the counter strike when a rogue group of military men, led by a renegade general, threaten a nerve gas attack from Alcatraz against San Francisco from super star action Director:Michael Bay Brought to you by Hollywood Pictures. academy award winning best supporting actor Sean Connery and nick cage star in adventure blockbuster that had critics are hailing as the drop deal thrill ride the rock millions of lives hang in the balance after a military madman seizes control of the island prison of Alcatraz and threatens to launch a deadly poison gas missile at San Francisco with time ticking away chemical weapons expert goodspeed and a federal prisoner who happens to be the only man to escape must now break in and disarm the missile from the hot film making team that brought you crimson tide and bad boys the rock delivers hard hiting action and suspense you'll never forget nominated for an Oscar with an outstanding cast Sean Connery ... John Patrick Mason Nicolas Cage ... Stanley Goodspeed Ed Harris ... General Francis X. Hummel John Spencer ... F.B.I. Director Womack David Morse ... Major Tom Baxter William Forsythe ... Ernest Paxton Michael Biehn ... Commander Anderson John C. McGinley ... Marine Captain Hendrix Jim Caviezel ... Rear F-18 Pilot (as James Caviezel) Stanley Goodspeed, who lives in Washington D.C., is a biochemist who works for the FBI. Soon after his fiancée Carla Pestalozzi announces that she is pregnant, Stanley gets a call from FBI director James Womack. Womack tells Stanley that San Francisco's Alcatraz Island has been taken hostage, along with 81 tourists, by marine General Francis Xavier Hummel who, for years, has been protesting the government's refusal to pay benefits to families of war veterans who died during covert military operations. The death of his wife Barbara Hummel on March 9, 1995 drove General Hummel over the edge, and now he's holding hostages in order to get his point across. Stanley is needed because General Hummel has stolen some VX gas warheads and has announced that he will launch them onto San Francisco unless his demands are met. Stanley knows how to disarm the bombs, but Stanley needs someone who knows Alcatraz well enough to get him inside. That man is former British intelligence agent John Patrick Alcatraz. Only one man has ever broken out. Now five million lives depend on two men breaking inThe film contains superior character development of both the antagonist and protagonist. Each is clear and well defined. We also learn the characters motives, reasoning, dramatic situation, and premise--all brilliantly introduced within the setuSean Connery provides us with strong character development through John Patrick Mason--." · It is uncanny how well the movie's visual style works. It propels the film's suspense the extra mile, increasing the tension and enticement. Also contributing to the style is the fitting soundtrack. There is a stolid, aggressively effective cast present. Each actor contributes a taut, penetrating performance, especially Ed Harris as the film's villain, General Francis X. Hummel who demands a moral purpose holding the lives of an urban area at stake.* The character's motives and perfectly defined, especially General Francis X. Hummel. Even as the film's bad guy, he serves an understandable position, thus we empathize with him, unlike most villains witnessed in modern day thrillers.The picture is unpredictable and contains several inducing and unexpected twists proving this movie is imaginative and free to surprise us. The conclusion is not formulaic. "The Rock" is filled with artful design and crafty performances. It is one of the 1996 best action films.