The Rock (1996)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 1996
	Director: Michael Bay (The Island, Armageddon)
	Actors: Sean Connery (Highlander), Nicolas Cage (Knowing, Face/Off), Ed Harris (The Truman Show)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Action
	Conditions of visioning: 14.09.2017, VOD, 32" TV screen
Synopsis: General Francis X. Hummel (Harris) takes hostages on the island of Alcatraz and threatens to launch poisonous gas missiles to the near city of San Fransisco if the death of fallen soldiers is not honored. Tech specialist Stanley Goodspeed (Cage) is called on site and has to team-up with former convict John Patrick Mason (Connery) to infiltrate what was the most secure prison on Earth.
Review: After vising the famous former prison of Alcatraz in San Fransisco, I wished to watch again the two movies I know it for: the 1979 Escape from Alcatraz with Clint Eastwood based on a true story and The Rock, second movie directed by Michael Bay after Bad Boys and that undoubtedly bears the mark of the style this blockbuster Master would impose to Hollywood in the two decades to come including helicopters shots in front of the sun, ultra-low-angle shots, pigeons flying in front of the camera, a patriotic music that furiously resembles the one of Armageddon, a mix of Comedy and Action delivered by likeable characters (even the bad guys). This may be a brainless movie, it provided me with a guilty pleasure to watch and as I mentioned in my review of Independence Day (released the same year) it is not as bad as what we got used to in the recent years (see Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles or the latest Transformers!). There is patriotism, action, comedy... but I find it all relatively well-balanced and delivered by good actors (Sean Connery rules), of which one should not forget to mention David Morse (Contact, 12 Monkeys), Tony Todd (Candyman) or Michael Biehn (Aliens). The island of Alcatraz is well-used in the movie as an impenetrable fortress and I was glad to recognize the familiar settings I have visited. I didn't remember though the Indiana Jones-style scenes of underground race in mining carts like if the island was ever used for that. A pure invention. A movie definitely over-the-top, but that I was glad to see again.
Rating: 5 /10