The Rock (feat. Nicolas Cage)

Released in 1996, The Rock is one of those covert military op films, for people who like that kind of thing. For its time, it's pretty edgy, giving a little extra juice to those who like Tom Clancy things. I've heard the quote "All is fair in love and war", which we know now to be false. In fact with war, nothing is fair, which gives us a certain amount of sympathy for our antagonist, General Francis Hummel (played by Ed Harris). Hummel is a hero of the Vietnam war. Seeking reparations for himself and his comrades, he seizes Alcatraz (The Rock) with a number of hostages and bio-chemical weapons pointed at San Francisco, in a hostage situation with our government.

Of course our 'Don't Tread On Me' country can't let Hummel get away with this, so it forms a team of navy seals while coercing a chemist in the employ of the FBI named Stanley Goodspeed (played by Nicolas Cage) into taking part in the mission, as they need him to dismantle the weapons. But to break into Alcatraz, they need to employ the only man who has ever successfully escaped from the prision, John Mason (played by Sean Connery).

So Cage gets to play an arrogant, but noble chemist in all of his brilliant 90s Nick Cage fashion while Sean Connery gets to display his talents for always somehow playing a total badass. The badass and the noble chemist make good... chemistry for this film, that is no doubt. While I would rate this film highly among its peers, I'm just not really into these violent tales of military heroism. The Rock hasn't very well stood the test of time, regarding predictability, calls for character sympathy, and its eye-rolling attempts at humor. I guess the writers thought including a very gay hairdresser would fill the theater with ROFLing.

The story itself is well presented, giving the audience a few moments to guess what's going on. And I like how the antagonist himself has a character arc, which is super rare for a Cage film. Speaking of Cage films, the action in The Rock does not make the cut. Most of it is delegated to bullet storms and a singular car chase. While there were a few, forgiveable of stretches in plausibility you'd expect from any action thriller, it's far more immersive than the likes of Face/Off. But it dragged on for too long, with little we didn't see coming.

  1. Raising Arizona
  2. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
  3. Leaving Las Vegas
  4. Red Rock West
  5. Adaptation
  6. Pig
  7. Birdy
  8. Wild at Heart
  9. Joe
  10. National Treasure
  11. Guarding Tess
  12. Snake Eyes
  13. Mandy
  14. Dog Eat Dog
  15. Color Out of Space
  16. Mom and Dad
  17. World Trade Center
  18. Peggy Sue Got Married

  19. The Rock

  20. Zandalee
  21. Prisoners of the Ghostland
  22. City of Angels
  23. Willy's Wonderland
  24. Captain Corelli's Mandolin
  25. Bangkok Dangerous
  26. Drive Angry
  27. Army of One
  28. Lord of War
  29. Gone in 60 Seconds
  30. Matchstick Men
  31. Vampire's Kiss
  32. Con Air
  33. Face/Off
  34. Trapped in Paradise
  35. The Boy in Blue
  36. Honeymoon in Vegas
  37. Deadfall
  38. Amos and Andrew
  39. Moonstruck
  40. Tokarev
  41. The Sorcerer's Apprentice
  42. Knowing
  43. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
  44. Bringing Out the Dead
  45. The Family Man
  46. Stolen
  47. It Could Happen to You
  48. The Wicker Man
  49. 8mm
  50. The Frozen Ground
  51. Left Behind
  52. A Score to Settle
  53. Pay the Ghost
  54. Primal
  55. Dying of the Light
  56. Grand Isle
  57. Looking Glass
  58. Arsenal
  59. Between Worlds
  60. Ghost Rider
  61. Trespass
  62. The Humanity Bureau
  63. Next
  64. The Weather Man
  65. 211
  66. Fire Birds
  67. The Croods
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