Rent The Rock (1996)

Hugely Enjoyable Action Film - The Rock review by GI

Watching Michael Bay films is usually like ordering a cocktail only to find it looks fantastic but tastes like water. The Rock is an exception. Don't get me wrong it's nothing more than an action thriller but it is really entertaining and not least because of the screen chemistry between Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage. The script is humorous and it's rumoured that Quentin Tarantino was involved with it. With Ed Harris as the bad guy and a good support cast including Michael Biehn and William Forsythe you can't help but sit back and just enjoy this lovely slice of Hollywood hokum. Harris plays a disaffected Army General who is mightily annoyed so with his team of loyal soldiers steals some chemical weapons, sites them on Alcatraz and threatens to fire them at San Francisco unless the government pays its dues to the families of soldiers killed on covert missions. The only surefire way to stop him is to send in a team but no-one knows how to infiltrate the old prison until the FBI admit there is one man, John Mason (Connery), a British SAS agent who has previously escaped from Alcatraz. It turns out Mason has been incarcerated for 30 years by the US for some dodgy reasons. They also need to send in a chemical weapons expert so Stanley Goodspeed (Cage) is recruited. Suffice to say the plan quickly goes awry but cue chases, gun battles, and a neat twisty plot. Cage and Connery engage in some great banter and the set pieces especially in the bowels of Alcatraz are brilliant. The film boasts the typical Bay action set pieces, car chases with slo-mo crashes, fast shoot outs and also puts aside any trashy romances. Connery gets to send up his 007 persona with exactly the right dose of wry humour. Sometimes all you want in a film is just a couple of hours of sheer excitement and fun, look no further, this fits the bill perfectly.

A movie not to miss! - The Rock review by CP Customer

This is my favourite movie for many reasons! First of all, you've got the two "monsters" starring in one movie: Sir Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage. So, you know from the start that this movie is bound to be good. And it is indeed even better than good! It is great.

The plot seems pretty plausible, especially in this day and age. The cast is carefully selected and the performance put up by all the actors is just amazing.

Secondly, the film itself is very good. Be it the script, be it the music, be it I don't know what, the movie is worth having a place of its own in your DVD collection. Thirdly, the effects, although not very sophisticated are correctly used and complement the performances.

Watch it and then live it by watching it again!