Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Near San Francisco, there is the abandoned island of Alcatraz, where once serious criminals were imprisoned. Oh, tourists can take a look at the cells and amenities but no one lives there. But, a disgruntled Marine, General Hummel (Ed Harris) takes over the island by force, with a group of loyal underlings. A mostly good soldier and man, Hummel is upset that those who died or were wounded in covert operations get no compensation. His ghastly plan is to launch fatal nerve gas over San Fran if a huge fee is not paid. When the President hears of this operation, he and his staff are greatly alarmed. But, they want to stop Hummel, not negotiate. First, they contact a FBI agent who specializes in biochemistry, Stanley Goodspeed (Nicolas Cage). They want him to defuse the poisonous bombs. Since Stan's fiancée has just told him she is pregnant, this man is under great strain. More importantly, how will the military land on the island secretly and get to the rooms where Hummel and company occupy? They need an EXPERT on the island's prison so they choose the only man who ever escaped Alcatraz. He's John Patrick Mason (Sean Connery), a British agent accused of treason. Even though he escaped, Mason was recaptured and has been locked up 30 years! The idea is to offer Mason freedom in exchange for helping with the mission. Brother, they don't have a clue how honked off Mason is until the negotiations begin! Mason demands a night in a hotel room, room service, and a posh haircut. That is just the start! Will Mason and Goodspeed be able to help thwart the destruction of San Francisco's large population? This outstanding action film has non-stop thrills and a great cast. Sophisticated Connery and wacky Cage are great foils while Harris makes his character sympathetic in spite of all. Naturally the scenery in the Bay area and on the island are exemplary while the script has humor amid the very serious plot elements. Do you want to view a film with breathless action amid twists, turns, and occasional laughs? This one will ROCK your world!

In an era of groundbreaking blockbuster action flicks, this film directed by Michael Bay, the master of over-the-top action sequences and excessive explosions galore, places Academy Award winner Nicolas Cage and Academy Award nominee Sean Connery in 136 minutes of frenetic gunfights, hand-to-hand combat, and loud explosions absorbing the screen. Unlike the 'Die Hard' franchise which was a cutting-edge to the action genre, this film is nothing groundbreaking nor does it try to beat. But with likable performances by our leads Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery, adrenaline-fueled action set pieces, and a blissful taste of light-heart humor; the film is quite a bit of fun. Although Michael Bay is not a director who carries interest is soaking his films with sheer intelligence, he still knows how to craft a motion picture with enough mayhem and humor to leave keep our eyes glued to the screen. And who scores a better position in the producer's chair than Hollywood veteran Jerry Bruckheimer and the late Don Simpson. The film follows a story of Stanley Goodspeed (played by Nicolas Cage), a biochemist for the FBI who's called on a mission to bring down General Francis Hummel (played by Ed Harris) who along his fellow Marines has taken prisoners of Alcatraz Island hostage and set wipe out San Francisco with chemical missiles unless the FBI does one thing: pay him the $100,000 he demands for his military service. Fighting by Goodspeed's side Mason (played by Sean Connery), a prison escapee who assists him on his no-holds-bar mission to thwart Hummel's attack and save the citizens of San Francisco.Director Michael Bay doesn't offer anything out of the ordinary for an action film. Thus, there are no genuine surprises to handed beyond a heavy load of explosive gunfights and hand-to-hand combat sequences which make a good portion of the near 2 1/2 hour runtime. Luckily, Bay succeeds at landing excitement and plenty of fun to indulge all the action film junkies. Nearly every second gunfire and explosions fills the screen, there is plenty of pulse-pounding tension to be handed. However, as the film is Rated R, these sequences do get pretty bloody and there are a few minor characters who meet their ends in graphic way such as chemical burns. In the end, it is all for the sake for drenching moviegoers in sheer thrills. Taking on the lead roles is Nicolas Cage and 'James Bond' veteran Sean Connery to show off some decent chemistry between one another. Their characters sprout a fair share of humorous one-liners and clever banter, and the performances stand fairly strong. Though neither of them meet the qualities of Bruce Willis's John McClane, both of which are surprisingly likable. As for the main antagonist General Francis Hummel played by Ed Harris, he makes for a surprising villain a little beyond your one-dimensional evildoer. He's portrayed as a figure not out for trouble just for the sake of causing mindless mayhem, but simply because of his emotional scars dealing with experience in the Vietnam War and the government failing to honor him and his fellow the financial gratitude they deserve. In the final climax, viewers can almost sympathize with him.The Rock is an explosive action flick glossed with entertaining action sequences, charismatic characters, and a fair share of thrills to feast the eyes for moviegoers. To say the least, it's a bit of fun. Although it may fall short of originality and substance, it works well as an absorbing popcorn flick to entertain those not anxious for anything cutting-edge in the action genre.

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.

I don't look at IMDb until after I've seen a movie, but it's pretty rare that the IMDb rating is far off from what I would rate (or at least in the same general goodness or badness range). This is apparently one of those rare cases, though. I had to double check that I pulled up the right title when I saw a rating of 7.4 (at least at the time of this writing).I honestly can't understand what people see here. It's over 2 hours long, and I was watching the clock after the first hour, hoping it was getting near the end. I mean, it's a light enough action ride - I was leaning towards rating it a "5", but then the number of things that bothered me just kept mounting, and I finally decided "4" was more appropriate. Here's some of those things (I don't intend any significant spoilers, but clicked the spoiler alert just in case):The movie couldn't seem to decide whether it was a gritty war drama (lots of scowling, shooting, and F-bombs), or a slightly tongue-in-cheek action movie (comic relief characters, trying-to-be-witty dialogue). Heck, it even seemed like Nicolas Cage couldn't decide either, because he bounced back and forth between the two.Similarly, a fair amount of carnage during the shooting scenes, but Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery dove, walked, or swam away from everything, no matter how many people were shooting, or how big the explosive device, or how far their bodies were thrown.The characters were wooden and stereotypical. A flamboyant gay hair stylist? Some "Sir, yes sir!" Marines, the wronged ex-con, the never-been-in-the-field agent, the trolley driver, ...The plot was predictable and clichéThe drawn out shoot-em-up, crash-em-up sequences. I haven't seen so many cars trashed in a chase scene since the Blues Brothers. And geez, that Humvee didn't even get a broken headlight.In short, it was just one cliché scene after another, strung together over a tired and predictable story line. OK, I watched it in 2016. Maybe it was fresh in 1996 when it came out, but I find that hard to believe.