Le rocher

Wow! The Rock is one of the most rewatchable films I own. I've watched it countlessly, and it seems to have the quick, energizing effect of a good song that we love to play again and again. The dialogue is at times funny, always fresh, and sometimes intelligent. This film shines as an actioner that actually has a great, plausible plot, with some characters we wouldn't mind following on a journey. (I really liked Sean Connery's character; maybe a sequel with "Mr.John Mason"?)

And then there are the heavyweights in acting, a rarity in action films. Ed Harris, Sean Connery, Nic Cage, and a few others are so talented in reading their lines in a unique way, one can see that these are truly great actors. I loved Ed Harris' character, since it was not the standard black & white type, but a complex person. Who would've thought I'd be saying "complex" in an actioner? Well, that's how The Rock surprises you, like a vicious left hook to the face. Oh yeah, the Hans Zimmer score is a knockout, as always.

Renegade general Hummel (Ed Harris) has stolen 15 VX rockets, taken over Alcatraz, taken 81 hostages, and threatens to strike San Francisco unless The Pentagon pays him $100M from their slush funds. He intends to use the money to pay the families of the soldiers under his command who the government has disavowed over the years. In order to disarm the rockets, the FBI is sending their chemical weapons expert Stanley Goodspeed (Nicolas Cage). And they're digging up a mysterious British agent prisoner John Mason (Sean Connery) who once escaped from Alcatraz. When the team sent in to take on Hummel is decimated, Goodspeed and Mason must disarm the rockets on their own.

This is Michael Bay audacity to bring his heart pumping action style to bear. The action is big time bombastic joy. And for the best effect, he allows the actors to have fun in between the action. Nicolas Cage brings a lot of his manic energy and a bit of his crazy humor. And Sean Connery brings the Bond gravitas to the action. Plus the Cage Connery duo is a lot of fun, and they have great chemistry together. This is the best kind of popcorn movie-making.

THE ROCK / (1996) ***1/2

Starring: Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage, Ed Harris, Jon Spencer, David Morse, William Forsythe, Bokeem Woodbine, and Vanessa Marcil. Directed by Michael Bay. Running time: 135 minutes. Rated R (for strong intense violence, language and brief sexuality)

Notes taken while screening The Rock:

· The 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 setup.

· Sean Connery provides us with strong character development through John Patrick Mason--although the character is somewhat a rip off of the Anthony Hokins' Hannibal from "The Silence of the Lambs."

· 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.

· Some of the events are excessively coincidental. For example, during an exciting chase scene, Mason dashes out of a building, escaping the clutches of concealing police, discovering a Hum-V seemingly awaiting his arrival. Experienced chemist, Stanley Goodspeed (Nicolas Cage), chases after him, in a high speed Ferrari sitting outside his position in a building. Another coincidence occurs in the high security prison, where Mason escapes a grenade blast by dashing at random into a room, where, of course, there just so happens to be a secure bathtub to climb in.

· 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 standard three act structure is flawless: each scene propels the plot forward. The sequences either create a new problem or complicate a previous conflict, favoring with the later concept. This raises the line of tension even further.

· Most of the production takes place in a high security prison, Alcatraz, crafted with a complex, awe-inspiring atmosphere towering over that of most action movies.

· Sean Connery handles the complicated role of John Mason with mere simplicity, yet easily torments the audience with a sense of omniscient knowledge of the plot.

· 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 fomulatic. "The Rock" is filled with artful design and crafty performances. It is one of the year's best action films.

Brought to you by Hollywood Pictures.

Fantastically made. Undoubtedly one of the best action films in the last 20 years, Bruckheimer had a fantastic effect on this as his oh so loud impact fashioned this movie into what it is, quite possibly one of the finest in its' genre. Connery puts in a sturdy performance as does Cage but the show is stolen by the one and only Edd harris. His commanding performance carried the movie through small snippets where boredom may have set in, his emotion in the delivery of his lines left nothing to be desired and the role seemed so fitting for such a man, although his height was comic in comparison with the other marines.

All round great film with good acting with just the right amount of comic relief when it was most required. thumbs up fellas

In an attempt to get the US Government to pay for soldiers lost on secret missions General Hummel and a group of soldiers steal biological weapons and take control of Alcatraz, threatening to launch on San Francisco if their demands are not met. Running out of options the FBI take Mason out of prison as he has a knowledge of the island, being the only man to have escaped from there. Mason and bio-chemical expert Goodspeed join a group of Navy SEALS to enter the island and destroy the weapons before they can be used. However the death of the whole SEAL unit leaves Mason and Goodspeed to use stealth to avoid the terrorists and destroy the weapons.

This is nothing more than a big summer blockbuster that relies on plenty of big bangs to get it's audience. It relies on the usual Die Hard set-up of "one man (2 men!) take on heavily armed group in set location". However here the plot is a little iffy - Hummel isn't a terrorist, in fact his stance is almost sympathetic. This makes it all a little funny morally but the film turns it round at one point to go back into traditional good guy/bad guy roles so that the audience don't start to think too much! The action is very good - plenty of bangs for your buck! Even though it's all pretty OTT (like the car chase at the start) the mood of the film is such that it's all a great deal of fun.

Connery is really good in the lead and is funny and rather dashing! Cage's character is not as good and is too weedy at the start and some of his dialogue is grating. The support cast is deep and really good - usually big budget action movies have some well known support actors but this has tonnes! Check the names - Ed Harris, David Morse, John Spencer, William Forsythe, Michael Biehn, John C. McGinley, Bokeem Woodbine - the list goes on!

Overall, if you hate big, dumb summer movies then you'll hate this. I'm split down the middle but the sheer sense of fun that this brings combined with a great cast makes this a winner in my book!