Michael Bay Can Keep on Making Movies...

Rating: 7/10 (16 April 2007)

Goodspeed (Nicholas Cage) is a chemical weapons specialist for the FBI. So when a rogue general (Ed Harris) overtakes Alcatraz island and has a variety of rockets with VX warheads, he is called in to stop the general. But first he must subdue his new partner, lifelong convict and criminal genius Mason (Sean Connery). (I'm tempted to ask why the government has illegal VX warheads... something the movie never discusses... but I won't bother.)
Some people (such as Trey Parker and Matt Stone) give Michael Bay a hard time for making flashy movies with little substance. And usually I'm right there with them. As I type, "Transformers" is coming out and it looks to be a horrible film in every possible way. But I think Bay really did a decent job here combining action with characters the audience can love.
Let's talk about the action and characters. The action is undeniable: explosions, gun fights, and other such goodness (maybe not on the level of "Die Hard" but still pretty good). And there is an extremely memorable car chase scene through the streets of San Francisco. Probably the best part of the film. So the action is nailed done firm.
The characters are also well done here. Nicholas Cage's character is pretty decent, though he suffers from outbursts that make no sense. Ed Harris plays his general role very straight and is quite possibly "the rock" the title refers to (besides Alcatraz, of course) because he holds the film together. And then Connery, who is always good. Connery's character might have been poorly scripted at times (he, like Cage, suffers from unusual outbursts) but this is also a very deep character (though once his secret is revealed, I found it a little disappointing). Quentin Tarantino allegedly did some writing on this one... I have no idea what parts.
The romance is played done, and luckily Claire Forlani has a really small part. My friend Eric loves her, and I love "Mallrats", but I'm sorry.. she's almost as bad as Minnie Driver. Actually, no, she might be even worse.
I am not an action fan, and I'll be the first to admit it. So I grade them a little harsh at times. But look, this one fared alright... and I think if you're going to watch an action film, you can do a lot worse than this one. Great actors, an interesting plot (overtaking Alcatraz? brilliant). And the focus on the interaction between Cage and Connery rather than the bigger action of the terror plot paid off -- they have a chemistry stronger than any VX warhead.