Pure adrenaline-in-your-heart entertainment, and a smart script too!

Rating: 9/10 (9 July 2000)

How did such a smart script find its way into this Simpson/Bruckheimer summer blockbuster? Don't get me wrong, the boys always entertain, but this is a bit of a conundrum, don't you think (i'm gonna have to look that word up sometime).
Great cast. I mean, a REALLY great cast. You got Cage, Connery and Harris as the leads. Then you got Morse, Biehn, McGinley, Todd and Forsythe in minor rolls. These guys are great! This is about as big a "guy movie" as you're gonna find.
This movie and Leaving Las Vegas are what rocketed Cage into superstar status. Oh, he was always a star, with plenty of work, but after the critical acclaim he got from Vegas and the box office he delivered in The Rock, in '96 he became a star people actually wanted to pay to see on the screen. Good for him. He does a god job here as the guy who's in way over his head. He gets to be eccentric and a little heroic as he battles the bad guys (and Sean Connery, who makes him look like schoolboy).
Connery pulls it off, i have to hand it to him. This guy is old, but I had no problem believing him walking into Alcatraz and gunning down a hundred soldiers like he was Sly Stallone. I guess that's saying a lot for the old Bond.
Harris is intense, but isn't he always? This guy gives a glare that could give Clint Eastwood chills. I love watching this guy, and I sympathized with his plight. He's not a villain, but he's not quite the patriot he thinks he is, and he learns it the hard way. The scene with him and Connery is very fun to watch.
Is Michael Bay a good director? My thinking is... yes and no. He packs this movie with a lot of interesting shots, but doesn't linger on one of them for more than two seconds at a time. Is that insecurity or just his music video pedigree? It is an neat effect at first, but it gets frustrating. I give it a 9/10 stars. G'night!