Good solid action on Alcatraz

Rating: 8/10 (9 January 2017)

General Francis X. Hummel has had enough of the way US service personnel have been treated; especially how the families of those who died on top secret missions are told a string of lies and not compensated for their loss to this end he decides to blackmailing the government by stealing a quantity of deadly VX gas; taking over the island of Alcatraz and threatening to launch the gas into the city of San Francisco if is demands to compensate the families aren't met within forty hours. Of course he can't do this alone; he is supported by a squad of ex-marines who expect to be paid handsomely.
The government have no intention of paying him so assemble a team to go to Alcatraz and neutralise the VX rockets that are to deploy the gas. The team will consist of a squad of Navy Seals; Stanley Goodspeed, an FBI specialist in chemical weapons and finally John Patrick Mason, the only man to have escaped from Alcatraz who will be needed to guide the team in. Mason could be a problem; he is a former captain in the SAS who has spent the last thirty years in jail but has never been formally charged with any crime and is considered extremely dangerous. Once inside Alcatraz the Seals are quickly eliminated leaving Goodspeed and Mason to deal with Hummel and his men and neutralise the weapons.
This film is packed with action; there are shootouts, a car chase, explosions and the threat of a deadly attack on a major city the action moves at such a pace it is easy to overlook many of the more unlikely moments the scenes in what looked like ancient mine carts under the old jail seemed too far-fetched but once that was over it was soon forgotten; at least while watching the film. The story may include numerous clichés but that doesn't matter as it is a lot of fun. Nicolas Cage does a solid job as Goodspeed and Sean Connery is in top form as Mason; he may be old but he makes us believe that is character is tougher than the young marines he is up against. Ed Harris does a fine job as General Hummel; a character who isn't just a pantomime villain. This is probably director Michael Bay's best film; he keeps the action moving at a cracking pace without losing the story in the process; don't be put off if you dislike his 'Transformers' franchise. Overall I found this to be a lot of fun; it won't be for everybody but if you want a solid action film it is definitely worth watching.