A remarkable action film on an epic scale

Rating: 10/10 (26 June 2013)

The Rock is one of those "today they don't make movies like this anymore" movies. A gem from 90's mainstream cinema. The Rock is also Michael Bay's best film by far to date, in my opinion. Bad Boys was a solid action film. Armageddon was almost a disaster for me except for the emotion and a few scenes, despite the cast was strong and the visual effects were jaw dropping I enjoyed Pearl Harbor, but in comparison with "Tora Tora Tora", it was mediocre. It was grand on a massive scale, but humdrum in most parts. Bad Boys 2 was better than the first as an action flick, but it wasn't great or remarkable though. As for The Island, it was Michael Bay's the second best for me. It was solid, good story, good action, no Michael Bay extravaganza etc. As for Transformers movies, other than the first installment which was pretty fine and again solid entertainment and breathtaking special effects, the sequels were overblown, uneven, big, noisy, overdone and so on! However, The Rock is a great, stylish, classy and subtle action film. It is almost an epic who can give you goosebumps. Also the movie has an amazing soundtrack. The action is spectacular here. The direction is subtle and stylish. It has an original, very gripping story and the best Alcatraz film ever to date (better than the classic "Escape from Alcatraz") Sean Connery is great as always, but also Nicolas Cage does an amazing job here. In those years, Nicolas Cage wasn't an action star, as I remember, his first debut as an action star was Snake Eyes, then The Rock. He is more subtle in The Rock. Ed Harris, what can I say? He rocks! Also we see "Candyman" in the movie as one of the henchmen of the villain. The car chase sequence is one of the bests ever! Honestly, I prefer this one over all the action scenes in Transformers movies. Militarism here is handled very well. Bythe way, the film never tries to be politically correct which is good. The moments within the aircraft scene is maybe the best in the movie and now it becomes an iconic moment in Michael Bay cinema. And I will never forget those green balls!