"Define combat, sir."

Rating: 7/10 (29 April 2005)

Rarely do I find a movie where logic takes a back seat that I actually enjoy. The Rock is one of those dumb action movies that I did find enjoyable. Nicholas Cage has turned out to be quite the action actor, able to sustain a borderline-nerd character into a kick ass James Bond-esquire action star (Stanley Goodspeed is his name in the movie). Not bad, especially since he's staring in the same movie as James Bond himself, Sean Connery. The Connery character is actually intriguing. He plays John Mason, an ex-British spy who's been locked up by the FBI for years, holding him without ever charging him on anything. We find out later that he found out buried secrets about America's past, so the FBI had to silence him before he spoke. The only problem with that plan is they put Mason in Alcatraz, and Mason became, at least according to the movie's plot, the only resident of the prison to escape. Fast forward to the movie's present day, and a team of Marines, lead by Ed Harris, have stolen VX gas (real stuff, highly poisonous stuff too) and are threatening to launch missiles filled with the gas from Alcatraz over San Francisco. The plan is to have navy seals enter Alcatraz, with help from Mason, and disable the missiles, with help from Goodspeed. The movie plays like a cat and mouse game between the good guys and the bad guys through the bowels of the prison, ultimately ending in grand fashion. The movie is well paced, director Michael Bay knows just when to slow down the pace and when to speed it back up. The special effects and the acting are solid, especially by Harris who plays a tough guy Marine until the moment of truth approaches. The Rock is solid entertainment, even if you have to shut your brain off at times.