My favorite action movie of all time.

Rating: 8/10 (10 December 2000)

At first glance and especially according to it's trailer The Rock appears at first to be the generic shoot-em-up, explosion laden, Swiss-cheese plot, mindless action film. Fortunately, why there is no shortage of action, the film spends enough time with it's characters that is also a half way decent movie. Nicholas Cage is an FBI chemical weapons specialist. Sean Connery is the British SAS officer who once escaped from the famed prison. Ed Harris is the Marine general who is tired of his men being ignored by the Pentagon. (possible spoilers ahead) Major Hummel (Harris), with the aid of some Marines, hijacks a bunch of chemical weapons rockets which he then places on Alcatraz island with the cover of a large number of tourist hostages. Stanley Goodspeed (Cage) is called in for his expertise and John Mason (Connery)is given a reprieve from his 30 year prison sentence due to his extensive knowledge of the island prison's inner sanctum. From here the story moves through mason's short escape from custody, but just long enough to visit his long-lost daughter. Michael Biehn, my favorite underrated actor, makes an appearance as the leader of the SEAL team sent to free the prison. Even though the SEAL's are predictably wiped out it is done quite plausibly and Mason and Goodspeed become a mismatched duo that is all that stands between Hummel's rockets and San Francisco. The rest of the movie is Goodspeed and Mason running around fighting off Marines and disabling rockets. While we don't agree with his methods the audience (and even the SEAL commander) sympathize with Hummel. All in all a fun movie with great action sequences that manages to maintain plausibility and a decent plot.

"Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the war room!"