Bruckheimer's best and a personal favorite

Rating: 9/10 (21 June 2001)

If you only see only one Jerry Bruckheimer movie, let it be The Rock. It is proof that if the team of Bruckheimer and Bay can get their hands on a decent script, they are capable of making some great stuff. The dialog was suprisingly intelligent and nothing was corny. The humor was well timed,hilarious, and didn't mess up the course of the movie unlike Armageddon. The character development was excellent. The film successfully showed why we should care about them. Although some characters were more developed than others, it is still enough to make to make you feel for the characters who got killed, unlike movies like The Mummy which basically made "expendable characters" who's sole purpose was to get killed sometime during the film. What i really liked was how the movie portrayed Ed Harris's character, General Hummel. Unlike most action movies, the villain wasn't portrayed as a heartless ogre, but rather a normal person with good intentions but is trying to get them the wrong way. Harris's performance almost makes you want to root for him. Sean Connery was great, as usual. Although i think Nicholas Cage is a great actor, he can't play a tough guy. I don't know why but he doesn't convince me that the character he is playing is tough and comes across goofy. Fourtunately, he didn't play one in The Rock, he played an FBI chemical who had no combat experience which was a perfect part for him. But he later got type casted into playing tough guy roles like Con Air, Face Off, and Gone in 60 Seconds. The supporting cast was great as well. Michael Biehn did a great job in the few minutes of screen time he got (His argument with Ed Harris right before the shower room shoot out was one of the most intense parts of the movie). David Morse, who played Ed Harris's assistant, had the most underrated performance. The action is intense and the special effects look very realistic.
Overall, The Rock is an excellent action flick and arguably the best action film of the 90's. 5 out of 5