A Great Action Movie if you can suspend your disbelief

Rating: 8/10 (8 November 2013)

This movie was produced and directed by the same guys that made Bad Boys. I realised the similarities with the absolutely beautiful cinematography that made Bad Boys such a great movie. The cinematography is superb and as such this movie, in this way, becomes a work of art. In fact, this is Don Simpson's last movie as I believe he died sometime during its production. The dedication at the end is to Don Simpson, and it is always sad to see such a talented person, or in fact any person, die, but that is the nature of this corrupt world.
A bunch of highly trained marine terrorists take over Alcatraz, secure hostages, set up missiles carrying very nasty diseases, and demand that they receive recognition and that the families of their dead receive proper compensation. The FBI are called in along with Godspeed (Nicholas Cage) to try and diffuse the situation. They then go to Mason (Sean Connery), the only guy to have ever escaped from Alcatraz, to get back in. As Godspeed is the only person who can neutralise the gas, he is also sent in, much to his protestations.
The one thing I thought about this movie when watching it was that it was somewhat unbelievable that such a thing would happen, and if it did, there would be very little the authorities could do without instigating a plan of acceptable losses. I am not saying that the world is a rosy place - far from it - but the nasty things that happen usually are mass shootings, and the occasional fanatical cult, such as the Branch Davidians (at least in the United States).
The actions were simply to be recognised. The troops in this siege were special US operatives that simply do not exist. When one of them dies, the truth is covered up and the reply is that they were killed in a training exercise. No compensation or anything is paid to the grieving widow. When people sign up though they generally are told of what they are going up against and agree to such clauses. As such these people should have known what they were going into.
In another way it must be frustrating for the relatives of the deceased as they know nothing about what their beloved are involved in as it is top secret. Such things may not work well in a family, but then there are lots of confidential matters flying around everywhere so one cannot really complain.
All in all, this is a great action movie if one is willing to suspend their disbelief, which we all must do in the long run. There are unbelievable aspects to this movie, but one must understand that it is one of those movies that give the viewers that false hope that our problems can be solved with the brave actions of a single man - and in essence that is truth as Jesus was a single man as he did indeed solve all of our important problems.