Good work by leads can't save this "crock"

Rating: 5/10 (14 September 1999)

The late critic Jay Scott, from The Globe and Mail, once wondered whether directors Adrian Lyne and Ridley Scott were in fact the same person, given their too-similar-for-comfort styles. I'd like to pose a similar scenario; that producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Joel Silver are in fact, one and the same person; they both wear beards, and with a few exceptions(ENEMY OF THE STATE and THE REF for the former, THE HUDSUCKER PROXY and THE MATRIX for the latter), they both make obnoxiously loud and dumb action movies. What's worse, they get some talented people to work for them, and then crush them under the weight. Sometimes, the actors are able to make it work(Eddie Murphy in BEVERLY HILLS COP for the former, Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, and Alan Rickman in DIE HARD for the latter), but mostly not.
THE ROCK is the latest example from Silver...excuse me, Bruckheimer. It's about average. Again, the only distinction is good work by the three leads. Connery probably deserves the most praise, because he's saddled with lines like the "prom queen" one, and still comes off looking good. But for crying out loud, he co-produced this crap! Cage claims to have taken this so his career wouldn't take a nose dive after LEAVING LAS VEGAS, and he does a good job in the role, but I'm tired of all the excuses actors use to appear in these monstrosities. Here's a new one; WHY DON'T YOU READ THE F***ING SCRIPT!!! Yes, what can be good in the script stage can still be screwed up, but if you're not obligated(by your contract or a friend), and you don't need the money, YOU SHOULDN'T DO THIS CRAP!!! Sorry. Anyway, Harris, to be fair, has a more dimensional role than normal for these movies, and he does it well. His scene with Michael Biehn(also good) is one of the film's high points. Also, there's an admittedly tense scene on the "rock." But mostly, this follows the MO of Bruckheimer/Silver; Thou shalt bludgeon thy audience rather than entertain them.