CNN - A solid smash for Connery and Cage

"The Rock": A solid smash for Connery and Cage

June 11, 1996
Web posted at: 10:45 p.m. EDT

From Carol Buckland

(CNN) -- "The Rock" is a wham-bam action flick that will do boffo business at the summer box office. Subtle, it's not. But if you're in the mood to see some clever buddy bonding, plus lots of things going ka-BOOM, this is the movie for you. (1M QuickTime movie)

In a smartly structured set-up, the much-decorated Brigadier General Francis X. Hummel (Ed Harris) decides to blackmail the U.S. government into doing the honorable thing for his fallen comrades-in-arms. He and a crack team (is there any other kind in these movies?) of Marines break into a military arms depot and make off with a cache of deadly chemical weapons. They then seize control of Alcatraz Island -- including 81 tourists -- and threaten to wipe out San Francisco using the nasty chemical stuff.

After considering a number of options, the government decides to send in a SEAL team headed by Commander Charles Anderson (Michael Biehn). Accompanying them are the real heroes of our story--and the stars of the show. They are a chemicals expert and semi-nerd named Stanley Goodspeed (Oscar winner Nicolas Cage) and an ex-SAS operative named John Patrick Mason (Oscar winner Sean Connery) who's been wrongly held prisoner by the U.S. government for 30 years. Mason just happens to be the only guy who ever escaped from Alcatraz and lived to tell the tale.

There's a lot of futzing around before these guys get onto Alcatraz. This includes an overkill car chase through the streets of San Francisco. Connery is in a Humvee (don't ask) and Cage is in a yellow Porsche. Although well-staged and full of many gratifying crashes and explosions, this sequence ends up being the same-old, same-old.

Finally, the heroes take on the bad guys on The Rock (that's Alcatraz, for those of you who have missed this film's jillion-dollar promo campaign). In a totally UNsuprising twist, it comes down to Connery and Cage versus the villains in a (cliche alert) race against the clock. There's lots of blood. Lots of bang-boom.

Connery is great. Sleek. Smart. Suave. He classes up this production immensely. Cage has a good, goofy time as Stanley Goodspeed. He's definitely not your usual action hero. He and Connery make a sharp team although one wishes they'd been allowed to interact more. ("The Rock 2," anyone?)

Ed Harris contributes another excellent screen performance, creating an unusually complex action film "villain." He has what the military calls command presence.

The supporting cast is fine. Michael Biehn ("The Terminator," "Aliens") is just the guy to call when you need someone to head a military team.

John Spencer ("Forget Paris," "Sea of Love," "Presumed Innocent," "L.A. Law") is suitably smarmy as the FBI director who has good reason to fear the complications that may arise from bringing Sean Connery's character into this operation.

"General Hospital's" Vanessa Marcil makes her big screen debut as Stanley Goodspeed's girlfriend. She registers nicely in her initial scenes then pretty much gets lost until the kicker ending.

The screenplay has a tad more depth than one expects from this sort of film. The characters actually have a couple of dimensions and some interesting back stories. Although the dialogue is littered with the usual profanities and smart-ass comments, there are some literate lines for Connery and Cage. They make the most of them.

Michael Bay's ("Bad Boys") direction is sledgehammer direct. This guy does not know when to back off. His beat-the- audience-over-the-head style is both exhausting and exhilarating.

Oh, speaking of beating over the head. The music by Nick Glennie-Smith (he also did "Two if by Sea," "Nine Months" and "Crimson Tide") and Hans Zimmer is loud and unrelenting.

Technical credits are, overall, top notch. This film has the highly polished look for which producers Jerry Bruckheimer and the late Don Simpson were so well-known. Art, it ain't. But it is first-class eye candy.

"The Rock" is rated R. That's for nasty language and violence. Although the body count is high, the gore is less graphic than in many previous R-rated action flicks. Beware the slo-mo slaughter in the shower room, though. It's a bit much for those with sensitive stomachs.

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"The Rock": A solid smash for Connery and Cage

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