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Featured Actress: Vanessa Marcil - Before Michael Bay had put a brand name on rollicking action cinema with twenty-seven cuts per minute and a camera that simply never stops moving, he was something new and exciting on the scene. With The Rock he cemented his reputation as one of the very best in his field, directing a pulse-pounder of a suspense story featuring a solid, energetic cast and a rather smart screenplay.
Nicholas Cage portrays the ridiculously named Stanley Goodspeed, a chemist for the FBI who is called on to lead a counterstrike mission when awol soldiers threaten San Francisco with a nerve gas attack after taking over the prison island of Alcatraz. Brought in to aid an elite SEAL team is a former Alcatraz escapee (Sean Connery) who must secretly get Goodspeed and his people into “The Rock.”
Filled with all manner of exciting action set pieces, the true strength of The Rock lies in Ed Harris’s moving portrayal as the leader of the soldiers-come-terrorists who are demanding $100 million to be paid to the families of soldiers who dies in covert missions for the U.S. government. Harris’s formerly highly decorated general is intense, frightening and also very human – a madman who can be understood, and with whom audiences, perhaps, can sympathize. His righteous position makes him a very intriguing villain, and gives The Rock a most excellent and unique center.
Additionally, the clever screenplay lays out some very nice twists and turns, especially when Connery and Cage are left on their own after the SEAL team is ambushed by the soldiers. As Goodspeed, Cage orders up a big plate of mild-mannered that makes one wonder how he would have handled Clark Kent had his Superman ever taken flight. Goodspeed’s aversion to action, (and his fright concerning not making it back to pregnant girlfriend Vanessa Marcil) coupled with Connery’s uncaring for what’s afoot (he’s damned-if-he-does, damned-if-he-don’t) stack the odds even more against the pair, thus heightening the overall tension.
If you like action movies that are equal parts brains and shoot-em-up, then you’ll most certainly enjoy The Rock.
- Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
- Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
- Studio: Walt Disney Video
- Run Time: 136 minutes
- Production Company: Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Hollywood Pictures
- Worldwide Box Office: $330 Million
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