The Rock Reviews

• Good thriller with great actors

  
  By A2ODBHT4URXVXQ on 2004-05-05
  Beautifully cast with Nicholas Cage as the reluctant biochemist and Sean Connery as the only man ever to have escaped from Alcatraz teaming up to defeat Ed Harris, playing a psychotic who is holding San Francisco virtual hostage. Before long, all the players are in place and viewers are treated to an action-packed couple of hours of bullets, bodies, explosions, close calls, harebrained 2nd guessing, near misses, near hits - and I don't care how many of these over-the-top movied you've seen: this one keeps you on the edge of your seat.
  Sean Connery, of course, plays himself - and that slight Scottish lisp and raised eyebrow are both firmly in place; he's simply terrific. So is Cage, whom I don't usually enjoy watching - he's just too pathetic and conflicted looking. But he's perfectly case in The Rock. It's obvious that the actors had a ball during the filming. Viewers will too. Don't miss it.
  
  

• One of the best action films of all time

  
  By A35YWA2V4QHOJ3 on 2000-07-14
  "The Rock" is yet another great Bruckenheimer movie, perhaps his best (although that is debatable because of "Crimson Tide" would give it a run for its money).

  "The Rock" features top notch actors, something that is usually lacking in action flicks. Instead of lunchbox actors like Keanu Reeves, we get Ed Harris, Nicholas Cage and Sean Connery. The scenes in which Connery & Harris appear together are almost electric - both have such an authoritative screen presence. Micheal Biehn once again plays a Seal, although this time it is a much better role than the one he was given in that rather silly movie called "Navy Seals."

  One of the things I liked best about this movie is its depiction of Special Forces. I hate it when Hollywood makes elite fighting groups (such as Navy Seals, Green Berets, Ninjas, etc.) look like a bunch of incompetent buffoons. "The Rock" features one of the most favorable portayals of Marine Recon and Navy Seals that I have ever seen.

  Now, to dispel some of the criticism of the movie that I have read. Is some of this movie unbelievable? Of course it is. It's an action movie. It's not meant to be taken too seriously. It is entertaining and delivers on its promise of non-stop action. You have everything from Marine Recon vs. Navy Seals to a good car chase which involves a Ferrari to an Air Force air-strike, + a whole lotta neat stuff getting blown up. It is also about as plausible as action movies get.

  This is a great movie for all those who have even a passing appreciation for action movies. It's also a "must" movie for DVD to get all the full effect of the sights and sounds.
  
  

• One of the All-Time Worst

  
  By A1J03J0HZ7KU5T on 1999-08-20
  Considering the amount of talent involved, "The Rock" must rank among the worst films ever made by a major studio. It suffers from choppy editing, botched action sequences and a rather dispirited tone. Even more depressing is Sean Connery going through the motions for a big paycheck - not unlike "The Avengers." Simply put, "The Rock" is junk-food cinema without any redeeming sense of filmmaking skill. Did Joel Schumacher direct this?
  
  

• The guy who made it was smokin rocks obviously.

  
  By on 1998-12-17
  The absence of a plot turns potential into crap. Its no fun watching a freaking old guy run around a rat filled alcatraz shooting blanks at people. Nicolis cage cant even act like he has a clue. and it gets a little annoying when they use their limited vocabulary through the WHOLE movie. did i mention the OLD GUY?? This movie was a waste of money.
  
  

• An Intelligent, Adrenaline-Pumped Thrill Ride!

  
  By A3N3SN2DDD4HCJ on 1999-11-25
  The Rock is one of the greatest of all action films. This is a movie that not only presents some incredible, if not stunning, action sequences, but also a smart plot and intelligent screenplay. This is a film that really works in it's genre to the fullest. Director Michael Bay is a master of this material and adds great style and vision to already excellent material. The screenplay by David Weisberg, Douglas S. Cook and Mark Rosner has a touch of intrigue here, a touch of adrenaline there, a splash of rambo here, and the effect is great on the big screen. "The Rock" never slowes down but never gets dumb either. Elements taken from other films are lovingly polished to a gloss. Nicolas Cage, Sean Connery and Ed Harris all give convincing performances that ignite the screen along with everything else. "The Rock" also has some of the best of all action scenes. The chase scene through San Francisco is pure excitement and thrills and amazingly filmed. "The Rock" is intelligent, action-packed, and a wild, thrilling adrenaline-pumped ride that's also wonderfully stylish.
  
  
• Racist, Sexist, Anti-Gay
  By A1YT0YS0CZUB6Z on 2004-10-19
  What a horrible excuse for film. The African American characters are portrayed as knife-wielding, blood-thirsty, foul-mouthed animals. The only female characters are: a) A completely worthless ditz, and; b) An extremely foul-mouthed African-American woman threatening gun violence. And the cherry on this Michael Bey/Jerry Bruckheimer sundae: A obviously gay hair dresser.. in San Francisco. Get it? He's GAY.. a HAIRDRESSER.. and it's SAN FRANCISCO!!!! Get it? Get it? Hee yuk! Haw haw haw!
  
  Don't get me wrong, I love a good, violent action flick. REAL man-movies. Peckinpah, Verhoeven, Kurosawa, Tarantino. THIS one is an execrable waste of celluoid. If I could have given it negative 5-stars, I would have.
  
  Oh yeah.. I hope this doesn't violate Amazon's "No Spoilers" rule, but Nicholas Cage's character.. he's an Elvis fan! Does Cage play an Elvis fan in EVERY FREAKING MOVIE he makes?
  
  Ugh.
  
  
• LOUSY MOVIE
  By on 1999-11-03
  This movie is really bad. I like The Road Warrior much, much better. Pass this one up.
  
  
• Love Action Films/Hate Action Films - doesn't matter!!
  By A1KH6UNM287JX2 on 2001-01-10
  By far the best mainstream action film I have ever seen. I am no action film buff and certainly am no action film watcher by choice (I compromise and watch some occasionally and my boyfriend lives through Martha Stewart), but I absolutely LOVE this movie.

  It has all your typical elements of a Hollywood, cash cow, cookie cutter movie; former good guy gone wacky for what seems to him an honorable cause, hostages, a seemlessly planned terrorist attack, looks like there's no hope when the trained anti-terrorists get killed, average joe blow saves the day driven by the thought of his pregnant girlfriend. However, it thankfully skips the atypical action acting element of Arnold, Sylvester, and John Claude and is replaced with a humorous Cage, believeable Harris, and sexy Connery.

  Admittedly, it has some great action sequences, though I thought the San Fran car chase seen had it's cheesey moments.

  A-list cast, great action, and memorable writing (I often quote some one-liners from this film), make this movie a definite staple to our DVD collection.
  
  

• Wait for Criterion Collection DVD
  By on 2001-01-28
  This is one of the few action movies I think still holds up and this DVD presents it pretty well but there are basically no little extra things on it. Wait for the Criterion DVD to come out. It will more than likely have an anamorphic transfer (since they started doing that), great sound and it will also have a lot of extras like a history on Alcatraz, outtakes and of course a commentary. But unless you really have to have it and don't care for supplements, you can't go wrong with this disc.
  
  
• Awful DVD - will be seeking refund
  By A17EYL4K4PW8CI on 2006-04-23
  This review is about the regular edition DVD, not the Criterion one.
  
  The DVD is a piece of garbage. IT CLAIMS TO BE WIDESCREEN, BUT IT IS NOT. IT IS ENCODED AT A FULLSCREEN DVD RATIO WITH LETTERBOXES. Not only does this waste space, but it gives the picture actually a smaller resolution than it should have as a DVD. I wouldn't be surprised if they took a pan&scan print and chopped off the top and bottom, like the Back to the Future box set fiasco. I will be comparing to my friend's copy he taped off TV to see if it is so.
  
  
• unbelievable
  By A6DJQRCPVOY5C on 2007-07-08
  I read all these reviews about how good this move is, and I am told that this was so good and I finally watched it. I must say that it is horrible. Whether it be the horrid plot, the over acting, or the ungodly car chase with the camera that couldnt stay focused on one thing for more than half a second, there wasn't one thing good about this movie. I think it's about time for Sean Connery to find something else to do. Because he sure didn't add anything to this movie. The only movie I've seen hokier than this was the new Die Hard, but at least that had some good acting.
  
  
• Better than most Bruckheimer films.
  By AKVNA706X53OP on 2000-05-24
  You can always tell a Jerry Bruckheimer/Michael Bay movie even if you only see about a minute of it.

  What is their obsession with explosions?

  Granted, for this movie, they were pretty much necessary to certain parts, i.e., the thermite plasma and the incendiary bomb dropped into the tunnel system. But their other movies (Armageddon, Con Air) go way into the realm of the unrealistic.

  I got to wonder if the movie would have been better if it been made by a different team.

  One thing that was really annoying, something I didn't notice until recently, was the constant sounds of weapons being cocked.

  A guy could be holding an M16 or an MP5 and all he'll do is move it a few inches and you'll here the chuk-uk of the action being worked. I got to admit it sounds cool, but in real life, each time you hear that sound, a round would fall to the ground.

  Bruckheimer/Bay put too much of their own B.S. into movies and that really takes away from it.

  I think "The Rock" is their best film, due mostly to the actors.

  Basically, a good action movie but too much B.S.
  
  

• Good, if you like mindless action.
  By on 2003-02-11
  While the performances of the actors are satisfactory, they can not compensate for the formulaic, unoriginal, predictable, and sucker-by-previews style of worthless movies directed by the Michael Bay, and produced Jerry Bruckheimer. Yeah, I said it! Many of you thought so in one form or another when you saw Pearl Harbor, Bad Boys, or Armageddon. Their movies wreak of contrived melodrama (the massacre of the squad inside the prison), weak plot (get in, get out), weak dialogue (with a few mild attempts at humour). How can a movie be exciting if it is utterly predictable, and so insipid and ludicrous that it is unbelievable? If you want a real action movie, watch Die Hard! It has everything, this movie could never achieve.
  
  
• Dont be so smart Darren from San Diego
  By A368S4Y4XEADPK on 2001-07-29
  Just a comment/correction about your critique on the fact that Sean Connery's charcter John Mason would not be able to know about the Kennedy Assasination of 1963 because he was imprisoned in '62.

  When the FBI Director Womack first arrives at San Francisco with Stanley Goodspeed(Cage), Womack tells the Bay Area leader Paxton that "Mason was imprisoned in 1962, ESCAPED IN '63..."

  I've seen "The Rock" about 40 times without exaggerating and wanted to clear that out.
  
  

• A Good B Rated Action Movie
  By AEGR40GALMDJ4 on 2004-05-11
  This is a good movie to watch on the superstation or when you have nothing better to do. It isn't a complete letdown, but was definately not as good as Die Hard, or Entrapment. The movie had some really cool action scenes. Ed Harris, Nicholas Cage, and Sean Connery all were really good. There also was a lot of violent battle scenes that were interesting, and the finale at the end is really cool. The movie is good, but if you have high standards for action, pick something else instead.
  
  
• Maybe director Michael Bay's action masterpiece
  By A2PXHFGJZBNLXB on 2004-06-14
  Okay, perhaps I am being very hasty with making that proclamation, since I'll admit I haven't seen any other Michael Bay film other than this one and ARMAGEDDON. Still, I cannot imagine that this much-maligned director has made a better action movie than this one. ARMAGEDDON was an ugly, bloated, flagrantly manipulative piece of action drivel. THE ROCK, on the other hand, may be just as manipulative, but I'll pick this very good pure action flick over ARMAGEDDON any day.

  What's good about this particular action movie? Unlike ARMAGEDDON, THE ROCK doesn't attempt to be something more than good action entertainment. There are no synethetic emotions and all that nauseatingly insistent patriotism that seriously marred ARAMGEDDON, despite the fact that the antagonist of this movie is a former general who is looking for restitution for families of soldiers who died in combat under his command. THE ROCK is purely what it is, an action flick. As it turns out, it is a very skillful one at that, with convincing performances from all three leads (Sean Connery, Nicholas Cage, and Ed Harris) and exciting action scenes all around.

  As for the plot, no, it is not particularly fresh (with elements borrowed from DIE HARD and even PULP FICTION), but the script adds some interesting elements to the equation, particularly with Ed Harris' General Hummel, who all throughout shows significant sympathetic human dimensions that make him stand out from the usual one-dimensional snarling villain. I liked those touches, as well as the twist at the end, in which the villains of the story seem to shift. It is with that twist that THE ROCK truly does stand apart from the action-movie crowd.

  I always love a good action movie, and THE ROCK is definitely one of the good (if not absolutely great) ones. Recommended.
  
  

• This is in fullscreen format with FAKE WIDESCREEN.
  By A3XMO0OGZ5N9Z on 2005-03-21
  Buena Vista has released this "widescreen" DVD of The Rock, but the "widescreen" is FAKE! I owned the full screen VHS version of The Rock, and then I bought this "widescreen" DVD. But while watching the DVD, something looked suspicious so I compared the "widescreen" DVD and the fullscreen VHS side by side on my DVD/VCR combo player. What I noticed was the framing for the DVD and the VHS was exactly the same, except the black bars on the top and the bottom of the "widescreen" DVD covered up footage that could be seen on the upper and lower portions of the screen in the fullscreen VHS version. So a caution to people who want to buy this DVD: DO NOT BUY IT. More and more of these scams are arising, especially with MGM releases of movies on DVDs.
  
  
• Awesome!!
  By AA47SV8XVOBWB on 2005-11-17
  One of the must have movies of recent times. Sean Connery, Nick Cage, and Ed Harris on Alcatraz with VX gas...what more could you need? I love the scene when Cage corrects the FBI agent by saying "that's chemical superfreak." Great car chase scene from the Fairmont hotel with Connery in a Hummer, Cage in a Ferrari, and the cable car. If it's not in your DVD collection, it ought to be!
  
  
• 5 stars for one line
  By A3NNXYMHJ6D9XJ on 2007-07-02
  I don't like Nicholas cage at all. He is one of the most annoying obnoxious people of all time. I cannot stand his voice or anything else. so I am not talking about the follow up line to the coolest line in this movie or in many other movies.
  
  Do you remember when the man Sean Connery said the following line : "Losers complain Winners Go %&$# the prom queen." That was the best line I have heard in a while. That was great. As far as cage's follow up line who cares. Sean Connery is the man.
  
  I know that wasn't much of a reveiw but that was great.
  
  
  
  
• Excellent Soundtrack
  By A3BW9GGTXQBAF4 on 2000-01-13
  This movie is filled with action from start to end. The soundtrack is what I liked most. The background music is thrilling during the action scenes. Tadada-dan-dandan, tadada-dan-dandan. I can still feel the heat. Sean Connery was perfect in his role as ex-British Secret Service Agent, he was agent 007 during his time, di ba?
  
  
• The Rock
  By AP0R9UZK7W5UB on 2000-04-03
  This is my second favorite action film ever next to The Matrix. I agree with the two other people who said this. The Rock has many excelllent things abut it. One is acting. Nicolas Cage is at his best here. He plays chemical weapons expert Stanley Goodspeed who goes along with a group of Navy SEALS to neutralize several VX poison gas rockets and take over Alcatraz a.k.a The Rock. Sean Connery does an excellent job also and in my opinion, does the best job of acting in this movie. He is British spy John Mason whom the Americans have held illegally in a prison for over 3O years. He is the only man to have ever escaped from Alcatraz. He goes along with Cage and the SEALS. However, if you want to see better slightly Sean Connery, check out Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade or some of his OO7 films such as Thunderball, Goldfinger, From Russia with Love, or You Only Live Twice. Ed Harris does a great job as mentally disgruntled General Hummel. He holds San Francisco hostage and if the U.S. government does not pay money to his dead soldiers' families, he will fire the rockets. However, he ends up messing up the launch coordinates so the rocket goes into the sea. He gets killed by one his own men. The action is very spectacular in this film. There are several hand-to-hand fights and gunfights at Alcatraz and a great car chase through San Francisco. Another great thing is music. I loved the background music in this. This is a great action movie. If you want to see other great action films, check out The Matrix, Con Air, Air Force One, Crimson Tide, or Face/Off.
  
  
• action hero stuff
  By A32MF1KTDEM1JB on 2000-04-26
  this film is the best the first time youve seen it,then after a few times it gets so boreing you cant watch 5sec's of it so my advice is rent it don't buy it.
  
  
• Really really really cool
  By A3UAH7LJRNX6PJ on 2000-06-03
  The Rock, as others have said is about a guy holding 81 civilians hostage on Alcatraz, threatening to bomb San Fransisco unless a group of soldiers killed under his command are recognized. A group of Navy SEALs, a biochemist, and the only man who has ever escaped from Alcatraz are sent to diffuse the bombs. The whole group of Navy SEALs are killed, leaving only the biochemist (Nicholas Cage) and the escaped convict (Sean Connery). Through the next hour or so, they run around Alcatraz escaping from the marines under the guy holding the hostages and trying to find and diffuse all 15 bombs containing a deadly gas. There's alot of action and is pretty entertaining. Of course, something like this could never happen, and you have to wonder how Cage and Connery lived through some of those explosions, but The Rock is still a really great movie. There's a few funny parts, like with the stylist obsessed with hair, and Connery's character's cynicalness (I don't think that's a word). Buy this movie, it's really great.
  
  
• The best thriller in years!!!
  By AVDBMBGZAO81W on 1999-09-14
  From it's daring prison take over to it's inmense all out car chase throughout San Francisco,this movie will keep you at the edge of your soul,mind and body.
  
  
• San Francisco Rock 'n' Roll
  By A16EZ4MT9BFF2R on 2000-09-02
  [Subtract a star if your plots must be plausible.]

  Stanley Goodspeed (Nicolas Cage) -- what is this, a James Bond movie? -- is a chemical and biological expert for the FBI. This is a guy who admits that he likes his job and it shows. When he's thrown into a perilous situation, he gets off on finding a way out. He's about to get off BIG TIME.

  General Francis X. Hummel (Ed Harris) has had enough. He's led Marines in highly covert operations. His men have given their lives for their country and now their country disavows(!) their actions and discards their families. Gen. Harris has tried in vain to get the government to listen. Now, he's gonna make them listen.

  Hummel has assembled a crack team of commandos. First, he and his team break into a military chemical facility and steal a form of nerve gas called VX. This is pretty bad stuff. When one of his team jostled and drops one of the pellets, he gets sealed in the vault and we get to watch his skin boil and melt while he begs to be let out.

  When we next see Hummel and his comrades, they're taking the tour of Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay. Before you know it, Hummel is letting the park ranger know that the tour is over. He lets the Government know that he wants reparations or there's gonna be lots of skin boiling in San Francisco.

  Enter John Patrick Mason (Sean Connery) -- maybe it IS a James Bond movie. Mason is a federal prisoner. We soon learn that Mason had actually escaped from Alcatraz even though it was generally thought that Alcatraz was inescapable. It becomes Mason's job to lead Goodspeed and a team of Navy SEALS onto Alcatraz and free the tourist hostages and save San Francisco's citizens.

  The Rock is not only an action movie, but it's funny as well. You'll love the relationship between Cage and Connery. Also, what about the mysterious (and hostile) relationship between Mason and an FBI special agent (John Spencer)? What does the agent know about Mason that he doesn't want any one else to know. The Rock works in so many wacko conspiracy theories about the Government that you'll enjoy figuring out which ones they left out.

  The Rock is a great summer diversion. Despite some goofy scenarios, the relationship of Mason and Goodspeed will carry the day. Plus, there's TONS of action in this movie. It's nearly non-stop, especially when Mason and the FBI nearly destroy San Francisco on their own.

  Spend a few bucks and enjoy. I recommend it!

  [Originally written 29 June 1996]
  
  

• INCREDABLE
  By A3K58ZYVNLMLSX on 2000-12-28
  Okay the dvd features on this movie are pretty weak but the movie outweighs it. The story about a marine general out to make right with the goverments wrongs. At times you see yourself rooting for the general. Then theirs Stanley Goodspeed(Cage) who is a chemical expert along with John Mason(Connery). Who fight along side to take down the general. Another big plus is the score by Hans Zimmerman. His musical themes are cool as always. He many incredable themes to go along with the situation. If you buy the dvd you should buy the soundtrack as well. I believe it is one of the best acted action movie that I have seen. I strongly recommend it. The only reason why not 5 stars is the weak dvd features.
  
  
• Michael Bays Best!
  By on 2001-03-08
  This movie is definetly Bays best!This is awhole lot better than Bad Boys,or Armmagedeon!This is a slam-bang action movie that has some great military action!
  
  
• Its all about cinematrography to create the suspense
  By A2GBBDNZLYC4A9 on 2001-08-19
  The plot of the Rock is fairly simple as a general played by Ed Harris seeks compensation for the solders whom have died throughout several of his missions. In order to get compensation the general and his army occupy Alcatraz and point rockets carrying a lethal chemical toward San Fransisco. Sean Connery plays the man who escaped from Alcatraz years ago and must guide Nicolas Cage who plays a chemical weapons specialist back in to the prison, to disarm the weapons. There are several stars playing smaller rolls of soldiers in this movie, which make it interesting to point them all out. The movie is more of a suspense movie, with a car chase and some action thrown in. Something that most people will miss in this movie is the beautiful cinematography, the angles and the movement of the camera makes it so much more dramatic in the suspenseful parts. The only DVD feature is the theatrical trailer.
  
  
• One less star 'cause DVD edition should be better featured
  By A22LE2JAII1U84 on 2001-11-10
  Excellent movie. Nobody could disagree with this.
  A real edge-of-the-seat action thriller full of great images and astonishing sound.
  But the DVD release surely could be a higher quality stuff in terms of including a couple of more extras than the simple trailer.
  Perhaps an interview to the actors or the director, backstage videos, or something like that. Action movies are particularly apt for enhancing them with that kind of extras, because the watcher always wants to know how this or that scene was footed. And of course the director's comments are always welcome.
  I've got several early- and mid-80s action and suspense movies that include those cinema-fans most wanted features. Strangely this late-90s release lacks them.
  In fact, after you watched to the movie a couple of times at the cinema, perhaps another two or three times at home, there's no further interest in the movie itself. But backstage videos or any kind of add-ons you could not see in cinemas surely can show you a different aproach to the subject.
  This review applies to the standard edition, not the Criterion-Colection edition, which actually IS full of features. Unfortunately I found it after buying the other one.
  
  
• GREATEST MOVIE EVER
  By ATFQIIPYOXAV8 on 2004-01-23
  This is the greatest movie ever.... interesting plot... great action.... awesome car chase.... and of course Sean Connery. Great cast, Sean Connery, Nicholas Cage, Ed Harris all do a great job. BUY THIS MOVIE NOW you won't regret it.
  
  

• Con Air
• Armageddon
• Face/Off (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition)
• Independence Day (Five Star Collection)
• Air Force One