The Rock


"Make no mistake, gentlemen. We are in the fight of our lives, against one of the greatest battalion commanders of the Vietnam War, I shit you not."    - Commander Anderson


release year: 1996
genre: over-the-top action
viewing setting: home Bluray 3/5/18 and home DVD (Critereon Collection) 12/30/01, also home laserdisc 6/7/97 and theater sometime in 1996

synopsis: To make a point, a disgruntled U.S. Marine general assembles a rogue team, steals a deadly biochemical weapon, and takes over Alcatraz island.

impressions: It's one hell of an action ride. Aside from Nicolas Cage, who I pretty much detest, this movie has just about everything: macho soldiers trying to one-up each other, government scumbags, missiles, Alcatraz, an SAS agent, secrets, Navy SEALs, toxins that make flesh melt, big guns, big knives, military honor. Lots of fighting, lots of death, lots of good lines. This is an action movie for action fans.

things to watch for: Melting flesh, needle to the heart.

acting: Sean Connery and Ed Harris do the strongest jobs here, the former as the SAS commando who must help the SEALs break into Alcatraz, the latter as the general gone bad for a good cause. Nicolas Cage overacts as usual, sometimes throwing out lines in an unsuccessful attempt to sound tough. Other strong performances come from Michael Biehn as the leader of the SEALs and William Forsythe as the head FBI guy.

final word: This movie has all the action that any living person could ask for.

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