The Rock
As Reviewed by James Brundage
This comedy / thriller about a group of marines taking an Alcatraz tour group hostage and holding the government in a bind with sixteen gas rockets that could kill sixty to seventy thousand people each while demanding one hundred million dollars for a government slush fund is completely excellent! Sean Connery plays John Mason, a SAS agent who "in the golden days of the FBI" was put in alcatraz and successfully escaped, only to be re-captured and eventually bribed to help break into Alcatraz with Dr. Goodspeed (Nicholas Cage), a chemical weapons expert who has a recently pregnant wife currently in San Francisco. Ed Harris play General Hummel, the marine in charge of the takeover of Alcatraz.
The time on the rock occupies about half of the two hours and seven minutes long movie and the other half is preparation for this, but none of the time is it boring. This film is masterfully directed to near - perfection that has only one flaw, the fact that the writers incorporated some bits of conspiracy theory (UFO cover-ups, etc.) into the movie.
Movie Reviews by James Brundage