I watched this movie on AXN. I am a die hard fan of Sean Connery and well it was a pleasure watching this movie. Nicholas Cage is the perfect foil for Sean in this movie.
When it comes to the story it is nothing new. It is a common theme of a hostage situation and America being endangered by chemical weapons instead of nuclear weapons. The cast is the strength of the movie and its only the characters in the movie which have managed to make it worth watching. You must just watch it for entertainment sake don’t go thoughtful on this movie.
The outcome is predictable.. you just have to watch this movie for Sean, Nick and Ed Harris.
Ed Harris is the villain who is U.S Brigadier General Francis Xavier Hummel. He has this idea that the US government is cheating on the American soldiers. The government is expert in covering up for missing soldiers in the battlefield. General Hummel wants to stop the government from deceiving the people. He turns a few soldiers into mercenaries. This team is successful in securing a chemical weapon, V.X nerve gas. This chemical is so lethal that any form of contact with this gas with the skin can cause death. Besides this weapon they are holding hostages in Alcatraz prison, now a tourist attraction, which is also known as the Rock. They demand $100, 000, 000 for the release of the hostages. The money would be distributed among the family of the soldiers who went missing in action.
There are only two people who can help the government from this predicament. Dr Stanley Goodspeed (Nicholas Cage), a chemical and biological weapons expert and John Patrick Mason (Sean Connery). The characterization of Nicholas Cage is different from his other movies… He plays a nerd who is scared of fights but his character develops in the course of the movie. John is under the custody of the American government for possessing important information and not revealing it. He is a British spy and an escape specialist. He was known to have escaped from the Alcatraz prison some thirty years ago, the only person who could get away from this prison. Both these people would be assisted by a Navy Seal team led by Commander Anderson (Michael Biehn).
They are given state of the art weapons and mini cameras. They are able to enter into the prison undetected with help from John Mason. But in a short time the team of Navy Seal soldiers fall into a booby trap and get killed. It is now time for Sean and Nick to play heroes.
The movie though has strong reminders of movies like Executive Decision, Crimson Tide and the like, is a great entertainer. You will not get a moment to think.. it is quite fast paced. I must say the director (Michael Bay of Bad Boys) did a good job. But it could have been better. But then I am not complaining. :) The script written by Douglas S Cook, John Hensleigh and David Weisberg is another interesting part of the movie. Its is sometimes dramatic but it is strongly laced with humor which will keep you laughing.
Cinematography is good and this movie also boasts of some good special effects. Sean is as great as always and so is Nicholas Cage. The other characters also have good enough roles but not very convincing... though they have contributed well to making the movie worth watching :):).
Well all in all it’s a good watch for the family ... short and sweet. This movie could be a good date movie. Check it out!!!