Review : This Michael Bay (Bad Boys) directed multi-starrer is a fast-paced action extravaganza that inspite of having a banal theme manages to hold the public’s attention. Brig. Gen. Francis X. Hummel (Ed Harris) is a disillusioned ex-marine who holds 181 people hostage at Alcatraz threatening to bomb the city of San Francisco with nerve gas unless his demands are fulfilled.
John Patrick Mason (Sean Connery) is an ex-British agent rotting in a US cell who also happens to be the only person who ever managed to break out of Alcatraz. Dr. Stanley Goodspeed (Nicholas Cage) is a mild mannered F.B.I. chemist who teams up with John P. Mason to thwart General’s diabolical plans. The Rock is arguably one of the best executed action movies after Speed (1994).
It has style, it has an element of thrill, and above all, it has Sean Connery! Ed Harris gives a convincing performance as a psychotic General, Nicholas Cage is subdued, and Sean Connery, although towers above everybody else just by his phenomenal screen presence (the only other actor with such screen presence I am aware of is Amitabh Bachchan), looks a bit tired.
The movie has a catching background music. Overall, its an entertaining watch for all those in love with Sean Connery, slick action, and some chemistry(?). The movie is rated R for extreme violence, strong language, and a sex-scene.