The Rock Movie Review 1996

Cage follows up his Oscar win with a big-budget action hero turn, with great results. In an attempt to get benefits for the families of soldiers killed in various covert operations, a decorated general (Harris) and his commando squad occupy Alcatraz island, taking hostages and threatening to unleash a deadly gas bomb on San Francisco. Biochemical weapons expert Stanley Goodspeed (Cage) is called in to disarm the rockets, aided by John Patrick Mason (Connery), only man to successfully escape from the island prison. Like most Simpson/Bruckheimer productions, credibility is stretched to the limit, but the action scenes and crisp pacing don't leave much time for pondering details, anyway. Connery, cool as ever, hasn't lost a step. Cage effectively plays up his character's inexperience at being the hero. Co-producer Don Simpson died of drug overdose during production.

Distribution

Buena Vista Home Entertainment, 500 S. Buena Vista St., Burbank, CA 91521-1120, Toll-free: 800-723-4763, URL: http://www.bvhe.com

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 136 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Men in Prison, Rebel With a Cause, San Francisco, Terrorism, Great Escapes, FBI, Military: Marines, Rescue Missions, Boom!, Alcatraz, Top Grossing Films of 1996, Producers: Bruckheimer/Simpson

Screenplay

Jonathan Hensleigh

Cast

Nicolas Cage, Sean Connery, Ed Harris, Michael Biehn, William Forsythe, David Morse, John Spencer, John C. McGinley, Tony Todd, Bokeem Woodbine, Danny Nucci, Claire Forlani, Vanessa Marcil, Gregory Sporleder, Steve Harris, Jim Maniaci, Brendan Kelly, Todd Louiso, Willie Garson, Stuart Wilson, Anthony Clark, James Caviezel, Xander Berkeley, Sam Whipple, Raymond Cruz, David Marshall Grant, Philip Baker Hall

Cinematography

John Schwartzman

Director

Michael Bay

Music

Nick Glennie-Smith

Producer

Don Simpson, Jerry Bruckheimer, William Stuart, Sean Connery, Louis Stroller, Hollywood Pictures, Buena Vista

Awards

MTV Movie Awards 1997: On-Screen Duo (Sean Connery/Nicolas Cage).