During the first 30 minutes of "The Rock," you start to get the feeling that the film may fail. After all, it starts with a fairly dull credits sequence where Ed Harris gets dulled up in his dress blues and then visits the grave of his dead wife. This is followed by another long segment where Nicolas Cage's character is introduced and we are forced to watch him struggle with a lethal chemical. Then, after Sean Connery's character is introduced - as a man who has been in prison for 30 years, we get a really long car chase through San Francisco, involving a Hummer and a Ferrari, that rivals the sequence in "Bullitt." It's really a great action segment. Trouble is, it doesn't need to be in the movie. We begin to think director Michael Bay ("Bad Boys") just enjoys putting these action images on the screen without rhyme or reason. One wonders if the film will ever really get to the plot point about Cage and Connery trying to "break-in" to Alcatraz.

Well, do not let all this (albeit exciting) flimflam in the film's first third fool you, "The Rock" does indeed rock. A lot of what we see in the film's beginning is eventually used for character motivation and propellant for the plot. We have to endure the opening with Harris to understand his motivation for what he does later as the bad guy - and the film is all the better for it. We eventually get to Connery's destination, at the conclusion of the car chase, at it becomes an important factor in what motivates his character to do what he does later in the film, as well. Even Cage has opening set-ups that help us to understand his character later on. And Bay simply won't allow us to just accept that Cage is a knowledgeable, able chemical expert; He feels he must press this knowledge upon us with a lengthy segment in the film. He may be right. After watching the segment, we are confident in his character's abilities. Plus an important understanding of an antidote to chemical poisoning is also introduced in this sequence; It will appear again later in the film. As may be said about many a great films, patience is a virtue.

The pay-off in the film, the central story which takes place over the last 90 minutes of the 140 minute piece is a virtual non-stop thrill ride. Cage and Connery are eventually left on their own to overtake Harris and his henchmen. We never stop delighting in their actions or their wonderful banter. It is part of what makes the film work so well. But the story is fairly feasible as well and we have a fun time watching it unfold, with explosions, gun fire and hand to hand combat erupting on the screen at reasonable intervals to further enhance the action element of the film.

Cage is the real star of the film. Given an opportunity to play a average, intelligent, young, slightly smug professional, Cage really opens up here. This character is kind of similar to the character he played in "Guarding Tess" only eminently more likeable. Cage has often flip-flopped between comedic and dramatic role with various results but here he is allowed to only use the best qualities from each type of performance he can do and roll them into one highly charged persona. We always enjoy him in the film whether he is being physical or cerebral, but the most enjoyment arises from his verbalized 30-something angst which rears it's ugly head (usually towards Connery) throughout the film. He, simply, steals the show.

Connery, meanwhile, is equally enjoyable even though he has been in numerous roles similar to this in his career. Although, this time he plays a supposed bad guy, we learn, as the film evolves, that he is really a good guy wrongly accused. Connery is called upon to do a lot of action scenes here and he performs admirably. But just in case we have trouble swallowing this aspect of his character, the scripters often remind us, through his own dialogue, that Connery is a 60 year old man. This is not necessary. He never slows once during the filming.

Numerous familiar faces pop up in the film but only one really sticks. David Morse ("St. Elsewhere"), David Bowe ("UHF"), and Tony Todd (the "Candyman") all have small roles here along with numerous others. Most play Harris' hired thugs with reasonable vigor. Of course, they kind of fade into the woodwork. Lesser known actors tend to shine in most of these type roles. Finally, it is stand-up comic Anthony Clark (who stars in NBC-TV's "Boston Commons") who ends up stealing the spotlight from Cage and Connery in the only sequence he appears in. Clark is a hoot as a "hair stylist" with more flair than any human need have. Sure, it's a bit of a stereotypical jab, but it's also funny. I, for one, enjoyed it even though, as is Bay's wont here, it isn't totally necessary to include all of this extra stuff.

As I always say, a good action flick should go and go and give you little time to question it's logistics. "The Rock" rarely slows down nor does it give us much time to question it's twists and turns. The film is usually fun and exciting. The characters all have interesting qualities and motivations. Bay's direction is top-notch without fail. Sure, the film tries to cram way too much into it's frames but that's okay. In America, excess is almost always admired.

Note:

Produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer. Connery is also an Executive Producer. Script and Story by David Weisberg and Douglas Cook with additional help on the script from Mark Rosner. Music by Nick Glennie- Smith and Hans Zimmer. Director of Photography is John Schwartzman.

Dedication: "In Loving Memory of Don Simpson."

Cage is the nephew of Francis Ford Coppola. He adopted his pseudonymous sir name in honor of composer John Cage and comic-book character Luke Cage. He made his debut in "Birdy."

Review written in 1996

More of Lodger's reviews indexed alphabetically! Just click your favorite letter to go there.

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

HOME