The Rock (1996)

A mild-mannered chemist and an ex-con must lead the counterstrike when a rogue group of military men, led by a renegade general, threaten a nerve gas attack from Alcatraz against San Francisco.

Director:

Michael Bay

Writers:

David Weisberg (story), Douglas Cook (story) (as Douglas S. Cook)

Stars:

Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage, Ed Harris

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 9 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sean Connery	...	John Patrick Mason
Nicolas Cage	...	Stanley Goodspeed
Ed Harris	...	General Francis X. Hummel
John Spencer	...	F.B.I. Director Womack
David Morse	...	Major Tom Baxter
William Forsythe	...	Ernest Paxton
Michael Biehn	...	Commander Anderson
Vanessa Marcil	...	Carla Pestalozzi
John C. McGinley	...	Marine Captain Hendrix (as John C. Mc Ginley)
Gregory Sporleder	...	Captain Frye
Tony Todd	...	Captain Darrow
Bokeem Woodbine	...	Sergeant Crisp
Jim Maniaci	...	Private Scarpetti
Greg Collins	...	Private Gamble
Brendan Kelly	...	Private Cox

Storyline

Stanley Goodspeed, who lives in Washington, D.C., is a biochemist who works for the F.B.I. Soon after his fiancée Carla Pestalozzi announces that she is pregnant, Stanley gets a call from F.B.I. Director James Womack. Womack tells Stanley that San Francisco's Alcatraz Island has been taken hostage, along with eighty-one tourists, by Marine General Francis Xavier Hummel who, for years, has been protesting the government's refusal to pay benefits to families of war veterans who died during covert military operations. The death of his wife Barbara on March 9, 1995 drove General Hummel over the edge, and now he's holding hostages in order to get his point across. Stanley is needed because General Hummel has stolen some VX gas warheads and has announced that he will launch them onto San Francisco unless his demands are met. Stanley knows how to disarm the bombs, but he needs someone who knows Alcatraz well enough to get him inside. That man is former British Intelligence Agent John Patrick...

---

Plot Keywords:

two word title | time bomb | colored smoke | aircraft | warplane | 

---

Taglines:

Get ready to rock!

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, language and a sex scene

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 June 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Rock

Filming Locations:

New Russian Hill Market - 1198 Pacific Avenue, San Francisco, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$75,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$25,069,525, 9 June 1996

Gross USA:

$134,069,511

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$335,062,621

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hollywood Pictures, Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

136 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The premiere of the movie was held in the Prison Recreation Yard on Alcatraz.

---

Goofs

(at around 47 mins) When driving the Hummer in San Francisco and swerving to avoid the old lady crossing the street, Mason hauls the steering wheel clockwise (from his point of view) but the car turns left, for which he would have had to turn the wheel anti-clockwise.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
General Hummel: Congressman Weaver and esteemed members of the Special Armed Services Committee, I come before you to protest a grave injustice... It has to stop.

---

Alternate Versions

In the theatrical version, Stanley shoots through the airbag in the stolen Ferrari. In all home video versions he is only seen to put the gun to it and in the next shot he is leaving the car.

---

Connections

References Escape from Alcatraz (1979)

---

Soundtracks

Rocket Man
Written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin
Performed by Elton John
Courtesy of Mercury Records, Ltd.
By Arrangement with PolyGram Film & TV Licensing

User Reviews

Too watchable, only the music gets tiresome

Fantastically made. Undoubtedly one of the best action films in the last 20 years, Bruckheimer had a fantastic effect on this as his oh so loud impact fashioned this movie into what it is, quite possibly one of the finest in its' genre. Connery puts in a sturdy performance as does Cage but the show is stolen by the one and only Edd harris. His commanding performance carried the movie through small snippets where boredom may have set in, his emotion in the delivery of his lines left nothing to be desired and the role seemed so fitting for such a man, although his height was comic in comparison with the other marines.

All round great film with good acting with just the right amount of comic relief when it was most required. thumbs up fellas