A Reel 25: THE ROCK

“Welcome to the rock!”

This month marks the 25^th anniversary of Michael Bay’s THE ROCK. 

 

The second feature film from stylistic and bombastic director Michael Bay, THE ROCK was an action thriller which involved the FBI assembling a team to counter a terrorist threat. At the center of the team was Agent Stanley Goodspeed (Nicolas Cage); a brilliant lab chemist with no field experience. He is joined by John Mason (Sean Connery); a former resident of Alcatraz…which is being held hostage by the terrorists. Those terrorists are led by Brigadier General Francis X. Hummel (Ed Harris), of the USMC, who is demanding war reparations for fallen veterans. 

 

Written by David Weisburg, Douglas Cook, and Mark Rosner, and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, THE ROCK was filmed on-location at the long-closed Alcatraz prison and neighboring San Francisco. There were tensions during production, and Bay was rumored to be headed for firing, but was defended by Sean Connery. 

 

The headlining cast of Connery and Cage was backed by a strong supporting cast of Michael Biehn, John Spencer, David Morse, William Forsythe, Vanessa Marcil, John C. McGinley, Tony Todd, Claire Forlani, Raymond Cruz, and Phillip Baker Hall. 

 

Backed by a thundering score by Hans Zimmer, Nick Glennie-Smith, and Harry Gregson-Williams, THE ROCK was a literal blast on the screen. Despite mixed reviews, the film had a strong box office and would finish as the fourth highest-grossing film of 1996; landing behind MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, TWISTER, and the box office champ…INDEPENDENCE DAY.

 

THE ROCK would be nominated for an Oscar for Best Sound. In 2014 Time Out magazine would rank the film 74^th on their Best Action Film List. 

 

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Michael Bay often gets smacked around as a mindless director; a reputation that is only half-deserved. But there is no taking away from the entertainment value of THE ROCK. But besides the explosions, gunfights, rockets, and car-chases, THE ROCK carries the message of mistreated veterans. General Hummel’s war against his own government is motivated by a need to honor veterans killed in combat; a theme that carries weight into today. THE ROCK is a spectacle, but its foundations are solid. 

 

“…You probably have no idea what it means to lead some of the finest men on God’s Earth into combat and then watch their memories get betrayed by their own fucking government.”