Review of Rock, The (Reissue)

Introduction

I really wasn`t looking forward to this biopic of the WWF superstar. It`s bad enough that The Rock makes sad movies and guest stars in TV shows, but watching his life story is not my idea of a well-spent two hours. O.K, I`m being stupid on purpose, The Rock is the popular summer blockbuster, directed by Michael Bay and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer. That should be all you need to know. That triumvirate is best known for a certain type of movie and The Rock doesn`t disappoint. It`s notable however that this is the second DVD release of that title. The first release was notoriously a flipper disc and consequently I avoided it like the plague. This release finally gave the treatment the movie deserved.

General Francis X. Hummel feels betrayed by the US government. His men have died in countless black op missions and never received the accolades due them. After countless attempts for some form of recognition, he takes matters into his own hands and with the help of selected men and mercenaries steals 15 VX gas equipped missiles. He then goes on to storm Alcatraz island and takes 81 tourists hostage so that he can hold San Francisco city to ransom. VX gas being the potent nerve toxin it is, special assistance is required to disarm the missiles. FBI chemical weapons expert, Stanley Goodspeed is to be sent in with a Navy Seal team to retake the island and free the hostages. However, they need to know how to break in, and for that they need the help of the only man who ever broke out. Thus enters John Mason, a British agent who 30 years ago stole an FBI microfilm and has been held incommunicado ever since, not counting the occasional escape. The operation goes badly wrong, when the Navy Seals are discovered upon first entering Alcatraz and killed, leaving Goodspeed and Mason to liberate the island themselves. If they don`t manage it in time, the island will be destroyed by massive aerial bombardment.

Video

The new version of The Rock is given the 2.35:1 anamorphic treatment. The picture is pristine with no flaws that I could find. Director Michael Bay makes his second film after Bad Boys and uses what he learned there well. The locations are stunning as represented on this film. He has his trademark slo-mo panning of sweaty heroic brows that he established with Will Smith, it`s not quite the same thing with Nic Cage though. The pace of the action is frenetic and relentless, and by and large it is very well done. I did have a particular problem with the car chase though. Filled with fast cars, even faster cuts and extreme close ups punctuated by jerky camera movement, it was often hard to see what was going on and to be frank I suffer from motion sickness every time I see that scene.

Audio

The DD 5.1 sound is as impressive as the picture, with action and mayhem being well represented by the speakers. It`s a Bruckheimer and Simpson picture and it`s time to wheel out the old soundtrack again. Yes, it sounds just the same as all the other movies despite there being different composers on this film, Nick Glennie-Smith and Hans Zimmer. I tell a lie, it does sound like this time they gave it a military remix, but it soon fades into the background as you get immersed in the action.

Features

This disc comes with some extras, but nothing to really write home about. A 5-minute featurette that is more of a trailer heads the list. There is the usual theatrical trailer and a pop-up option that flashes trivia about Alcatraz on screen while the film is running. Finally there is a trailer for Pearl Harbour, another movie that I won`t be watching, but I will spell it correctly. An interesting extra is the Audio Descriptive stereo soundtrack. It isn`t advertised as such, but since it is the only disc I have seen it on I thought I`d mention it here. Much as subtitles help the hard of hearing, this soundtrack is here to benefit the visually impaired. What happens is that in between the dialogue spoken by the characters, a voice describes the action happening on screen. This is a brilliant idea and great use of DVD technology. It`s a shame that this is the only disc that I have seen with this facility.

Conclusion

Nicolas Cage is not my favourite actor, far from it quite actually and I usually make a point to avoid his movies. However he has made two films that I enjoy despite his presence. The first is Wings of the Apache and this. He mumbles inarticulately his way through this film with the occasional temperamental outburst of volume for emphasis. To be honest, I`m never going to be a fan and this film doesn`t go any way towards converting me. No, the big draw in this film has to be the presence of Sean Connery. His charisma and sheer presence makes this movie and as soon as he is on screen, I`m hanging on his every word. This guy was in his sixties when he made this film, yet he is still as credible as an action hero as he was when he first donned the suit and tie as James Bond. John Spencer is also good as the FBI director Womack, he provides a good foil for Connery and the two play well off each other. Ed Harris is somewhat wasted as General Hummel. He plays the character as tormented by his decision and reluctant in his actions, but the script and to a lesser degree the performances of his co-conspirators do nothing to give that torment meaning and the film is really standard good guy versus bad guy fare, despite the unusual (for Hollywood) step of using domestic rather than foreign terrorists. Another wasted role is that of Michael Biehn, as Commander Anderson of the Navy Seals. Here is a capable actor who has what amounts to a cameo. He gathers his team, enters Alcatraz and then departs the film without making any sort of impact on the screen.

Let`s get to the bottom line. This film is cliché city. They start with the clichés some five minutes into the film and don`t let up until the end credits start rolling. But if you`re surprised at this then you`re watching the wrong film. These films follow a strict set of well-defined rules. I`m sure that there is a how to manual for action movies in Jerry Bruckheimer`s cupboard somewhere. Another thing that gets on my wick is the big butch army shouty talk. "SIR, YES SIR!!" "I CANNOT FOLLOW THAT ORDER, SIR!!" "WOULD YOU LIKE FRIES WITH THAT, SIR?!!" you can see the bloody exclamation marks flying out of their mouths with the spittle. Any army that shouts that much would be dead meat, all it would take would be one sniper who just listens for an excess of "SIR`s " from any particular locale. However this film does have Sean Connery acting the pants off everyone else. It also makes a nice change that the bad guys aren`t some stereotypical Arabs somewhere but American. Best of all is the self-restraint that this film shows. John Mason is a secret SAS operative in this film but there is no mention of James Bond, no sly quip and no knowing glance at the camera in this film. Amazing restraint to be sure. This is not the kind of film that makes you think or goes deep into the subconscious, but as a mindless blast, it is more than adequate in killing the time.