This week for Disc Dive I’ve got a movie that I was lucky to find a DVD copy of at an indie video store. Why would I be lucky to find a DVD copy of a movie? Well, it’s a 2-DVD Criterion edition that is out of print. That’s right, turn off your brains, folks. We’re diving into The Rock (1996).
Title: The Rock
Director: Michael Bay
Released: June 7, 1996 (Canada and the United States)
Runtime: 2 hours 17 minutes
Disc Format: Criterion DVD
United States Marine Corps Brigadier General Francis Hummel (Ed Harris) has tried multiple times to get his men the recognition and compensation they deserve. Each time he follows the proper channels. Each time he gets rejected. Well, enough is enough.
Hummel and his Marines decide to steal 15 VX gas-equipped rockets from a Navy facility, make their way to Alcatraz, and take the tour group hostage. Their ask? $100 million to compensate his men. And if the FBI doesn’t comply, those rockets are headed straight for San Francisco.
The Navy assembles a SEAL team to handle the situation, bringing in FBI chemical weapons specialist Stanley Goodspeed (Nicolas Cage). They’ve got the muscle and the brains, but they need a way inside Alcatraz.
Enter John Mason (Sean Connery), the only man to ever successfully escape from the island. He’s been locked away without trial for decades, holding onto secrets the government has been dying to keep buried.
The FBI decides to cut him a deal. He helps them, he walks free.
But can Mason be trusted?
If you go into The Rock expecting a complex plot, you’re going to be incredibly disappointed.
As I mentioned up top, you need to turn off your brain before pressing play. But that’s not a bad thing.
At least, not here it isn’t.
And that’s because The Rock is peak Michael Bay.
Car chases? Explosions? Slo-mo? He brings it all and then some. And 30 years later it’s still just as entertaining.
Plot? Well, that’s just something that gets in the way of the next explosion.
Cage, Connery, and Harris all play their parts perfectly. Each one leans into what makes their character tick, and it works.
The supporting cast are no slouches either with the likes of John C. McGinley, Tony Todd, and David Morse. What makes this mishmash casting work is that each person is allowed the space to do what makes them them.
Nobody’s chasing awards, but they’re all incredibly solid in what they’re doing.
There’s not much to say about this one that hasn’t already been said a million times over. The Rock knows what it is and doesn’t apologize for it.
If you like your action movies to be big, dumb, and fun, look no further.
Have you seen The Rock? Drop a comment below and let me know what you thought!
And if you want to keep up with everything else I’ve been watching, come find me on Bluesky and give me a follow over on Letterboxd.