(ESP-ENG) The Rock - Classic movie review!
Hello friends, good vibes to all.
For some time now I have wanted to start reviewing some movies that could be considered classics so that you know them, in case you haven't seen them, and because the ones I am going to bring to this space will only be those that I have liked, that are worth it in my opinion. Today I bring you a film that was released in 1996 starring Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage and Ed Harris called The Rock. In the world of the seventh art there is a belief that Nicolas Cage does not have good movies or that he is not such a good actor, I disagree with that thought because one of his best films is this one without a doubt. A film full of action and suspense from beginning to end.
This story begins in Alcatraz, the famous prison located on an island in the San Francisco Bay. There is a general, Francis Hummel (Ed Harris), who together with a group of marines have kidnapped the island which is full of civilians who go to visit that place. Their demands are simple: compensation for the families of soldiers killed in the war. Beyond harming the civilians, they threaten to launch a poisonous gas, the famous BX, via missiles across the bay to the city if their demands are not met. This effectively puts them on the radar of the U.S. government and an operation to neutralize these threats begins.
The plan is to send a commando to regain control of the island and the missiles. Stanley Goodspeed (Nicolas Cage) is an agent specialized in chemical weapons, he along with Mason (Sean Connery), a weapons expert and former Alcatraz inmate, will go on this expedition. Why is Mason going? - Because he has been the only one who has been able to escape from the prison so there is no one who knows it better than him. From here begins the game where you will see how serious this group of soldiers is with their demands and how effective Goodspeed and company will be to eradicate Hummel's actions. I already told you that the action is an elemental ingredient in this plot which is accompanied by some drama and suspense to the expectation that is generated by the tension.
As I already told you this movie for me is top because it knows how to put together a good action with a tension that goes from beginning to end, from the moment we know about the existence of these marines until the recruitment of Mason; the film never stops, it slows down the pace but never to the point of losing interest. The beginning of the film gives us a bit of context of things, who is who, why they act in such a way, and then we get into what is most worthwhile: the raid on Alcatraz. Already at this point the film is at its best, everything that happens in that prison, the tactics, strategies, seeing Mason act as if he were at home, which in fact he was for many years, the stealth, the adrenaline, everything comes together to create an incredibly tense atmosphere.
I'm sure everyone knows the famous chain of green balls filled with the poisonous substance. Well, those artifacts are key in this plot, watching how they search all over Alcatraz for those artifacts is part of the tension that is breathed in more than half of the film. The action scenes, shootings, explosions, body to body confrontations, negotiations, visual effects, all of that is achieved almost to perfection, you enjoy many of these sequences. There is one in particular that goes through some tunnels in some mining cars that is a real gem. The truth is that these movies from the nineties have a magic that is rarely seen nowadays, that's why they last so well in time.
There is important drama as well, each character has a back story that keeps them moving. From Hummel and his, who in the end are desperate men of honor looking for answers, to Mason with his daughter and Goodspeed with his pregnant fiancée; they all have something to fight for and get to the end of the day. The performances are top, Nicolas Cage's is very good, solid throughout. Connery was already of a certain age, over 60 at the time of the film and what you see him do is incredible, the physical condition was enviable, the action was his thing. And even Ed Harris was sober, a tough general but always faithful to protect his own, always with honor ahead. There is a scene where the latter is appreciated very well.
A highly recommended classic directed by the great Michael Bay, if you haven't seen it try to find it and take a look at it because it's worth every minute of the movie. Not to be missed from beginning to end. I leave the trailer here.
¡Un abrazo a todos, nos vemos en la próxima!
Well my people that's all for today, I hope you liked it.
¡A hug to everyone, see you next time!
Hace muchísimo tiempo que yo no veo esta película pero recuerdo el impacto que me llevé al verla, de hecho comencé a investigar mucho sobre la prisión y me di cuenta de que de hecho muchas personas intentaron huir y algunos hasta lo lograron.
De hecho era sumamente complicado escapar de Alcatraz por el tema del mar y que supuestamente estaba lleno de tiburones. Pero si, la vi hace unos días nuevamente y me dejó maravillado como aquella vez que la vi por primera vez, un clásico muy top.
Tremendo clásico! Quiero lanzarme una maratón de buenas pelis de Bay.
Chamo si, ni mala idea es. Cuando vi esta hace poco quedé maravillado con lo buena que es... una película de hace casi 30 años y super bien hecha, hay que echarle.