The Rock (1996) Review 

So late last week legendary actor Sean Connery passed away at the age of 90, so I thought in tribute I would review a film of his. I could have taken an easy choice like one of his Bond films or The Last Crusade but I thought I would pick a film I amazingly haven't seen in The Rock and here is my review for it. The premise of the film sees an ex-con and chemist have to team up to take down a rogue group of soldiers from unleashing a chemical weapons attack from Alcatraz to San Francisco. 

Main Character

So onto the man himself Sean Connery and he is fantastic here, this such a great role for him to be a part of. He plays this con, but he just has so much charisma and charm about him that you will like him and root for him. He adds plenty of life to his character and the film making this another fun role for him but with a bit more depth added along to it. Obviously he is a tremendous actor and his role here is another to add to the list and one you should see. 

Supporting Characters

This film also has a great supporting cast, Nicolas Cage gives a crazily entertaining performance. Anybody else it wouldn't work, but Cage just knows how to give this type of performance and make it highly entertaining. The chemistry between him and Connery is really good and is fun to watch as they are so different, seeing this younger Cage bounce off the experienced Connery is a great idea and provides a great pairing. Ed Harris plays the main antagonist here and he does a great job, he is actually a well layered and interesting character with sensible motivations and some depth that makes him a great part of the film. There are also some other great actors here such as Michael Biehn, Tony Todd & John C McGinley who add plenty to their roles. 

Story

The story works for the film we are watching, it is mainly because of the interesting characters that it works. They are given depth to work with and the fun pairing between Connery and Cage really carries this film through the fun set pieces. But I will say I thought the last act and the way they treat Harris' character in particular didn't quite work for me and it led to a bit of a disappointing finale for me. 

Script

The script is really fun, yes there are some ridiculous lines but Cage manages to pull it off. I thought there was a great blend between humour and drama and it made this a better action film then most like it. 

Style 

The style has some good action scenes in it, that are exciting to watch and allow you to turn your brain off. But this film is directed by Michael Bay and his hands are all over the film, some of the action scenes are hard to track, things explode everywhere and the film is too long, luckily this film doesn't suffer as much as his Transformers films but it is still here.

Overall

Overall, this is a great action film that is a fun watch and for fans of action films it is a must watch. Also to see another great Sean Connery performance as there are so many of them over his decorated career. 

Rating - 8/10