Review of The Rock (1996) by Rudy H — 29 Jun 2014
According to most this critics, this is Michael Bay's best (some would only good) film to date. I disagree on both those statement but I agree with the appraisals. THE ROCK is nothing sort of an action classic.
BAD BOYS showed audiences what to expect form Bay as he set us up with his style over substance approach not only showing it but shoving it in our faces as we grinningly accept it. In THE ROCK we started to get a more definitive Bay experience that if you were immune to the first time around you probably didn't give it a chance but what makes this action film stand above most of his others as the actual filmmaking and memorable performances.
Sure, it's not the most visually impressive or as pretty as TRANSFORMERS but THE ROCK is definitely his best filmed when it comes to the action scenes themselves. He was still fine tuning his style and did not yet go overboard with his style (that came after ARMAGEDDON).
Connery, Cage and even Ed Harris all worked great together and allowed us to accept at least a little bit, the idiocy and mindless nature of the film's loop holes and improbabilities. A pounding Hans Zimmer score elevates the chaos and thrills as we follow pre-crazy Nic Cage into a film that is one of the best examples of mindless, yet impressive action.
RATING: B.
This review of The Rock (1996) was written by Rudy H on 29 Jun 2014.
The Rock has generally received positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
