The Rock - 8 stars out of 10

The Rock - 8 stars out of 10

"The Rock" is a classic action movie filled with fighting, explosions, and a very unique story line.  A lot of prisoners tried to break out of Alcatraz, but now these men need to break IN!  It features a typical Hans Zimmer score.  And that is definitely not a bad thing.  This film is unique in that it has two villains... who are actually good guys... and we forget about one of them for nearly 40 minutes as the focus shifts to the other.  Although Sean Connery and Ed Harris put forth fantastic performances, their efforts are overshadowed by the poor acting of Nicholas Cage.  Maybe it's because his birth name was Coppola, but I still can't figure out how Cage became such an affluent actor.  He's excellent in a few early films, but the rest are like this one - unsatisfactory.  He's like that clumsy, annoying kid that somebody invited but won't admit it due to the embarassment.  Cage's character had great potential but it was lost as he tried to add comedy to lines that really weren't intended to be funny (and his timing was pretty bad).  Aside from Cage's distractions, the film has some great twists interesting characters, and thrilling moments.  It's filled with adrenaline and will have you on the edge of your seat the entire time!