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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Darth-Jeyl review The Rock-Criterion Collection, March 24, 2001
Hey, Darth-Jeyl here, about to review the Rock-CC (Criterion Collection). When I first saw the Rock back in 1996, it immediately became one of my favorite action movies of that year. It was for me, so rare to see an action film that was so focused on its story, character development, and at the same time be very entertaining. The story was good, the characters believable, the acting was solid, the soundtrack was powerful, and the directing was excellent. When the film was introduced to DVD for the first time in 1997, it left a lot to be desired. The DVD transfer for the film came straight from the Laser Disc version, and was non-anamorphic (Not enhanced for widescreen TV's). The DVD was also featureless, carrying only the teaser trailer for the film. The only good thing about the DVD was it's 5.1 Dolby Digital surround track. Four years later, when I heard about a Criterion version of the film coming out to DVD, I had low hopes. Why? Let me explain. This is the second time Michael Bay has released one of his films from Criterion. The first movie he launched from Criterion was Armageddon. Though the DVD featured a lot of extras, a 5.1 Dolby surround, and a new digital transfer, the video wasn't Anamorphic. That was a big disappointment, since the other DVD version of the film wasn't anamorphic either. So, when I heard that Michael Bay was re-releasing the Rock as a 2 disc Criterion edition, I thought it was going to be like the Armageddon Criterion Edition. Now that I got the DVD, let's move on to the full review. Story: When a highly decorated, retired Marine General (Ed Harris) and his army seize a stockpile of chemical weapons, and take over Alcatraz (aka The Rock), he demands Restitution to the families of the soldiers that died in covert operations. If the payment is refused, he will launch the chemical weapons at the heart of San Francisco. As the Pentagon debates on how to handle the situation, they decide to send an elite Navy Seal team to go into Alcatraz, disarm the weapons, and take the island. Since the power of the chemical weapons is extreme, they bring in an FBI Chemical Expert, Stanley Goodspeed(Nicolas Cage) to help them with the disarmament. The problem, how do you get into Alcatraz? Since all known experts on the island are dead, they bring in a former Alcatraz prisoner John Mason(Sean Connery) who once escaped Alcatraz, to assist the team on getting in. Thanks to Mason's knowledge, the team makes it into the island undetected. However, after walking in to an unsuspected trap, everyone on the team except Mason and Goodspeed are killed. Now, it's up to a chemical freak who has never seen combat, and a former prisoner who hasn't seen combat for over 30 years, to carry out the mission alone. Their problem? They've got 20 professionally trained killer marines on the hunt for them, 15 deadly chemical weapons to defuse, the entire population of San Francisco to save, and only 15 hours to complete the mission. Disc 1-The Movie: The Rock on Disc 1, is presented in it's original aspect ratio 2.35:1 in an anamorphic transfer. Which means it's ENHANCED! Not only that, but it's also got a new digital transfer that looks absolutely gorgeous. There are hardly any signs of grain, the colors look very solid, and the letterbox framing is very accurate. This is one of the best transfers Criterion has ever released for a film. For the audio side, we get 4 audio tracks. A Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 surround sound tracks, a 2.0 Dolby surround, and a Commentary Track. To sum up the audio for ya, if you have a 5.1 Dolby or DTS setup, it will destroy your home. From the beginning of the film, the surround sound action is nearly constant. If you want to see what the audio is really made of, go to chapter 11(Car Chase), and crank up the audio. The Commentary track for The Rock features Director Michael Bay, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, actors Nicolas cage and Ed Harris, and technical advisor (and ex-Navy SEAL) Harry Humphries. Please keep in mind that this is not a group commentary. This is one of those commentaries where each participant recorded their portion separately and were than edited together. I know a lot of people who despise these types of tracks, but for this particular one, it really works. Each participant has something very useful to say about almost every scene in the movie. If you really want to know a lot more about the Rock, check out this track, it's actually the best part of the whole set in my opinion. Disc 2-The Features: For the second disc, we get an average amount of features that are common on almost every 2 disc set. There is a lengthy interview with Jerry Bruckhimer that I found quite nice, an analysis of the dive sequence which is really cool(All those swimmers were puppets!), a movie magic episode on the film's special effects, a really nice documentary about the dos and don'ts of Hollywood gunplay, a documentary on Alcatraz itself which covers almost every aspect of the island's history, promotional material such as trailers, TV spots, and The Rock world premiere on the Alcatraz island itself, and a bunch of story boards and production drawings. Final Comments: Well, this disc was a pleasure to get. I can finally watch the Rock as it was originally intended on my 16x9 television. I'm glad Criterion did all the right stuff with this DVD. Goods: Great movie, good acting, Excellent Transfer, Great sound, wonderful commentary track, nice extras, and ENHANCED! Bads: Though the second disc has many extras, some of them have almost nothing to do with the movie. Many people might find some of the extras pointless. Darth-Jeyls rating: 8 out of 10
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![The Rock [Region 2]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-site/icons/no-img-sm._SS50_V47056216_.gif){kind=icon}
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