General Francis X. Hummel has had enough of the way US service personnel have been treated; especially how the families of those who died on top secret missions are told a string of lies and not compensated for their loss… to this end he decides to blackmailing the government by stealing a quantity of deadly VX gas; taking over the island of Alcatraz and threatening to launch the gas into the city of San Francisco if is demands to compensate the families aren't met within forty hours. Of course he can't do this alone; he is supported by a squad of ex-marines who expect to be paid handsomely.

The government have no intention of paying him so assemble a team to go to Alcatraz and neutralise the VX rockets that are to deploy the gas. The team will consist of a squad of Navy Seals; Stanley Goodspeed, an FBI specialist in chemical weapons and finally John Patrick Mason, the only man to have escaped from Alcatraz who will be needed to guide the team in. Mason could be a problem; he is a former captain in the SAS who has spent the last thirty years in jail but has never been formally charged with any crime and is considered extremely dangerous. Once inside Alcatraz the Seals are quickly eliminated leaving Goodspeed and Mason to deal with Hummel and his men and neutralise the weapons.

This film is packed with action; there are shootouts, a car chase, explosions and the threat of a deadly attack on a major city… the action moves at such a pace it is easy to overlook many of the more unlikely moments… the scenes in what looked like ancient mine carts under the old jail seemed too far-fetched but once that was over it was soon forgotten; at least while watching the film. The story may include numerous clichés but that doesn't matter as it is a lot of fun. Nicolas Cage does a solid job as Goodspeed and Sean Connery is in top form as Mason; he may be old but he makes us believe that is character is tougher than the young marines he is up against. Ed Harris does a fine job as General Hummel; a character who isn't just a pantomime villain. This is probably director Michael Bay's best film; he keeps the action moving at a cracking pace without losing the story in the process; don't be put off if you dislike his 'Transformers' franchise. Overall I found this to be a lot of fun; it won't be for everybody but if you want a solid action film it is definitely worth watching.

Renegade general Hummel (Ed Harris) has stolen 15 VX rockets, taken over Alcatraz, taken 81 hostages, and threatens to strike San Francisco unless The Pentagon pays him $100M from their slush funds. He intends to use the money to pay the families of the soldiers under his command who the government has disavowed over the years. In order to disarm the rockets, the FBI is sending their chemical weapons expert Stanley Goodspeed (Nicolas Cage). And they're digging up a mysterious British agent prisoner John Mason (Sean Connery) who once escaped from Alcatraz. When the team sent in to take on Hummel is decimated, Goodspeed and Mason must disarm the rockets on their own.

This is Michael Bay audacity to bring his heart pumping action style to bear. The action is big time bombastic joy. And for the best effect, he allows the actors to have fun in between the action. Nicolas Cage brings a lot of his manic energy and a bit of his crazy humor. And Sean Connery brings the Bond gravitas to the action. Plus the Cage Connery duo is a lot of fun, and they have great chemistry together. This is the best kind of popcorn movie-making.

Let's cut to the chase....if you think too much during this movie you simply aren't going to enjoy it. Often things don't make much sense (such as furnaces and water systems that are STILL working 33 years after the prison was decommissioned) and much of the film just seems like mindless action and stunts....which really are all true. But if you can look past the mindlessness of the film (and it is 100% mindless),you may just enjoy it.

A rogue general (Ed Harris) is sick of the way the government uses up special operatives and then tosses them aside. So, to make a point, he and a group of his soldiers steal chemical weapons and threaten to launch them into San Francisco from his base at Alcatraz. So, a motley group is assembled to sneak into the old prison and recapture it. And, of course, the entire mission goes south very quickly. What next? Watch the film...or don't.

The dialog is mostly macho bullcrap and the film is dumb. But it's very well made dumb....with great music...which is the only reason it managed to earn a 3 . I didn't like it but I can see how many would.