The Rock
Buena Vista Pictures | Release Date: June 7, 1996 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
58
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
14
Mixed:
8
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
A first-rate, slam-bang action thriller with a lot of style and no little humor. Read full review
88
Rolling StonePeter Travers
It's a popcorn-movie deluxe. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
The Guy Movie to end all Guy Movies, a ridiculously overblown summer testosterone blowout right down to the Wagnerian strains of the soundtrack and its stunningly high body count. It's also a hell of a lot of fun. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerDesmond Ryan
The borrowings from other movies, going all the way back to the car chase in 1968's Bullitt, are heavy. But Bay has three leads to lend weight and dimension to characters who are hardly original and flatly written. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Although not as expertly-crafted as "Die Hard" or "Speed," The Rock is exhausting in its own right -- and that's just one of several convincing reasons to see this film. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Stack
A raucous, in-your-face, commando-style action thriller that makes provocative use of Alcatraz as a lunatic's lair and San Francisco as a sitting duck. Read full review
75
San Francisco ExaminerBarbara Shulgasser
Bay has two great assets in Connery and Cage. The special effects give The Rock a James Bondian feel so Connery's wry, world-weary devil-may-careishness looks right at home here. Read full review
70
TimeRichard Corliss
Slick, brutal and almost human, this is the team-spirit action movie Mission: Impossible should have been. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
High-octane nonsense but gives both the actors and the audience all that's needed to make this diverting--car chases, wisecracks, narrow escapes, explosions. Read full review
70
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
Seldom is it clearer that a film is nothing more than high-gloss jokey escapism, or that when visual cliches are this relentless they become weirdly fascinating in their own right. Read full review
70
VarietyTodd McCarthy
This is a pure popcorn picture that benefits heavily from its trio of highly skilled, charismatic leading thesps, an unusual setting that provides plenty of visual stimulation, and a confrontational standoff that actually stems from a legitimately provocative premise. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage inject tasty bits of personality into their roles. Read full review
63
Baltimore SunChris Kridler
Connery and Cage are a compelling team and redeem the film from ruin despite the mechanical plot, an excessive body count and a miraculous recovery (you'll know it when you see it). Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneGene Siskel
[Cage] cracks wise throughout the third act and is almost entertaining enough to make this absurdly energetic movie recommendable. Read full review
50
The Seattle TimesDoug Thomas
Cage proves his versatility as the reluctant hero (designed by way of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan character), bringing his comic timing and droll face into perfect pitch. His first scene with Connery is giddy fun. He steals the entire picture. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Slick and forceful, largely unconcerned with character, eager for any opportunity to pump up the volume both literally and metaphorically, The Rock is the kind of efficient entertainment that is hard to take pleasure in. Read full review
50
NewsweekJack Kroll
The presence of Connery is pure balm, purring those Celtic tones like smoky single-malt Scotch. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
The Rock is just typical big American dumb fun. Read full review
50
USA TodayMike Clark
Buried under an avalanche of action. (1996 June 7, pg. D1)
40
Orlando SentinelJay Boyar
If it's not the most awful thing I've ever seen, it's close enough to make me wince. Read full review
40
Washington PostDesson Thomson
A violence-intoxicated, far-fetched, morally corrupt drama. Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not credited)
It's an action junkie's angry fix -- 130 minutes of sound and fury, signifying nothing but big bucks and boundless contempt for viewer intelligence. Read full review
30
Washington PostHal Hinson
If, at odd moments, The Rock is better than tolerable, it is usually because of its stars. Read full review
25
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Can a mild-mannered toxicologist and an eccentric Alcatraz veteran stop him before it's too late? Learning the answer means sitting through more than two hours of violence, vulgarity, and all-around excess, served up with high-tech trimmings by director Michael Bay. Read full review
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