Real Rockheads love the morgue-scene lines about the feet and "that's the most awful thing I've ever seen"; Cage's subtle readings like "FBI, freeze, sucker" and introducing himself as Stanley Goodspeed are favorites, and the Rocket Man quote is the stupidest but still funny. — Mina Kimes
Nerve gas rockets, not nuclear, mark the peak moment for nerve gas; the film is said to have been a source of misinformation for British intelligence ahead of the Iraq invasion, and fear of nerve gas persists. — Mina Kimes
Alcatraz movies: The Rock is judged better than the slow Escape from Alcatraz, which was filmed during tours and was being shot during a 1980 family visit. — Bill Simmons
Naked guitar playing is absolutely Apex Mountain. — Bill Simmons
Movie mutinies go to Crimson Tide, with this and Mutiny on the Bounty possibly a Mount Rushmore. — Bill Simmons
Vanessa Marseille, after 90210 and dating Brian Austin Green, peaks as the lead female in an action movie; she gets it. — Bill Simmons
Christ poses go to The Last Temptation of Christ, then Platoon; needles in the heart stay with Pulp Fiction.
It is called the best action movie of 1996, better than Independence Day, Twister, Mission Impossible and Eraser, which all made more money; agreement follows. — Mina Kimes
With Armageddon raised as Bay's earnings peak, asked whether creatively this was the apex, the answer is "a hundred percent": the only Bay movie that rises to excellent, with Bad Boys 2 and the original Transformers merely okay. — Mina Kimes
Another view likes many Bay movies, even recent ones, but calls the Transformers films an anvil on his career. — Chris Ryan
A research tidbit delivered early: Cage showed Bay and Bruckheimer Richard Dreyfus scenes from Jaws, wanting to channel them in the bomb-dismantling scene. — Bill Simmons
So many writers worked on the script that it went to Writers Guild arbitration: Aaron Sorkin and Quentin Tarantino involved, David Weisberg and Douglas Cook on the story, Mark Rosner granted credit, Bay backing Jonathan Hensley, and two British screenwriters Connery brought in who were fired; about nine writers. — Bill Simmons
Cage's idea that his character would never swear produced lines like "gee whiz"; some Navy SEALs were real SEALs; Don Simpson created Hummel from a 60 Minutes piece on the government not acknowledging soldiers who died on covert missions. — Bill Simmons
Per Bay, the car chase was inserted after early screenings revealed a big flat hole, to appease younger filmgoers. — Bill Simmons
On Cage playing guitar naked: Bay thought Cage wanted to show off his body, while Cage wanted to show his character's comfort at home; the takeaway is how hairy he is. — Bill Simmons
Connery's contract had his coverage filmed first, then he left for his cabin on Alcatraz. — Bill Simmons
The balcony scene was shot on location at the Fairmont, and people called about a person dangling from the balcony. — Bill Simmons
Bay's unmade sequel idea: Goodspeed has the microfilm, nowhere to turn, and enlists Mason in a role reversal, likened to National Treasure. — Bill Simmons
An internet theory holds that Mason was James Bond, but his answer of Army rather than Navy blew the wink. — Bill Simmons
Everyone is on a heat check; Anthony Clark tries to win it but it goes badly.
The first inanimate-object nomination in Rewatchables history: VX gas, with very small screen time, looking great, and as bad as imagined when stuffed in a mouth, "a literal heat check"; the nomination is welcomed. — Chris Ryan
A vote for William Forsyth as the FBI man: an early asshole who is kind when Cage pukes (a Cage improvisation), then lets it slide that Mason is alive; with Raising Arizona history, quietly very good; he gets it if a person must win. — Mina Kimes
There are arguably three movies (the military-government thriller, Connery's and Cage's), but by the Judd Nelson standard Ed Harris is in a completely different movie because he takes it so seriously. — Chris Ryan
Pushback that the core three were praised all along draws the reply that Harris is liked, just in a different movie, unlike Gene Hackman's quirks in Crimson Tide.
Counterpoint: an obvious villain would make a different film; the story rests on the bluff, which Connery reads ("he's a soldier, he's not a madman"). — Mina Kimes
The core three are rated more like Westbrook, Beale and Bertons, with a Chris Bosch comparison retracted, while Harris is called amazing. — Mina Kimes
Picked early: would the rope break or rip off Connery's arm pulling the 180-pound John Spencer, and how does a 20-foot rope come from a shower curtain; nitpicking a Bay movie is like criticizing a child's drawing.
Moved up from Picking Nits: why is there a Disneyland world of mine carts, burners and storage under a prison on an island, and was it filmed separately; an attempt to research it is mentioned. — Bill Simmons
Flagged as a nit: characters supposedly wiped from the record, yet Cage's friend finds Jade Angelou and her address in 30 seconds, though the scene establishes trust. — Mina Kimes
Carla is questioned as a character: she is told the underwater strategy in the situation room with top officials; the part feels shoehorned, possibly from notes to include Vanessa Mercell and Claire Forlani so it was not all dudes.
Connery has not driven for 35 years yet zooms a Hummer around San Francisco and knows the streets.
Did the hostages ever eat or go to the bathroom over about three days? Die Hard accounts for it; this film does not address it. — Bill Simmons
Recapped nits: the Secret Service at the balcony haircut, the working boilers (which even Bay admitted was ridiculous), and Connery remembering the basement 30-plus years later. — Bill Simmons
There is no reason for Cage to take the green egg into a fight in his chest pocket; he lands on it and it stays intact, and shoving it in a mouth should fail, though it is still enjoyed. — Bill Simmons
Major nit: Cage's resistance to atropine; its listed side effects (light sensitivity, blurred vision, dry mouth, constipation and more) are mild compared with VX gas, so taking five shots would make sense. — Chris Ryan
The government should just pay the $83 million, roughly what Barry Bond signed for in 1996, rather than put San Francisco at risk. — Mina Kimes
Leaving the one man who can stop the mission alone in a cell, unguarded despite 30 men and stray Marines around Alcatraz, is illogical. — Mina Kimes
Connery would miss some of his rope-and-hook throws to pull the doors; he would win an Olympic event for it. — Bill Simmons
The weapons-theft scene is praised: the "bubble face" guy trapped in the vault, the rockets with green balls inside, and David Morris's "sorry, dude"; a take follows that Bubbleface deserved to die for dropping the rocket. — Bill Simmons
Connery's first scene, 25 minutes in, with long hair in prison, is called one of the coolest entrances ever; the "lead left in your pencil" line and William Forsy's needlessly cutting insults are singled out. — Bill Simmons
The balcony escape (haircut on the balcony, lobster for the Secret Service, flipping John Spencer over the rail with a rope) is everything wanted in a rewatchable action scene: nine things wrong with it, but super fun; it shows a 66-year-old being underestimated, after the quarter cutting the interrogation window.
Any San Francisco movie with an out-of-control trolley going down the hills gets a defense of the car chase. — Bill Simmons
"Welcome to the Rock" follows Connery remembering the fire pattern; Bay himself pointed out the boiler would not still be working at Alcatraz, and remembering the sequence 30-plus years later is questioned. — Bill Simmons
The shower room shootout sets a record for slow-motion bullet deaths with arms-out convulsions; "I cannot give that order / you will give that order" is as good as it gets, and Michael Bean's commander scene is the first test of Hummel's morals, with Harris visibly upset.
The mine cart chase is the walkthrough's favorite: it feels like an abandoned Disney World or Pirates of the Caribbean ride, with a cart impenetrable to bullets like a protective bathtub.
Connery versus Harris is fun as two preeminent bald actors go head to head, though Connery wears a toupee; a Robert Duvall cameo is wished for. — Bill Simmons
Asked whether the mutiny shootout (with Tony Todd killed by a rocket) was Tarantino's one uncredited contribution, the reply is that after Reservoir Dogs everybody wanted every character pointing a gun at one another at the same time, perhaps with Tarantino suggesting a mutiny within the mutiny, as in John Wu and Tony Scott movies until about 2001. — Chris Ryan
The mutiny shows who is hardcore: Tony Todd (Candyman) signals he is not fooling around, Boeem Woodbine is softer, and David Morris delivers the ultimate betrayal; Harris should not have chosen new guys for the mission. — Mina Kimes
The green flares finale gets slow motion from many angles and green smoke; Bay flashes back to the Chekhov's flares rather than trusting viewers, it is unintentionally funny, Cage does another Christ pose, and it is guessed to be Bay's favorite part, with F-16s under the Golden Gate Bridge.
Favorite scene: the decontamination chamber where Stanley Goodspeed is first seen in action ("you want me to stick this into my heart?"), which sets a grittier tone for an R action movie. — Chris Ryan
Also rewatchable: the situation room call where Ed Harris calls in, with John Spencer, the White House Chief of Staff and Philip Baker Hall in the room; no movie has ever suffered from a situation room. — Chris Ryan
The situation room is felt to be a couple of that-guy types short (where was Robert Ridgely?); Harris announcing "Hummel from Alcatraz" and looking straight into the camera after the shower room scene are highlighted.
Favorite is the "Cistern scene" with a "Welcome to the Rock" attempt; second is the morgue scene, with the knife throw ("You must never hesitate"), the air conditioner kill, "that's just about the most awful thing I've ever seen," and the kicking feet. — Mina Kimes
A further most-rewatchable answer names the shower assault (SEALs versus Marines in the shower) and the mine cart chase; the answering voice is unresolved. — Bill Simmons
Phoenix is selected for adding edge and reality, over the obvious Cage choice and a possible Schumacher argument. — Chris Ryan
Another speaker initially considers Schumacher’s recovery after Batman & Robin but ultimately chooses Machine as a character and wishes he could have returned. — Van Lathan
A sequel twist preserving both Machine and Max is imagined. — Bill Simmons
The final selection puts Phoenix first for his electric limited screen time, with Machine second for distinctiveness. — Bill Simmons
Cage, Schumacher, Phoenix, Gandolfini, and Bauer are rejected: Cage’s earlier action run, peak Sopranos, and Bauer’s Wire role are invoked instead. — Bill Simmons
The panel supports the cinematic porn shops, Hollywood snuff-film treatment, and fictionalized seedy Los Angeles as affirmative peaks. — Bill Simmons
The pre-gentrification Meatpacking District is considered but Fatal Attraction is preferred, with Unfaithful also mentioned. — Bill Simmons
Cage’s telephone call during the Eddie confrontation is initially presented as the overwhelming choice.
Stormare’s costume, consistently extreme readings, and complaint about his death’s cinematic quality change the discussion; the initial Cage preference yields toward Dino Velvet.
Fincher is discussed as an initially approached director. One view thinks it would repeat Se7en and The Game; another expects fundamentally different choices and a more lasting sensory impact.
Crowe is described as an earlier intended lead for a lower-budget version and is preferred by one speaker; Cage’s greater contemporary star power is said to explain the change. — Bill Simmons
An internet claim that Mark Wahlberg turned down Max California is treated as uncertain; he spends too much time in the gym for the role. — Bill Simmons
Friedkin, Verhoeven, and Gibson are mentioned as internet rumors whose reliability the panel questions. — Chris Ryan
Travolta in the lead is proposed as a way to make the film even stranger through overacting. — Van Lathan
