Who could forget The Rock, Michael Bay's masterpiece revolving military special operations, patriotism and politics that stunned movie fans back in 1996. The cast of the movie consisted of Sean Connery,Nicholas Cage, Ed Harris and Michael Biehn . Although this movie is 11 years old, one will definitely thought that this movie was shot somewhere in the early 2000. It wouldn't be a surprise seeing that the cinematography for the movie back then was as good as today's cinematographies. The movie itself featured several action packed scenes which were remarkable. However, one of the most outstanding and unforgettable scene in the movie was the shower room scene.
The Rock tells the tale of a United States Marine Corps General (Ed Harris) who turned renegade on his government due to the fact that his men who sacrificed their lives back in the Gulf War were not acknowledged for what they contributed to their country. In addition to that, the deeds of the General's deceased men were unappreciated by the government as they were not given a proper burial and their families were not compensated. Engulfed in rage against his government, the general together with other renegade Marines who shared his similar beliefs stole a dozen of missiles filled with V.X. gas from a military weapon depot. Getting the missiles was one thing, but finding a launch zone for the missiles was another. One morning at Alcatraz aka. The Rock ( the famous penitentiary that once housed the most notorious criminals), a prison tour was conducted. However it came to a halt when the general and his men stormed the prison and took the visitors and the wardens hostage. The missiles were set at different locations of the prison and they were ready to launch. On the following day, Washington received the General's call. Threatening to launch the missiles into the heart of San Fransisco, the General demanded that his ungrateful government compensate the family of his deceased men with one million dollars. Stricken in fear, Washington was at the mercy of the General. The response to this domestic terrorism: the deployment of America's best SEAL team who will be accompanied by a chemist ( Nicholas Cage) who knows everything about the V.X. gas and also a former SAS commando (Sean Connery) who is very familiar with the lay out of Alcatraz.
The shower room scene was a scene to remember. This is because the scene was criminally emotional and it reflected patriotism. The soundtrack for that scene which was composed by Hans Zimmer simply enforced more emotion into that scene. Besides that, the camera shots were remarkable as the confrontation between the General and the SEAL commander was shot up and close. In addition to that, the camera angle which covered the complete lay out of the shower room is another reason that made the camera shots for this scene simply spectacular.
During this scene, the deployed Navy SEALs have reached the sewer system of The Rock. The team then tried to enter the compound of the prison via the shower room. As they reached a ladder that led to the manhole plate of the shower room, one of the SEALs detected a device on the manhole plate which appeared to be a motion sensor. The device illuminated a thin red laser beam that if it were to be tripped over, it would sound the alarm hence compromising their element of surprise. The SEALs cut the laser beam of the device by using a mirror to reflect its beam back to the prism's device. Thinking that they disarmed the motion sensor, the SEALs removed the manhole plate before entering the shower room. Little did the SEALs know that the device was a customized motion sensor that alarmed the Marines through radio beeping sounds the moment the device was physically moved by the SEALs. Unaware that their presence were known by the Marines, the SEALs continued securing the shower room. As for the chemist and the former SAS commando, both of them remained at the sewer waiting for the SEALs to secure the shower room. As most of the SEALs secured every angle of the shower room, they were surprised by the Marine's unexpected ambush. The Navy SEALs were at the gun sights of the Marines who were taking firing position from a higher platform.
At this point of the scene, the confrontation between the Marines and the SEALs began .None of the Marines or the SEALs opened fire yet. Seeing that the SEAL team was covered from an elevated position, they started to tremble in fear thinking that the end of their mission was there and then. The General then appeared behind the Marines demanding the SEALs to safety their weapons and place them on the deck. The leader (Michael Biehn) of the SEAL team lowered his weapon and gaze eye to eye with the General. Reminding the General that his (SEAL leader) duty as a solider is to defend his country from foreign and even domestic enemies, the SEAL leader refused to order his men to safety their weapon. The General impatiently ordered the SEAL leader to obey his demand again however, like before, the SEAL leader refused. In the middle of the argument between the General and the SEAL leader, one of the Marines accidentally hit a rock of a broken wall which startled one of the SEAL operative. Struck in fear, the entire SEAL team opened fire on the Marines. The unfortunate SEAL leader who was in the middle of the shower room became the easiest target for the Marines to take out. Repeatedly ordering his men to cease fire, the General's cry to halt the blood bath was no match for the screaming rifle rounds of the Marines. Eventually, the entire SEAL team was wiped out and the mission to liberate Alcatraz from the clutches of the renegade General ended in a failure.
Despite how remarkable the scene was, there were several particular goof that was not difficult to spot. The SEALs who opened fire in retaliation did not kill any of the Marines despite Navy SEALs were known for their marksmanship. Besides that, the Marines who did not reload their weapon after firing more than 30 rounds seem awkward.
An interesting fact about the movie was the cast of the Navy SEALs. The entire cast of the SEAL team are actually real Navy SEALs except for the team leader ( Michael Biehn) and the Navy SEAL who got shot in the head. Although the team leader isn't a real SEAL operative, he is a Hollywood icon for military masculinity and he also played as a SEAL hero in the 80's movie called U.S. Navy SEAL.
Clearly, this scene is unforgettable despite how old the movie is. It has been a while since Michael Bay and his film crew directed a military movie like this. Hopefully he will have plans to make another military movie like The Rock in the future. Here's a video of the spectacular scene. Enjoy and get ready to be amazed.
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