The Rock (1996) is an American action-thriller film directed by Michael Bay. The film is set in the present day (mid-1990s) and centers around the events that unfold on Alcatraz Island, a notorious former prison located in San Francisco Bay. The story kicks off when a group of rogue U.S. military veterans, led by General Francis X. Hummel (played by Ed Harris), takes control of Alcatraz Island and threatens to launch rockets filled with deadly VX gas over the city of San Francisco unless the U.S. government pays a ransom of $100 million to the families of soldiers who died in covert operations, with no compensation or recognition.

In response to this dangerous standoff, the U.S. government sends in a team consisting of Stanley Goodspeed (played by Nicolas Cage), a chemical weapons specialist, and John Mason (played by Sean Connery), a former British SAS operative and the only man to ever escape from Alcatraz. The government hopes Mason’s unique knowledge of the island will help infiltrate the facility and neutralize the threat posed by the rogue soldiers.

As the team ventures onto the island, they face numerous obstacles: heavily armed soldiers, explosive traps, and tense confrontations. Goodspeed, initially a nervous, by-the-book scientist, finds himself out of his depth in the dangerous world of military combat, while Mason, hardened by years of imprisonment and experience in special forces operations, serves as the more capable and cynical counterpart.

The film culminates in a thrilling series of events involving high-octane action, daring escapes, and close calls. Eventually, Goodspeed and Mason manage to defuse the threat, but not without personal cost and dramatic sacrifices. The movie ends with the characters facing the aftermath of their mission and the moral questions about justice, vengeance, and duty.