So surprisingly fleshed out characters is what make The Rock great!

One could write a whole essay about Francis X Hummel and Harris´portrayal of him and still not do him justice...but calling him sympathetic,determined, badass,pissed off and complex...that sort of makes his foundation. One of the best written characters in not only actionfilms but in general(No pun intended).

And characters making up the supporting cast become so more welldefined and fleshed out on multiple viewings,it´s so impressive for a straight-up action film. A political actionfilm one could say,with brains.

William Forsythe(who I really dig,I just wish I didn´t know that he uses a fake voice,he doesn´t really sound like that)as Paxton comes across as a bit unsympathetic and agressive,as in the conversation with Mason. He is also seemingly frustrated with being in the dark and not having great options. He does his best to calm Godspeed down before the mission,has a few great lines(-He has a gun,sir... -What do you have,a fu--ing waterpistol??)and when he founds out the truth about Masons incarceration,he understand the old mans resentment against Womack and naturally doesn´t believe Mason at the end has incinerated or evaporated but is glad he got away....a nice touch.


David Morse. WOW. Here you can talk about pulling a Del Toro/Fenster. What is on the page?About 8 lines of dialog. Baxter doesn´t wholeheartedly believe in the mission but he believes in his general to 100%. He stays pragmatic and a voice of reason for as long as possible. Bay knew he had cast a charismatic actor in a thankless role and realized he should make the most of it.

When Anderson goes"We all had mates that were pissed on by the pentagon but that does not give you the right to mutiny!!),the camera for a few seconds focus on Morse looking with doubt at Hummel. He knows what they´re doing is messed up,though necessary. Such a subtle touch...or when Frye and Darrow are getting more and more dominant and pushy with their Cocked,locked and ready to rock-crap,all the camera does is zoom in on Baxter as he sits against the wall,weary and we see him realising what Hummel hasn´t,that these two can´t be controlled cause they don´t respect shi- and things are about to go straight to hell....
-The men are marines. -ARE THEY? Thank you,Morse,for creating a sympathetic character out of thin air.


Michael Biehn(Is it pronounced Bean?)in a classic Biehn role. He first come across as a cliche,no nonsense tough guy,being far from someone I would root for, with dialog mainly consisting of exposition,threatening Mason,pushing Godspeed around...then as the mission gets under way,he becomes more and more charismatic and really sells the role as Commander....and in his"big moment"he gets to show a human,empathetic but never in any way weak side.

Andersons and Hummels philosophies and mentalities are very similar but fate has pitted them against eachother. He understands why Hummel is doing this but...-You men following the general....you´re under oath as United states marines,have you forgotten that?? Superb line and delivery.

Was it partly pride that made it impossible to give the order to lay down arms or SEAL-mentality or knowing San Fransisco was screwed if they did? Don´t know but in that scene Bay allowed Biehn to show us who Anderson was at his core. Another fleshed out character. Bay should´ve included a shot of Anderson killing a marine to let him go out in a blaze of glory...and let an experienced major like Baxter,with the element of surprise blow Darrows brains out but...I guess he was going for realism.


Even Womack,the late John Spencer,is not that big of a creep,despite being the films most morally compromised character. What he has done,he has done out of necessity,not sadism and in the sake of national security. McGinley is sort of left hanging,overly eager to please his general but I liked the choice of the writers to kill of a captain so relatively early.

Woodbine as Crisp is inspired by Hummels speech,clearly looks up to him but spends too much time with the scumbag soldiers or mercenarys and though conflicted,chose to go against his leader. He should know better,he actually does know better but let peer pressure get to him,that´s why he gets a big hole in his throat,a traitor not having the heart to stand by his convictions must be punished.

And so on... Mason and Godspeed,the heroes have great dialog but are pretty simple,good guys at the core,Frye and Darrow their complete opposites. The characters around them though really resonate and are,for an action film,very well drawn. Anyone agree?