A mild-mannered chemist and an ex-con must lead the counterstrike when a rogue group of military men, led by a renegade general, threaten a nerve gas attack from Alcatraz against San Francis... Read allA mild-mannered chemist and an ex-con must lead the counterstrike when a rogue group of military men, led by a renegade general, threaten a nerve gas attack from Alcatraz against San Francisco.A mild-mannered chemist and an ex-con must lead the counterstrike when a rogue group of military men, led by a renegade general, threaten a nerve gas attack from Alcatraz against San Francisco.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 9 wins & 10 nominations total
- Marine Captain Hendrix
- (as John C. Mc Ginley)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAccording to director Michael Bay, the script was written much more straight and serious than the final movie. Most of the humorous moments and lines were improvised during filming.
- GoofsVX in liquid form, as presumably shown in the film by the small balls containing the substance, does not take effect immediately. After absorption through the skin and/or mucous membranes, it takes approx 1 to 2 hours before visible nerve agent symptoms begin to show. However, if a person is exposed to the aerosol form of VX, effects are immediate. In either case, the symptoms of VX poisoning resemble more of a full-body seizure than a bubbling/melting of the skin. Atropine must only be injected into the heart when poisoning by the aerosolized version occurs. Otherwise, the atropine is injected into the thigh. Furthermore, Atropine is also poisonous to the human body when it's injected into the body before aerosolize exposure occurs, either case Atropine's main side effect weakens the human body to the point of incapacitation and would be in no fit state to diffuse a bomb or get up and run and wave flares as depicted in the movie.
- Quotes
John Mason: [while on the stairs leading to the prison morgue] Are you sure you're ready for this?
Stanley Goodspeed: I'll do my best.
John Mason: Your "best"! Losers always whine about their best. Winners go home and fuck the prom queen.
Stanley Goodspeed: Carla *was* the prom queen.
John Mason: Really?
Stanley Goodspeed: [cocks his gun] Yeah.
- Alternate versionsAlthough the film was shot in the Super 35 process, the HDTV version (which uses the 2001 Criterion Collection remaster) Pans and Scans as if it were shot in Anamorphic Widescreen instead of properly framing it for Full Frame as most Super 35 films are. The 4:3 version that is found on the original VHS release is mostly open matte with some mild cropping.
- ConnectionsEdited into The Green Fog (2017)
- SoundtracksSan Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)
Written by John Phillips
Performed by Scott McKenzie
Courtesy of Epic Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing
This is Michael Bay audacity to bring his heart pumping action style to bear. The action is big time bombastic joy. And for the best effect, he allows the actors to have fun in between the action. Nicolas Cage brings a lot of his manic energy and a bit of his crazy humor. And Sean Connery brings the Bond gravitas to the action. Plus the Cage Connery duo is a lot of fun, and they have great chemistry together. This is the best kind of popcorn movie-making.
- SnoopyStyle
- Jan 11, 2014
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $75,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $134,069,511
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $25,069,525
- Jun 9, 1996
- Gross worldwide
- $335,062,621
- Runtime2 hours 16 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1