ESSENTIAL MUSIC: The Rock OST Review

therock

When we look back at movies of the past a lot of times we remember most fondly the music involved. When it comes to the 90’s action movie The Rock with Sean Connery and Nick Cage the music is something that changes the film from being just a fond memory to something you want to bring back in soundtrack form.

Plot summary: A group of U.S. marines, under command of a renegade general, take over Alcatraz and threat San Francisco Bay with biological weapons. A chemical weapons specialist and the only man to have ever escaped from the Rock are the only ones who can prevent chaos. (Source IMDB)

Without confusing matters the The Rock soundtrack is the actual score and not like a lot of modern soundtracks where some rock tracks by Marilyn Manson to Nickelback are added just for the market value. Like a lot of action movies it’s from Jerry Bruckheimer and Hans Zimmer’s fast paced orchestral score manages to hold it’s own and even surpass the cinematic highlights on occasion. One of the strong adrenaline fueled scenes in the movie has Nick Cage in hot pursuit during a frantic car chase of escaped convict Connery and the soundtrack is just electrifying in a way unheard in many modern films where the orchestral accompaniment is becoming an afterthought to techno.

The soundtrack is 8 tracks running a total of one hour in length. This means you get all the memorable bits of the movie with several slow emotional moments included in addition to the fast action points.

Tracklist:
1. Hummell Gets the Rockets
2. Rock House Jail
3. Jade
4. In the Tunnels
5. Mason’s Walk – First Launch
6. Rocket Away
7. Fort Walton – Kansas
8. The Chase

In conclusion The Rock’s soundtrack is a classic and one of the best you will ever come across. It turned an average film into a masterpiece that few acknowledged at the time but is still thought of in high regard just like Cage’s Con Air. If you want proof check out Amazon.com’s purchase page for the soundtrack and see the 5 star rating, you don’t get to see that in itself very often.

One thought on “ESSENTIAL MUSIC: The Rock OST Review”

  1. I agree 100%! This soundtrack is amazing and great to go on a run with. My fave tracks are “Rock House Jail” and “The Chase.”

    The score for The Rock is one of the reasons the movie is on my Top Five Favorite Films list.

    Good review.

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