6. The Rock (1996)
Master of destruction Michael Bay has never been better than this action romp from 1996. Sean Connery is cool as ice as John Mason, an ex British secret agent and the only man to escape from Alcatraz. When rogue soldiers seize the Island and threaten to launch poison gas missiles on San Francisco Mason is called upon to help geeky scientist Nicolas Cage and a group of Navy Seals retake the prison. After an ambush leaves Connery and Cage as the only survivors it's up to the mismatched pair to save the day. Bay delivers all the usual Bayhem here with explosions, slick edits, more explosions, gunfire and even larger explosions. While Cage does get in on the action it's mostly up to Connery to take care of business, which he does with aplomb. And he's clearly having a good time as the slightly darker cousin of James Bond, a snarky killing machine whose been locked away for 30 years and needs to vent some righteous anger. All in all The Rock is a film that makes a strong case for the badass credentials of 66 year old Scottish guys. See also: Billy Connelly in The Boondock Saints. Brian Cox in Ironclad.