'Michael Bay's best film' with 'off the charts action' airing free on TV tonight

An action movie classic that has been dubbed as director 'Michael Bay's best film' is on TV for free tonight.

Viewers can enjoy the action classic The Rock, which was directed by Bay and originally released in 1996 this weekend as it is broadcast on free-to-air television. It boasts a stellar cast including former James Bond Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage.

It will be shown at 10pm on ITV4, Saturday November 30. In the film FBI chemical warfare expert Stanley Goodspeed (Cage) is sent on an urgent mission with a former British spy, John Patrick Mason (Connery). Their task is to stop General Francis X. Hummel, played by Ed Harris from launching chemical weapons on Alcatraz Island into San Francisco.

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Gen. Hummel demands $100 million in war reparations to be paid to the families of slain servicemen who died on covert operations. The heroes are initially sent in with a SEAL team but after they are wiped out, Stanley and John are forced to deal with the deadly situation on their own.

While the film's critical response upon its initial release may have been mixed at best, the title has since achieved cult status. It is often hailed as an iconic film of the 1990s alongside the likes of Con Air, Air Force One and Face/Off. The film did even earn a nomination for an Oscar, for Best Sound.

It was only the second film directed by Michael Bay at the time, who had mostly made musical videos for the likes of Tina Turner, Meat Loaf and Lionel Ritchie previously. However, when he made The Rock, it was on the back of another cult classic, Bad Boys, starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence.

Bay did apparently receive some criticism from Disney executives during filming. According to the DVD commentary, Connery insisted on attending a meeting with the director and backed him up, insisting to the studio that he was doing a fine job.

Despite it being made so early In Bay's career, who would go on to direct Armageddon, Bad Boys II and the Transformers live-action movies, many fans declare it is his best. Collider ranked The Rock as 'Michael Bay's best film' and 'a perfect snapshot of the height of 90s action movies'.

Many fans share that opinion, as one posting on website Rotten Tomatoes, said: "It’s not the only great movie from Michael Bay but it’s by far the best one and the one that has the most nuanced storytelling and character development they matter this time and it isn’t just about action spectacle."

Another agreed as they posted: "The Rock is absolutely one of Michael Bay's best movies, thanks to its off the charts action sequences and incredible performances by Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery."

A third hailed it as the "best action movie in history great plot, great actors and great music" while a third added: "This ordinary action flick that at times is unintentionally funny is probably Michael Bay's best work. That's saying something."

The Rock is on ITV4 at 10pm, Saturday November 30 and it is also streaming on Disney+