Chapter 73: Director and Characters
Intense explosions and action sequences rolled across the screen one after another, punctuated by deadpan humor that relieved the audience's tension just before their nerves snapped. Applause broke out across Alcatraz Island for the umpteenth time as the film finally reached its climax.
"Hurry, hurry up!"
The tense, excited voices of moviegoers came from behind. Sarah understood exactly how they felt. The Air Force's Hornets were bearing down on Alcatraz Island; if Goodspeed couldn't make it out in time, the island would be reduced to a sea of fire.
"Run! Hurry up and run!"
Even the nearby media section erupted with cheers rooting for Goodspeed.
Goodspeed was already injured and his consciousness was blurring. But his pregnant fiancée was waiting in San Francisco, eighty-one hostages were still trapped in the Alcatraz Island prison, and the Federal Government's airstrike was already underway. He had to force himself to stay awake and fire the green flare!
"The film's pacing has started to slow down," Sarah murmured.
The film's pacing noticeably slowed here. The visual tones grew deeper and heavier, perfectly capturing a perilous, hanging-by-a-thread atmosphere. Accompanied by the intercutting shots of the fighter jets tearing toward Alcatraz Island, Goodspeed struggling to his feet to send the signal, and the frantic FBI agents, the film flawlessly conveyed the nerve-racking anxiety of a moment where no one knew if the mission had succeeded.
Who said Duke Rosenberg only knew how to shoot fast-paced action scenes? This shot palpably laid bare the complex emotions of every character on screen.