A fan on Reddit believes they have proven the fan theory that 1996's The Rock isn't just an action thriller -- it's a James Bond movie.
Redditor Apprehensive-Test-26 marked the 25th anniversary of The Rock's release by examining context clues from the film, Sean Connery's six official Bond films and "actual world history" to make the case. They also linked to a YouTube video from Pentex Productions that explains the theory as well, but wrote, "Trust me when I say that NO ONE has looked at this theory in this much detail and there is WAY more evidence than people think."
Directed by Michael Bay, The Rock stars Connery as John Mason, a former SAS captain renowned as the only inmate who ever escaped from the federal prison on Alcatraz Island. Mason is recruited to join a band of Navy SEALs to slip onto the island and defeat a terrorist threatening to destroy San Francisco with missiles if he isn't paid a $100 million ransom for the civilians on the site.
Connery debuted as Bond in 1962's Dr. No, and a line of dialogue in The Rock states Mason was "incarcerated on Alcatraz in 1962… escaped in '63." Dr. No ended with Bond destroying the title villain's headquarters in Jamaica and drifting off with Honey Ryder rather than join CIA contact Felix Leiter, who brings the U.S. Marines to mop up operations. The theory posits that in the confusion, Bond was captured by a Navy patrol and, being undercover with no credentials, was sent to prison. In the next Bond film, From Russia With Love, there's a line of dialogue that Bond went missing for six months after that adventure -- the time Bond-as-Mason would have been behind bars.
The Rock also notes that Mason was re-imprisoned, which by Apprehensive-Test's reckoning had to have been no earlier than 1972 when Mason was on a mission to retrieve a microfilm full of secrets. They write, "We know what John Mason was doing between 1963 and 1972. He was being James Bond." He was also in San Francisco in 1971, according to the finale of Diamonds Are Forever, Connery's last official Bond movie.
The theory continues to posit that Bond intended the mission to retrieve the microfilm as his last act before retirement, was captured and gave the code name Mason to the authorities. Other Bond films have established that MI-6 will disavow any knowledge of captured agents, so Bond was left to his own devices.
Never Say Never Again, Connery's seventh outing as Bond, is excluded from this account "because it's not an official Eon film and takes place in a different continuity." Also, the Bond films starring George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Pierce Brosnan, Timothy Dalton and Daniel Craig are regarded as each happening in their own continuity as well.