MovieChat Forums > The Rock (1996) Discussion > Was 60 viewed as being old in 1996?

Was 60 viewed as being old in 1996?

posted 2 years ago by MiamiFootball001 (82)
14 replies | jump to latest

Re-watched this recently. I gotta say, this really movie holds up really well and (along with Independence Day) I consider it to be the quintessential 90s action/adventure film.
A big reason for my love of this film is undoubtedly Sean Connery. One thing that I noticed here is that Mason's age is consistently brought up as if he's too old to function. I found this to be a bit odd, seeing as how 60 nowadays is pretty much viewed as being middle aged and not even close to being old.

Was 60 considered old back in the mid 1990s?

[–] moviechatterer (16326) 2 years ago

Its still a little old to be fighting terrorists and swimming icy cold shark infested waters .

I doubt that even now in these modern enlightened times where "60 nowadays is pretty much viewed as being middle aged" that the Army would recruit him. (or even draft in times of emergency)

[–] acidraindrop (3055) 2 years ago

60 is still old.

[–] R_Kane (15828) 2 years ago

Medical science treats a person as being geriatric at age 60. It always has.

[–] liscarkat (19398) 2 years ago

When I was twenty, I looked at twenty-eight-year-olds and marveled at how they got around without walkers. Now I'm sixty-eight, and I still run, climb, jump, etc. I could do anything physical Connery's character does in the movie. But I probably wouldn't want to.

[–] Otter (24464) 2 years ago

Then as now, a well-kept and healthy 60 year old was thought of as being in late middle age.

A dirt poor or imprisoned 60 year old was thought of as being on their last legs, and usually was, and if a prisoner hasn't cut his hair or beard in 10 years people will assume he's old before his time. Which is just the impression Mason wanted to give, when he was first taken out of prison to consult with the FBI...

[–] Kowalski (79051) 2 years ago

seeing as how 60 nowadays is pretty much viewed as being middle aged and not even close to being old.

THIS MAKES ZERO SENSE.

[–] samoanjoes (58580) 2 years ago

Yes it does.

[–] Kowalski (79051) 2 years ago

YEAH...I HOPE I LIVE TO BE 120 TOO.🙄

[–] samoanjoes (58580) 2 years ago

They said "nowadays is pretty much viewed as being middle aged". They're not saying it is middle aged, just that people are living longer and healthier that 60s in this era isn't the same as previous eras.

[–] Kowalski (79051) 2 years ago

60'S-YOU ARE GETTING OLD.

70'S-YOU ARE ARE OLD.

80'S-YOU GOT LUCKY.

90'S-YOU NO LONGER FEEL SO LUCKY.

[–] samoanjoes (58580) 2 years ago

Have you seen 60 year old now? My boy Tom Cruise is 60.

[–] Kowalski (79051) 2 years ago

AND IN TEN YEARS YOUR BOY WILL LOOK LIKE BENJAMIN BUTTON'S NUTSACK JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE...EVEN MIGHTY TOM CAN'T HOLD BACK FATHER TIME'S BIG MEAN DICK FOR TOO MUCH LONGER.

[–] BillySlater (4281) 2 years ago

Tom Cruise is an outlier.

[–] BillySlater (4281) 2 years ago

Connery was 65/66 years old in 1996, that´s retirement age in most countries, so yes that is old! That being said, I think the whole point of the age jokes was a trope to undermine/underestimate Mason as being a washed-up fossil, so that he has a character arc. If he is viewed as an invincible super-spy from the beginning, the film would have lacked tension. This is a common critique of the Rey character in Star Wars.