Con Air

Con Air is what I've come to expect of a standard Hollywood action flick, nothing more, nothing less. It's got plenty of action, big explosions, one-liners and pure entertainment value. The plot is pretty good, somewhat original, and fairly fast-paced. The acting is good, and the film has a surprisingly large amount of well-known good actors; Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, Danny Trejo, Steve Buscemi, Ving Rhames and John Malkovich. They all give good performances, as do most of the supporting actors. The characters are well-written and credible. I found it interesting how most of the characters aren't all black or white in their actions and personalities; many of them have a shade of gray or two. The action is well-done, exciting and intense. The special effects(the few there are) are good enough. The ending may be a little extreme, but it's a good climax, and the good things in the film make up for the bad; granted, there are a few downright lame parts, but there are far more good parts than bad. All in all, everything you'd expect from a Jerry Bruckheimer action film, and nothing else. I recommend it to fans of standard action films. 7/10

Cameron Poe (Nicolas Cage) is released from the Army Rangers and reunited with his pregnant wife (Monica Potter). He is challenged by 3 drunks outside of a bar and kills one. He is sentenced to 7 to 10 years in prison. He gets paroled and he's hitching a plane ride until his release. The plane has his friend cellmate Baby-O (Mykelti Williamson) as well as many dangerous supermax prisoners on their way to a new prison. Vince Larkin (John Cusack) is overseeing the transfer with DEA wildman Duncan Malloy (Colm Meaney) running a sting on a drug lord. Malloy sneaks a gun with his undercover agent onto the plane. Cyrus 'The Virus' Grissom (John Malkovich) masterminds an escape plan with Pinball (Dave Chappelle) stealing the keys from Guard Sally Bishop (Rachel Ticotin). Diamond Dog (Ving Rhames) is a militant black prisoner.

This is an over-the-top ridiculous cartoon action thriller. One has to leave all reasonable logic behind. There is a lot of unnecessary overacting by Meaney. With all the great action, the movie should be a lot more thrilling and intense. The jokey irreverent feel makes it less intense. After awhile, it's not about the plot or whether Baby-O gets the help. It's what other ridiculous things are they going to pull. I have to roll my eyes when Steve Buscemi arrives as Hannibal Lecter. However it is so ridiculous that it's kind of fun.

"Con Air" is a typical Jerry Bruckheimer production of the mid to late 90's, more or less along the same lines as "The Rock" & "Armageddon". Featuring undemanding action executed by a nicely assembled cast, it's the type of movie that's designed for popcorn munching enjoyment rather than garnering prestigious awards. While that approach can often lead to a fairly hollow & trivial experience, in this case the unique premise sets "Con Air" apart from countless other routine action flicks.

The story revolves around a flight containing some of the nation's most notorious criminals who are on their way to a new maximum security detention center. Little do the authorities know that they've plotted to take over the plane and use it to transport themselves to freedom. Luckily for the good guys, a recent parolee who just happens to be a highly decorated Army Ranger is also on board and he's not too keen on letting these guys have their way.

The premise may be fairly high concept but it's an intriguing one. I'd have to say that screenwriter Scott Rosenberg put together a pretty clever plot, even though the last act goes all out in terms of action and, as a result, strays into ludicrousness. There's also quite a bit of memorable dialogue, which is helped immensely by the excellent cast. Nicolas Cage & John Cusack are better than average as the good guys but in my opinion it's the bad guys who really stand out. John Malkovich is always worth watching and here he gives perhaps the movie's best performance as the main villain, Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom. His criminal brethren include the likes of Ving Rhames, Danny Trejo, Steve Buscemi, Dave Chappelle & M.C. Gainey. That's an impressive group in and of itself and it's supplemented by a few other standouts like Colm Meaney & Mykelti Williamson.

The movie's production values are up to snuff as well, which is no surprise considering that this was a summer blockbuster. The movie garnered an Oscar nomination for its sound along with one for the original song "How Do I Live" by Trisha Yearwood. In general, the movie shows the trademark quality of a Jerry Bruckheimer production.

Overall, I think that the movie delivers the goods for most of its running time but I find that the extended finale goes a bit too over the top. I can understand why they'd want to go out with a bang but I found the earlier stages to be more intricately plotted than a typical action movie and, as a result, more rewarding. In any case, the movie is worth watching for having a pretty nifty premise along with some entertaining performances from a nicely assembled cast.

I realise that Con Air is about as far from ground-breaking visionary cinema as you can get—Hell, it was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, which speaks volumes about the artistic integrity involved—but as a thrilling slice of slam-bang popcorn action fun, it works a treat.

Nicolas Cage plays Cameron Poe, an honourable army ranger who is sent to a maximum-security federal penitentiary after accidentally killing a man while protecting his pregnant wife (Monica Potter). After serving eight years, Cameron is finally given parole, and scheduled to fly home on a C-123 Jailbird aircraft, along with several other prisoners whose number include evil criminal mastermind Cyrus the Virus (John Malkovich) and Poe's likable diabetic cell-mate O'Dell (Mykelti Williamson). Poe's freedom is delayed however, when Cyrus and his equally vile cohorts take over the plane by force, and O'Dell's life is placed in jeopardy...

Unlike The Rock, which was an overly dramatic and rather jingoistic affair, Con Air is pure cartoonish excess from start to finish. To try and analyse the plot or apply logic to proceedings is futile, the script conveniently glossing over details as and when it suits (for example, we never learn what Cage's cell-mate O was jailed for; as a result, he becomes a sympathetic character, when the guy could have been a child killer for all we know!). Director Simon West sure isn't concerned about his film making sense, 'cos he's too busy having the time of his life inflicting maximum damage on everyone and everything in the most spectacular manner possible. In this film, the rules are 'don't just have a car crash when you can drag it behind a plane on a hook for a while before smashing it onto a runway?' and 'Don't just kill a man when you can kill him and then drop his corpse from several thousand feet onto a moving vehicle?'.

It's stuff like this, coupled with a formidable cast and excellent stunts, pyrotechnics and special effects, that elevate Con Air from the ridiculous to the sublime. I give Con Air a rating of 8 delightfully ruthless maniacs out of 10, making it the second best Nicolas Cage action flick of 1997.

Macho's in a non-stop action movie with lot's of explosions. This is ladies and gentlemen; the ultimate guy movie.

The movie is filled with crazy over the top characters such as Pinball, Johnny-23, The Marietta Mangler and Sally-can't-dance. It has some of the best casting in a movie I have ever seen. The actors are all simply perfect for their roles. Especially John Malkovich and Steve Buscemi are excellent as always and their characters are the best of the movie even though Buscemi's character wasn't really needed at all. The introduction of the prisoners at the beginning of the movie is completely over the top but I love it! It possibly is one of my favorite scene's in cinema history when we first meet Cyrus the Virus and Diamond Dog, the music really sets the mood in that scene.

Of course the story is not important, it's all about explosions, shootings, fist fights and everything in between. But dislike other action movies "Con Air" actually has a story that I like, even though it's completely over the top. Although I think that the movie might had been better of without the Poe's family scene's and storyline, even though I still sort of like the emotional scene's between them. Also I think that Nicholas Cage is a bit too much of a good guy in the movie, not only does he help his friend on board, he even finds time to try and save all the cops their lives and that of the bunny present for his daughter.

A good thing is the excellent soundtrack by Trevor Rabin and Mark Mancina that gives the movie an extra 'cool' feeling.

One little point of critic is that the editing isn't always great. But I can live with that...

Perfect entertainment in a crazy over the top non-stop action movie! There are better action movies out there but not much.

8/10

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