Con Air (1997)

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

Fmovies: `Con Air' more or less defines the term `popcorn movie' – it's an action film designed strictly to entertain. The film's emphasis is on flash, flair, and adrenaline, with a smattering of humor and story spread throughout for good measure. Not exactly the most lofty of goals, but the desire to entertain is quite sincere, and `Con Air' does largely succeed in the entertainment department.

Where `Con Air' falls apart, however, is the grandiose, grandstanding way in which it tells its story. Subtlety is a word that is impossible to use in describing this film. `Con Air' is a firm believer in the concept that more must be better – ten explosions must be better than one; three psychotic villains must be better than two; and so on. The `bigger is better' approach never truly turns the film into an utter mess, but it does bog it down to a certain extent – what could've been a fantastic action movie becomes, well, just better than average. A leaner and meaner `Con Air' could've been a classic.

`Con Air' is the story of good-guy Cameron Poe (Nicolas Cage), an Army Ranger unjustly tossed in prison for eight long years for protecting his family from a drunken, knife-wielding maniac. Finally paroled, Poe is placed on a converted troop transport plane that will take him home to his family. However, also on board the plane is a roster of psychotic criminals vaguely reminiscent of the Legion of Doom from the old `Superfriends' cartoon. There's Cyrus the Virus (John Malkovich), an articulate, thoughtful madman with a penchant for automatic weapons; Diamond Dog (Ving Rhames), a black militant and Cyrus' trusted lieutenant (or so Cyrus thinks, at any rate); Johnny 23 (Danny Trejo), a serial rapist; Garland Greene (Steve Buscemi), a serial killer in the Hannibal Lecter vein who is treated as the resident prison celebrity; and a good half-dozen other colorful characters to flesh out this flying rogues' gallery of nightmare criminals. Under Cyrus' direction, the criminals take control of the plane, and it's up to the beleaguered Poe to save the day, with some help from good-guy U.S. Marshal Larkin (John Cusack) on the ground, who's seemingly the only person in U.S. law enforcement capable of deciphering Poe's brief and cryptic messages to the authorities.

The film moves along at a brisk pace, cheerfully glossing over its own improbabilities. `Con Air' is definitely the kind of film that only works if you don't stop to think about it, and director Simon West keeps things going quick enough to keep most of the ludicrous plot holes mercifully brief. He manages to cut from one story arc to another with a certain amount of skill, keeping each arc from completely snowballing into something unmanageable. However, the juggling act wears thin by the end of the movie – there's simply too much to try to balance. It's not particularly Simon West's fault (although he does have an annoying penchant for overusing the slow-motion explosion filmed from five different angles, a lá `The A-Team'), but more a by-product of the script. The second half of the film has forced moments, where the only purpose of the action scenes seems to be to completely outdo the action scenes in the first half. These scenes are undeniably cool looking, but they're filler, and filler can only take a movie so far. A good third of the film – story, action scenes, you name it – could've easily been excised from the film, and not only would it

Con Air (1997) is a classic high energy Nicholas Cage's best bad-ass action flick from the 90's of the decade he ever made! I grew up watching this film as a child and honestly it was my favorite action film and the first one from Nicholas Cage I have ever saw. After seeing Con Air for the first time, I bagged my mom to buy me The Rock and Face/Off along with Con Air on VHS because of Nicholas Cage! I still have all three films on VHS and I also have them on Blu-ray. I don't like Face/Off anymore I have my reasons, but Con Air is a bad ass action film and it is still my favorite action film today that I love to death. I have a blast watching this film.

Plot: Newly paroled ex-con and former U.S. Ranger Cameron Poe finds himself trapped in a prisoner transport plane when the passengers seize control.

The film is actually about Cameron Poe (Nicholas Cage) U.S. Ranger who accidentally kills a man in self defense when three goon's try's to kill him. Cameron confesses the crime, but because of his military past, Cameron gets 7 - 10. years maximum prison after years his paroled and only what he want's is to get home to his wife and to his daughter he never saw before. Cameron has to share a prison airplane with some of the country's most dangerous criminals, who actually take control of the plane and are now planning to escape the country. Cameron has to find a way to stop them while playing along. Meanwhile, United States Marshal Vincent Larkin (John Cusack) is trying to help Cameron get free and stop the criminals, including Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom (John Malkovich).

Everyone in the cast is great and Nic Cage's Cameron Poe is one of my favorite action heroes of all time. With such lines as "I'm gonna show you God does exist" and "I'm gonna save the f**king day" you know you're dealing with a Grade A bad ass. He's not without a sensitive side though as he is prone to crying like a girl at some points too. Con Air is directed from Simon West, who directed also The Expendables 2 another film , that I love.

Why I love this movie: You have a solid likable cast that I love, awesome score from Mark Mancina, cool characters, ton's of action, a lot's of explosions, lot's of gun fire and awesome fights, including incredible stunts that I love. Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, John Malkovich, Ving Rhames, Renoly Santiago, Danny Trejo, Mykelti Williamson, Rachel Ticotin, Colm Meaney, Dave Chappelle, Nick Chinlund, Steve Buscemi, Monica Potter and M. C. Gainey gave us a wonderful action performance in a action film I have ever seen.

Nicolas Cage as Cameron Poe is a bad ass action decent hero, that I love him so much. John Cusack as U.S. Marshall Vince Larkin is awesome and incredible likable hero in this movie. John Malkovich as Cyrus Grissom is a bad ass villain and he is also very brilliant and insane. Colm Meaney as DEA Agent Duncan Malloy is amazing I really love this actor in this film. Mostly I remember Colm from Under Siege who played Dummer William Stranix's (Tommy Lee Jones) second hand, even in Under Siege I loved him as acting performance. I love Colm's character in this movie. Nick Chinlund as William Bedford was awesome I love the fight scenes with Billy and Cameron and Billy says to Cameron "Die Punk!" and Cameron kill's him. I love Steve Buscemi as Garland Greene, I love his character I don't think his character is dangerous or a serial killer, because on the airport Garland doesn

Con Air fmovies. "Con Air" can best be described as "The Rock" in the sky. The film deals with a Gulf War veteran (Nicolas Cage) who becomes a victim of circumstance and is sentenced to eight years in prison. He is going home via a gigantic prison plane which is also carrying some very unsavory characters (John Malkovich, Ving Rhames, and Steve Buscemi among others). Of course the evil prisoners take over the plane and it is up to Cage to save the day. Overall this is a fine action film which keeps its focus on the characters. 4 out of 5 stars.

Here's my chance to defend my choice of this movie as my all time favorite. John Malkovich plays the ingenious leader of a group of cons who manage to take over a federal airplane during a prisoner transfer. Nic Cage is a good guy, a prisoner who's being flown out to be released. He's got to save the day, because his friend is on board, along with several innocent prison guards. Thwarted at every turn, John Cusack plays a federal marshal who sees Cage as his chance to save the innocent people on board. Jam-packed with one liners and various other lengthier bits of humor, this movie has it all: drama, action, love story, loyalty to friends, and honor. Steve Buscemi and David Chappelle have some of the funniest lines I've ever encountered in a movie and this is one that should be seen if for no other reason than to hear Buscemi explain what 'irony' is.

Jerry Bruckheimer's production style rarely makes a good movie but Con Air is one of those rare exceptions in which all the OTT mayhem and full-on action make a film so exciting it scorches when you watch it.

Nic Cage (in a typically bad performance) is Cameron Poe, a US Ranger who is sent to prison for accidentally killing a thug who attacks his pregnant wife. After 8 years of porridge he is freed and hitches a ride home on a prison plane called The Jailbird. But this is no ordinary flight.

On Board are a small army of America's toughest crooks including Cyrus 'The Virus' Grissom (John Malkovich) a men on death row for murder, robbery, kidnapping and extortion. Nathan 'Diamond Dog' Jones (Ving Rhames), a black militant inside for murder. Billy Bedlam (Nick Chinlund), inside for killing his cheating wife's family and dog. Pinball Parker (Dave Chapelle), a pimp and drug-dealer. Swamp Thing (MC Gainey) a pilot who knows a few things about a good hijack. And finally Garland Green AKA The Marietta Mangler (Steve Buscemi) a serial killer in for killing a zillion people and crossing 2 state borders wearing a girls head as a hat.

As you can tell, with such a eclectic bunch of psychos on board it's only a matter of seconds before all hell breaks loose. As soon as the plane is in the air the cons have taken over, restrained or killed the guards and have changed the destination from prison to South America.

Poe, being the good-hearted sort of chap that he is, doesn't rat out as his best pal needs his insulin shot and no one else will help. It's up to Poe to sneakily round up the baddies until US Marshall Larkin (John Cusack) and the cavalry can get there. Easier said than done, as double-crosses, suspicious cons and incompetent authority foul everything up. The result is action overload as the film blazes through to it's anarchic, devastating climax upon another anarchic, devastating climax. At the end you'll be left breathless and your senses stinging with over-stimulation. Con Air is everything an action film should be.

Steve Buscemi steals the whole show. His deadpan, bug-eyed and dare I say 'innocent' portrayal of a deranged killer is the centrepiece of the whole film. The scene where he sings with a little girl (and continues later on) will either freak you out or steal your heart. And the ending is the best you could hope for.

Mark Mancina and Trevor Rabin provide a loud, blaring score of thrash-metal and acoustic guitars with the usual Media Ventures flare. It's brilliant stuff and I suggest you hunt down the (sadly incomplete) score CD. And this really did deserve the Best Original Song award over that pansy Titanic one.

Superior to both The Rock and Face/Off, Con Air is Nic Cage at his (worst) best as an action hero and Bruckheimer at his best as an action producer. See it, for the love of God, see it.