| Con Air is proof that the slick, absurdly overblown action formula of Hollywood mega-producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer (Top Gun, Days of Thunder, The Rock, Crimson Tide) lives on, even after Simpson's druggy death. (Read Charles Fleming's exposé, High Concept: Don Simpson and the Hollywood Culture of Excess, for more about that.) Nicolas Cage, sporting a disconcerting mane of hair, is a wrongly convicted prisoner on a transport plane with a bunch of infamously psychopathic criminals, including head creep Cyrus the Virus (John Malkovich), black militant Diamond Dog (Ving Rhames), and serial killer Garland Greene (Steve Buscemi, making the most of his pallid, rodent-like qualities). Naturally, the convicts take over the plane; meanwhile, on the ground, a US marshal (John Cusack) and a DEA agent (Colm Meaney) try to figure out what to do. As is the postmodern way, the movie displays a self-consciously ironic awareness that its story and characters are really just excuses for a high-tech cinematic thrill ride. Best idea: the filmmakers persuaded the owners of the legendary Sands Hotel in Las Vegas to let them help out with the structure's demolition by crashing their plane into it. --Jim Emerson |
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 It's a blast! |
| Review Date: July 16, 2001 |
| Reviewer: D. Roberts, Battle Creek, Michigan United States |
| Pound for pound, for pure fun, this is one of the greatest movies ever. Please note that I said for pure fun. I'm not comparing this movie to "Ben Hur," "I, Cladius," "Shakespeare In Love," or any other movie that has a great deal of scope & breadth. Again, I'm only talking about movies that are for unfettered entertainment's sake. "Con Air" is a movie that doesn't take itself seriously, and you shouldn't, either. This is a Bruckenheimer movie that is heavy on action and comedy, and light on plot & character development. Yes, most of the movie is absurd, but it is also absurd in a fun way. The cast is absolutely impeccable, featuring Nicholas Cage, John Malchovich, Steve Buscemi and John Cusack. We even get Colm Meaney as an irate Irish DEA agent - a wonderful touch! The direction is superb, and Trevor Rabin delivers yet another riveting score. This is a can't miss for anyone who wants to sit back & watch an hour & a half of hilarious mayhem. This is what I would call a guy movie - squared! |
"I have the only gun on board....welcome to con air."
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| Review Date: January 4, 2003 |
| Reviewer: Jennifer Trevena, Peachtree city, GA United States |
| Most people don't consider this movie to be an action-comedy, but is. This is definetly John Malkovich's funniest movie. It is about a plane transporting deadly convicts across the country, until it is taken over by the convicts. The convicts include, Cyrus "the virus" Grissom (Malkovich), a deadly killing machine who's violated every law in the book. A black-supremeist leader "Diamond Dog" (Ving Rhames), and a quiet, psychotic killer, Garland Greene (Buschimi) who's creepy in his own little way. Cyrus's plans are fouled by a parolee, Cameron Poe (Nicholas Cage), an ex-army ranger charged with manslaughter returing home to see his family. This movie is packed with action, plenty of laughs, and great actors give this movie two thumbs up. |
"Oh, stewardess. What's the inflight movie today?"
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| Review Date: March 6, 2006 |
| Reviewer: Film Noir Fedora, |
I don't see see what was so wrong with this movie. I heard a lot of people complaining about it but I really liked it. You got give these guys their due. Here, in this movie, you've got a good cast, cool dialogue, and a non-stop action thrill ride.
Cameroen Poe is just being released from prison, boarding a flight filled with the world's meanest, baddest bad guys, two of which are top priority: Siris the virus and diamond dog. John malkovich does a great villian. He always does. But now, after the flight gets overtaken, Cameroen Poe is forced to save the day once again. It's hard not to find this movie funny or entertaining. Enjoy! |
Great Action Flick!
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| Review Date: October 16, 1999 |
| Reviewer: , |
| After reading some of these reviews, I have to get on my soapbox. Sluggish action? That person must have lied about seeing the movie. Racist? That reviewer must have missed the beginning when a white male (Cage) gets sent to prison for YEARS for a case of what was obviously self defense. Also, like books, movies can be divided into fiction and non-fiction. This movie, folks, is FICTION. Finally, I'm tired of the folks who become omniscient AFTER they've seen the movie, and claim that is was SO predictable. In the Boneyard, you have the convict's plane that is mired in sand, the drug cartel's jet hidden in the hanger, Cusack has arrived, and the FBI is arriving in the distance in a cloud of dust. If I stopped the movie at that point and ask people what was going to happen next, I would have gotten a zillion different answers and none of them would have been right! I KNEW Buscemi was going to slice and dice that little girl in the Boneyard, but it DIDN'T happen! For you folks that don't like action movies (or the violence), don't watch it and don't rate it! I'm certainly not going to click over to Wuthering Heights and rate it low because it was "a predictable love story that lacked any semblance of action." Whew! Sorry about that, appreciators of action movies. This was a great action movie with great characters and great special effects. Buscemi was fantastic ... "Define Irong ..." It kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. |
If You Hate Action, Then Don't Watch
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| Review Date: June 4, 1999 |
| Reviewer: , |
| I'm Tired of these moronic idiots who gives this movie a 1 or 2. If I wanted to watch an intelligent movie, I'll watch GoodWill Hunting. This movie was non stop action and you get into the movie right away. If you look at the ratings, it average 4 stars. It would get a perfect, but we have these wannabe critics who slice and dice every movie apart, thinking they are siskel and ebert, (They gave two thumbs up), and trying to sway the average viewer like myself from watching a great movie. |
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