This takes forever to get going, but once the plot gets the establishing twenty minutes out of the way, it's actually quite a decent adventure story. Ranger Nicolas Cage ("Poe") gets embroiled in a fatal brawl that lands him in jail. Out on his parole, he gets caught up in a highly sophisticated prison break planned by "Cyrus" (John Malkovich) - intent on hijacking their prison flight and executing a complicated onwards escape plan before the pursuing Colm Meaney ("Agent. Malloy") and an heavily armed squad of soldiers track them down. Luckily for Cage, and the authorities, John Cusack ("Agent Larkin") is on hand to help guide in the Feds as time marches on, and Cage's predicament becomes even more precarious. Malkovich makes for quite a good scheming baddie; there is plenty of action, a little bit of humour, pyrotechnics and the last half hour consists of pretty decent, entertaining, end-to-end stuff. Nothing remotely cerebral, but it's still an enjoyable film that finds a use for a snow plough in the desert! Soundtrack is quite good, too.

Forgetting for a moment that the conviction of Nic Cage's character was based on a legal myth—which invalidates the film's entire premise of a paroled ex-ranger being "in the wrong place at the wrong time" during a coordinated escape attempt—there's still a _lot_ of crap in this movie to write up. I'm not even going to nitpick; it's just too easy.

Maybe this is what I get for plopping movies onto my watchlist based on a passing mention in someone's tangentially related YouTube video (about the _real_ "con air" service that shuttles prisoners around the United States) and a glance at the cast list. As excited as I was to see him in something else, Colm Meaney's role wasn't really big enough to make the whole thing worth watching.

This also gave me a nice glimpse into why I see so many jokes about Nic Cage's acting. Cameron Poe is absolutely the most generic player on screen for the entire almost-two hours. Steve Buscemi, Dave Chappelle, Nick Chinlund, John Cusack, Steve Eastin, M.C. Gainey, John Malkovich, and even Renoly Santiago (who barely had any screen time or dialogue) _all_ managed to be play interesting characters than our hero. It's especially funny in Malkovich's case, as he was allegedly quite unhappy during production due to constant rewrites making it impossible for him to get a real grip on his role.

I could point out _many_ mistakes in continuity, geography, physics, and other areas—but I promised not to nitpick. Suffice it to say, by halfway through the climax I was trying very hard not to roll my eyeballs all the way around. Are we _absolutely sure_ that Michael Bay wasn't involved in this film's effects work? _Jaysus_ (love you, Colm), every object that so much as _tapped_ another seemed to explode in a ball of sparks and flames…

Enough said. These old, over-the-top action flicks are definitely not my thing. Someday I'll learn not to watch things just because an actor I like is listed as part of the cast.

Con Air is a 1997 action thriller film that, despite some cliche elements and a predictable plot, manages to entertain and engage the audience with its over-the-top action, colorful characters, and tongue-in-cheek sense of humor.

The film follows ex-convict Cameron Poe (Nicholas Cage), who is being transported on a plane full of dangerous criminals, including the ruthless Cyrus the Virus (John Malkovich) and the eccentric serial killer Garland Greene (Steve Buscemi). When the criminals take control of the plane, Poe must team up with US Marshall Vince Larkin (John Cusack) to stop them and save the passengers.

Director Simon West keeps the story moving at a fast pace and stages the action sequences with energy and flair. The script, by Scott Rosenberg, is full of witty one-liners and self-mocking humor, and the cast is full of talented actors who bring their characters to life. Cage is likeable and tough as Poe, Malkovich is deliciously evil as Cyrus, and Cusack is wry and smart as Larkin. Buscemi steals the show as the bizarre and unpredictable Greene, delivering a performance that is both funny and unsettling.

The supporting cast is also strong, with Ving Rhames as the militant Diamond Dog, Nick Chinlund as the surly Billy Bedlam, and Dave Chappelle as the wisecracking Pinball. Colm Meaney and Mykelti Williamson also give solid performances as law enforcement agents trying to bring the plane down.

In terms of technical aspects, the film is well made, with impressive cinematography by David Tattersall and a rousing score by Mark Mancina and Trevor Rabin. The production design is also noteworthy, creating a sense of chaos and danger on the hijacked plane.

Overall, Con Air is a fun and exciting action film that may not be particularly deep or original, but delivers on its promise of thrilling, over-the-top entertainment. Its cast of engaging and memorable characters, combined with well-executed action and humor, make it a enjoyable and entertaining ride.

This is one of those movies which are simply good solid entertainment. The fact that I do like Nicolas Cage, even though he is at times really lousy at choosing which movies he participate in, is of course an additional plus.

Naturally I do like the performance of Nicolas Cage in this movie but John Malkowich is also great as the main bad guy and Steve Buscemi is perfect as the nutcase although his role could have been a bit more expanded upon. The rest of the actors are doing nicely as well although it always saddens me to see Colm Meaney playing a dumbass and/or bad guy after his role in Star Trek.

The story is not really bad although it has the usual Hollywood mistakes here and there. The ease by which they pick locks in this high security flight is somewhat laughable and I seriously doubt that they would have been able to haul the plane out of that desert junkyard in flyable condition in real life for instance. Still, it is not a bad story and it works for moving the movie forward.

There are plenty of action and it is mostly quite entertaining. Sometimes it is a bit silly and rather unrealistic of course but, as I wrote, mostly it is quite entertaining. The ending is definitely a bit on the silly side with the plane touching down on the Las Vegas Strip. This bit felt like the producers realized that they had some FX budget left and just had to burn it.

Anyway, on the whole a quite entertaining movie.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. I have the only gun on board. Welcome to Con Air.

Hummingbird Humdinger.

Con Air is directed by Simon West and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. It stars Nicolas Cage, John Cusack and John Malkovich. Plot sees Cameron Poe (Cage), a parolee on his way home to his wife and daughter after serving years in prison for manslaughter. He's travelling on a plane full of the most dangerous criminals currently being held in America, they are being transferred to some new super prison. Inevitably something goes wrong and the cons take over the plane, with only Poe standing between them and freedom.

No doubt about it, Con Air is one of the most over the top action film's you are ever likely to see. But it knows it is, it embraces it - and positively revels in it. What we have is a bunch of sicko's and psycho's on a plane, their roll call of crimes as gargantuan as the excess of explosions and quips are. Down on the ground are a frantic John Cussack and an angry Colm Meaney, the play off between the two almost as funny as the shenanigans on the plane - where characters called Billy Bedlam (Nick Chinlund), Cyrus The Virus (Malkovich) & The Marietta Mangler (Steve Buscemi) push mania to a new level.

Enter director West, who clearly under orders from Bruckheimer, unleashes a barrage of explosive set pieces, each one more outrageous than the last. It's neatly edited and paced like a good action movie should be. There's also no small amount of tension to sidle along side the white knuckle thrills. As Cage strips down to his Bruce Willis vest we have a real likable hero to get on side with, yes it's played tongue in cheek, very much so, but his character has been so well written by Scott Rosenberg we really forgive the ridiculousness of each heroic act. Also along the for the ride are Ving Rhames, Danny Trejo, M.C. Gainey & Rachael Ticotin, the latter of which does admirably well as the lone female surrounded by 800 tonnes of testosterone.

Junky nonsense as a story for sure, but just like the cast are having a blast of a time with it, so too should the discerning action comedy fan. 7.5/10