Something Is Missing

Rating: 5/10 (9 February 2004)

CON AIR has a good enough premise to make the audience forget about some rather obvious plot holes like the good guy Cameron Poe getting sent down on a manslaughter charge ( It was self defence and no one in America would be convicted of defending themself especially if it`s a serviceman against a red neck scum bag ) , but there`s something missing from the movie that stops it being a classic action thriller which is a great pity because I do remember seeing the trailers and thinking CON AIR would be worth watching . Ah maybe that`s the problem ? All the good bits are used in the trailers !

Yup that`s what`s missing - enough substance to make this movie enjoyable for its full duration . In fact when you stop to examine the script it contains next to no substance whatsoever , it`s a simple contrived tale of a good guy being in the wrong place at the wrong time saving the day and watch out for some clumsy scripting where it looks like there`s a traitor amongst the feds and this becomes quickly forgotten about by the end of the film . Nicholas Cage is an under rated actor but I doubt if he has what it takes to be an action movie star ( But after seeing Steven Segal and Jean Claude Van Damme that`s by no means a criticism ) and I found his Elvis Pressley type mannerisms rather grating . Likewise John Malkovich is seriously miscast as the main baddie but I guess Gary Oldman would be a too obvious casting choice and being a Jerry Bruckheimer production the real stars are the explosions and stunt sequences
I wanted to like CON AIR a lot but it`s spoiled by its shallow blockbuster roots