Rambo takes to the skies

Rating: 4/10 (17 June 2000)

Con Air is your typical crash, bang, wallop Jerry Bruckheimer kind of movie. Loud & blatant pyrotechniques, lots of shouting and bad language; a dumb-downed script, actors act by the join-the-dots method, and not a lot of subtlety.
The plot, such as it is, has the worst kind of scum all being dumped on the same plane as Mr Nice Guy, Nic, who has just served a 7 year jail term on a jumped up charge.
There's lots of stern faces, flexed biceps & fixed stares, but you begin to wonder who is using the brain cell between this motley crew.
Nic Cage acts like sly stallone & Bruce Willis rolled into one with equal numbness but ends up like Hommer Simpson and gives us the impression he'd rather be somewhere else. ("Duh, put....duh...the....bunny...duh....back!")
Cage talks like an old-fashioned LP playing at the wrong speed; Cussack & Meaney are the comic relief who spend most of their time calling each other a__holes & much worse along with lots of running/flying around.
Buscemi is always fun to watch - a bit like the whining kid in the classroom; and here he thinks his Hannibal the Cannibal with a fixed smirk and a worrying choice of bondage-wear.
The only person I really felt for was John Malkovich - playing the chief baddie with the loaned-out brain cell. You just knew he was only in the movie for the money and not to stretch his considerable acting talent. But to be fair he played the part with gusto and in real life would have kicked Cage (and his fluffy bunny) into touch!
This film would suit those people who like a crazy Saturday night at home with the gang and a few tinnies. There's just no point in being critical for its lack of intelligence because that would miss the point.
Con Air is hokum pure & simple, and yet its fun to watch when you want to unwind big time. Forget the plot and the gaping loopholes, just sit back in the chair flick on your Dolby Pro Logic, position your speakers around the room and let the film immerse you for a couple of hours!
**/*****