Good Action, But Thank God for the Bad Guys

Rating: Null/10 (9 August 2007)

Con Air has all the makings of a good, but not great, action movie. It all begins with Nicolas Cage, having just finished his eight-year prison sentence, taking a plane flight home to his wife and daughter. The plane is affectionately known as the "Jailbird", and for good reason, as it's filled with the country's most vicious convicts who are being transported across the country to a maximum-security prison. With "Cyrus the Virus" (John Malkovich) engineering the break-out, the rowdy criminals quickly take over the plane and predictable carnage ensues. For the most part, Con Air delivers just what you expect: a really straight-forward plot line, lots of action in the form of explosions and gunfire, and a little comedy mixed in among the mayhem. However, Cage, is really weak in his role as "all-American good guy" Cameron Poe, whose prison sentence was the result of him simply being at the wrong place at the wrong time. In short, Poe is equivalent to Bruce Willis' John McClane and Sylvester Stalone's Rambo, without any hint of personality. One of the aspects that made Die Hard's McClane so popular is that you got the feeling he was getting a great deal of enjoyment out of kicking some bad guy's ass. The same cannot be said for Poe, who is likable, but has no real distinguishing characteristic or edge that makes him memorable. Jon Cusack is also lame as U.S. Marshall Vince Larkin, another consummate, yet lifeless, "good guy." Colm Meaney, although over the top, at least provides some enthusiasm as a fiery and opinionated DEA agent. Thankfully, the bad guys in Con Air are just as impressive as the good guys are unmemorable. The convicts aboard the plane are for the most part unique and combine effective humor with their evil. Unlike the movie's heroes, they actually have personalities. The colorful cast of convicts, also including Steve Buschemi and even Dave Chappelle, makes Con Air worth watching. Nothing about Con Air is especially amazing, but its bad guys and quick pacing make it an enjoyable, prototypical, action flick to kick back to on a long summer night.
Rating: 2.5 stars out of 4