"I was going to get a hair cut." No expense spared 90's blockbuster action flick.

Rating: 8/10 (15 October 2007)

Con Air starts as US Ranger & wrongly convicted killer Cameron Poe (Nicolas Cage) boards a prisoner transport plane for a routine transfer back home to Alabama to be released on parole after several years in jail. Also on-board are some of the country's most dangerous inmates who are being transfered to a new state of the art prison in Alabama including Cyrus 'The Virus' Grissom (John Malkovich), Nathan 'Diamond Dog' Jones (Ving Rhames) & William 'Billy Bedlam' Bedford (Nick Chinlund) who through careful planning have set up an elaborate scheme to hijack the plane & make a break for freedom. The plan works to perfection & they gain control of the plane, however in the struggle Poe's best friends syringe is broken & he cannot inject himself with the insulin he needs to stay alive & Poe refuses to leave him. Not only does Poe decide to stay & help his friend he sets about grounding the plane & sending the likes of Cyrus back to jail where they belong...
Directed by Simon West this mega budget no expense spared action flick produced by Jerry Bruckheimer is as good as huge overblown excessive Hollywood action flicks come. I should say at this point like many Hollywood films Con Air is available in both it's original theatrical cut & the obligatory 'Extended Unrated Director's Cut' just so the studio can milk more money out of the fans, I have never seen the extended version (these days I flat refuse to spend yet more money on what is essentially the same film) & will be basing my comments on the shorter theatrical cut. The script by Scott Rosenberg was apparently inspired by newspaper article about a plane that transports prisoners & from such humble meagre beginnings one of the most downright entertaining big budget action spectacles of the 90's arose. I admit it right now, I love this film & have seen it multiple times & enjoy it immensely on each occasion. The thing moves like an absolute rocket, sometimes it moves a little too fast & the numerous over-the-top action set-pieces come thick & fast. Would fans of the genre have it any other way? Sure there's plot holes & it's highly unlikely half the things featured in Con Air would be achievable in real life but this isn't real life is it? No, it's an unashamed, highly entertaining action flick & if you treat it as such you'll have an absolute blast watching it. I thought the character's were fun & distinctive, there are some great one-liners & it's a tight, simple yet effective story.
Director West does a fine job, the explosions are huge, the stunts are suitably spectacular, there are car chases, plane chases, fights, shoot-outs & some nice satisfying violence too. It's all here. The action scenes are brisk & well choreographed with plenty of big bangs for the money. I loved the climax as well as the plane landing in Vegas & the subsequent motorbike/fire truck chase. There really isn't anything negative I can say about Con Air, I just thought it was a top film that does, what it sets out to do, perfectly.
With a budget of around $75,000,000 (it took about $25,000,000 during it's opening weekend) you can definitely see a large chunk of that on screen with all the action & explosions. There's a great cast including Cage, Malkovich, Rhames, the creepy yet always funny Steve Buscemi, John Cusack & Colm Meaney. Everyone put in good over-the-top performances such as the material demands.
Con Air is one of the quintessential action flicks of the 90's, it's absolutely great & has everything you could hope for including big bangs, flashy cars getting trashed, fights, shoot-outs, big name actors having fun & funny one-liners. Those looking for something deep or meaningful may want to give Con Air a miss but this is essential viewing for action film fans who wouldn't have it any other way.