Con Air (1997)

Directed by: Simon West | 115 minutes | action, thriller | Actors: Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, Monica Potter, Landry Allbright, MC Gainey, Danny Trejo, Steve Buscemi, Steve Eastin, Rachel Ticotin, David Chappelle, Ving Rhames, John Malkovich, Renoly Santiago, Nick Chinlund, Mykelti Williamson, Colm Meaney, Brendan Kelly, Jesse Borrego

Leading actor Nicolas Cage needs no introduction. Cage is a versatile actor that almost everyone has seen in a movie. To name a few examples: ‘Leaving Las Vegas’, ‘Windtalkers, ‘City of Angels’, ‘Face/Off’, ‘The Rock’ etc. Fortunately he does not limit himself to one genre, but chooses the roles whose characters address him. With this he runs the risk that he will also play a part in a film that flops. So is ‘Con Air’ a film he made a mistake with? No actually not. ‘Con Air’ is an action film that in a way more than lives up to its expectations.

The film features a renowned cast that includes, in addition to Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, John Malkovich, Steve Buscemi and Ving Rhames. Of course, this is no guarantee of a good film, but in this case you can clearly see that the actors are looking forward to it. Simon West has, as befits an action film, the reins of directing.

The story is not the most important thing in an action film. The one-liners and of course the action itself are the pillars of the film. Again the story is too crazy for words; America’s toughest criminals are transferred in one plane to the most modern and most secure prison. Cameron Poe (Nicolas Cage) is the odd man out on his way home after serving his prison sentence. The criminals, led by Cyrus The Virus (John Malkovich), make an attempt to flee, which must be foiled by Cameron Poe, the hero of the story. We’ll leave it up to you how it will work.

Are the aforementioned important elements present or not? To a certain extent, yes. The tension is well combined with action, which may be over the top in some scenes. This is also part of a good action movie. There are also plenty of one-liners, but unfortunately no ‘legendary’ ones. The cast also knows how to portray the characters, no matter how stereotypical.

In conclusion, we can say that the film is not an absolute high-flyer like the action classic ‘Face/Off’, but action film that does rise above the average action film.