Con Air (Wide Screen) > Reviews > Con Air -- a great movie

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Story	Outstanding
Characters / Performances	Outstanding
Special Effects	Outstanding
Soundtrack	Outstanding

Advantages:	really good actors and very enjoyable
Disadvantages:	i really can't find none

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Having come home from the army to see his expecting wife Cameron Poe (Nicholas Cage) gets involved in a fight in a bar, which spills outside into the parking lot where the fight continues until Poe kills the other guy using his Ranger training. He is then sent to prison for 5 years in, his wife gave birth to their baby girl just after he is imprisoned and he is due to be released on his kids 5th Birthday.

However for his flight home he is catching a lift on an aircraft carrying some of America's worst criminals on their way to a new state of the art facility. The Us Marshals are in charge of the flight with Vince Larkin (John Cusack) overseeing the operation with DEA officer Duncan Malloy (Colm Meaney).

However before the flight lands in Carson City a group of cons lead by Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom (John Malkovich) and Nathan "Diamond Dog" Jones (Ving Rhames) take over the flight and aim to lead the cons to freedom. Having tricked the police in Carson City they think they have got away with it but its up to Poe to make sure that the crooks don't get away even if it jeopardises his life.

Cast:
*****

Cameron Poe: Nicholas Cage
Vince Larkin: John Cusack
Duncan Malloy: Colm Malloy
Cyrus Grissom: John Malkovich
Nathan Jones: Ving Rhames
Garland Greene: Steve Buscemi

The casting of Cage as Poe seems to have been a stroke of genius by Producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Simon West. Cage seems to have been an odd choice for an action hero but he certainly does fill the part superbly. Between his performance in this film and The Rock. This was the first film i had seen Cage in and made me want to check out his old stuff as well as any new releases.

Along with Cage this was also my first introduction to Cusack and Malkovic. Cusack plays Larkin well as he seems good as both an action side and his softer more serious side. Again Cusack is now someone who if he is in a film will actually make me want to watch it. As for Malkovich he is superb as the evil Cyrus Grissom leading the jailbreak superbly and just portraying pure evil.

Ving Rhames and Steve Buscemi play relatively small parts compared to the main three but they both play there roles superbly, especially Buscemi who actually looks the part of a psycho path in the film. He arrives in a similar style to Hannibal in Silence of the Lambs and Red Dragon.

This is one of my favourite films and i am happy to watch it over and over again. Even though it has a running time of just under 2 hours it is well worth it and its one of those films you will not be disappointed with.