Review of Con Air

Con-Air was, simply put, an awesome movie. I liked the premise, the convincing dialogues, the strong cast and the overall story-telling. There's nothing too flashy or gimmicky about it. You have give them props at their attempt at a quite-solid, quite-memorable action film. The film starts off with Cameron Poe enjoying a lovely moment with his wife that is quickly interpretated as "going to go bust" by our all too accustomed eye(s). After a drunken street brawl, which includes the death of the drunk, Cameron is sent to 7 years to jail. After a very bad 2 minute voiceover, and a montage / introduction of all the criminals that are to board the plane, the real film starts. Yes, when Cyrus takes over the plane, we know we're in for some memorable moments.

The majority of the charm lies in the characters. They're neither over or under developed, but appropriately done. They felt bad-ass, as tough as rusty nails, but there was not too much depth, but that's OK. The charm also comes from the theme. Man, it is one of the loudest, most awesome movie theme of all time.

In the performances, Nicolas Cage as Cameron Poe was both awesome and unhinged. In the 90's he was at his peak. Like him or hate him, he starred in some of the best movies, gave some of the best performances, and showcased his love for hair. Over here he sports long, mangly, Cobain-esque one. If you can look past his deadpan stare and utterly bad quotes, the performance is one of his top 10 best. The main show-stealer of course was John Malkovich, who had my attention by his performance as Cyrus, the main antagonist. His great line delivery and crazy control on his character did the trick. John Cusack was pretty cool in his role, too, but nothing too exceptional. He has done better. Steve Buscemi, it seemed, was everywhere in the 90's. So when I saw him appear in the last quarter, I wasn't the least bit surprised. Even though his screen-time was quite short, he managed to give a haunting, hypnotic, everlasting performance that showcases just how cool he is! The rest of the cast were just as cool, but a little more depth in them could've made most memorable.

In conclusion, Con Air is a bit like Predators on a plane, and is - alongside Speed - one of the quintessential action movies from the 90's.

8.0/10