I know its quite late that I am writing a review on this movie, but when one doesn’t get new good movies, there is no choice left but to look behind and explore the past collection of great movies and certainly this one belongs to this ’’Great’’ class of movies.
When Cameron Poe (Nicolas Cage), of the US Army, is found guilty of manslaughter after killing a drunk man while protecting his wife outside a bar, he is sent to jail for eight years. During that time his daughter is born, but he waits patiently in his cell until his release date. He is flown home on board the Jailbird, which also transports some very dangerous convicts to a maximum-security prison in Louisiana.
The convicts manage to escape directed by Cyrus ’’The Virus’’ (John Malkovich) , who also leads the plane’s take-over and re-routes it to an abandoned airfield to catch another plane which will take them to a foreign country. With Poe’s help, the authorities learn where the convicts are headed for and manage to get there before they take off again.
After the police and army are killed in an ambush at the airfield, the convicts take off again toward Las Vegas, but a US Marshal, Vince Larkin (John Cusack), with the help of Poe on board gets there again in time to finally stop the convicts.
John Malkovich is great as the villain. Something about the man has always seemed strange, and he’s good at playing oddball serial killers and baddies. My favorite character in the film has to be that played by Steve Buscemi, though. ’’He makes the Manson family look like the Partridge family, ’’ someone tells Cameron. He went on a killing spree and murdered thirty people. He tells Cameron that one time he drove for three hours wearing a little girl’s head as a hat.
’’Feel free not to share with me, ’’ Cameron tells him. In other cases, Buscemi’s character might seem totally evil. Here he’s funny, though, because the film makes us think he’s murdered again after the plane lands to re-fuel, and then we find out he hasn’t when we see his potential victim waving at the plane as it takes off again. That makes him a ’’good guy.’’ It’s all contrivances in the script, but it works.
The movie shows off some very nice explosions, shootings and kick-offs. CON AIR is a movie for the masses and the pace of the film is breakneck. There are some memorable images, notably the body of one of the convicts dumped out of the plane and it’s destiny which is a sick but hilarious moment of black humour and the car of one of the FBI agents being dragged in the air as the plane takes off from Lerner airfield, an amazing cinematic moment in my view.
Another thing that I would like to point out here was the beautiful portrait of the relation that develops between Poe and his daughter, Casey. You have to see it and feel it to understand.
In Con Air, West combines action with comedy. The film will be serious, and then out of nowhere a punch line will be thrown in for comedy. In this movie, the director tries to demonstrate that although someone may have a bad past that does not represent who he or she is. West shows this when Poe, an ex con, helps a friend who is sick and tries to stop other prisoners from escaping, when he does not have to. I feel the film is action packed and contains a little bit of everything. I like how most of the movie takes place on the plane.
The climax of the film in downtown Vegas is thrillingly staged, well edited and with all the gut-wrenching action you could expect. A thrill ride all around and one worth catching many times.
Please fasten your seat belt and simply enjoy it.
A beautiful song in the end ’’How do I live’’ has been sung by Trisha Yearwood. Its one of the most romantic songs i’ve ever heard. Listen to it once and if it dosen’t touch your heart, then probably you need to undergo a major heart surgery. ;)