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Con Air (1997)

thereviewers
May 10, 2015
2 min read

Con Air sees an aircraft carrying some of the most notorious criminals of all time hijacked by these same criminals. Cameron Poe (Nicolas Cage), a recently paroled inmate who is hitching a ride home to see his wife and daughter, must now fight to bring down Con Air in order to prevent the notorious criminals from escaping

Overall Review Score

8 out of 10

Review

Based loosely on the real life Justice Prison and Alien Transportation System (JPATS) flights conducted by the US Marshal Service, Con Air is a cult classic within the action genre. Despite winning a Golden Raspberry Award for ‘Worst Reckless Disregard for Human Life and Public Property’. It effortlessly blends an original and emotional soundtrack, including 'How Do I Live' and 'Sweet Home Alabama', with an explosive storyline that gets better as the film progresses. Con Air moves with a smoothness and style not usually seen in a film that contains action, emotional and gory scenes, as well as, multiple characters, each complete with their own deep, dark, and interesting back-stories. While Producer Jerry Bruckeimer changed the ending from a plane crashing at the White House to a plane crashing in Las Vegas to keep with the dichotomy of convicts cashing in. Con Air will always be remembered by moviegoers for its sharp imagery, intense rivalry between DEA Agent Duncan Malloy (Colm Meaney) and US Marshall Vince Larkin (John Cusack) and for the emotional story that sees Cameron Poe (Nicolas Cage) just wanting to get home to see his wife Tricia (Monica Potter) and his daughter Casey (Landry Allbright).

Reviewer 1's score & comments:

Score: 8 out of 10

Comments:

Definitely one of the best action movies of the 1990’s. Con Air is a memorable action thriller that will keep you entertained from the opening scene to the final credits. What I especially liked is the stark contrast between Cyrus the Virus (John Malkovich) and Cameron Poe (Nicolas Cage) which beautifully showed the range of emotions these actors can achieve on set.

Reviewer 2's score & comments:

Score: 8 out of 10

Comments:

When I first saw this film I remember being somewhat startled by it - not many films can choreograph multiple plotlines with a mixture of emotional and brutal scenes without overwhelming the audience but Con Air pulls it off. It is a high impact, high-octane action film that starts strong and finishes even stronger, albeit with a slightly predictable ending.