Review of Con Air (1997) by Renzo V — 10 Jan 2014

"PRISONERS HIJACK TRANSPORT PLANE".

- This 1997 action movie by Simon West was an instant cult hit. 'Con Air', starring Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, John Malcovich, Ving Rhames, Steve Buscemi and Danny Trejo, was nominated for Best Original Song and Best Sound Editing at the 70th Academy Awards, but lost to James Cameron's 'Titanic'. I'm not a huge Cage-fan, but I really enjoyed the performances of Malcovich and the psychotic character of Buscemi. The real star of this movie is of course the 'Jailbird', the prisoner transport airplane. Fasten your seatbelts, 'cause you're in for a 115 minutes of adrenaline.

After being in prison for eight years because he accidently killed a drunk man who was harassing his pregnant wife, Cameron Poe (Cage) is paroled because of his good behavior. He kept in touch with his wife Tricia and Casey, the daughter he has never met. Along with several other prisoners (some small criminals, others ruthless killers and rapists) Poe will be flown back to L.A. on the prisoner transport plane called 'Jailbird'. Shortly after takeoff two of the most dangerous convicts on board Cyrus 'the Virus' (Malcovich) and Diamond Dogg (Rhames) are able to break free and hijack the plane. Cyrus, who is in charge now, orders the pilot to continue on the scheduled route to Carston City, where a prisoner transfer is planned. The hijackers will offload some of the guards and the pilot in exchange for more prisoners. Among them is a pilot calles 'Swamp Thing' and the most notorious of all: 'The Marietta Mangler '(Buscemi). Will Poe be able to stop the criminals, save the guards and get to see his daughter Casey?