Runtime: 116 minutes
Directed by: Simon West
Starring: Nicolas Cage, John Malkovich, an incredible amount of famous faces that I enjoy... and Dave Chappelle
From: Touchstone
What a big dumb action movie this is. While I'm sure modern stuff like the just-released The Beekeeper is entertainment for some as a dopey R-rated picture, it doesn't compare to the glory days of the 80's and 90's where something like this can receive a budget of allegedly 75 million dollars (more than 140 million now, adjusted for inflation), back when that was a lot of money. The last time I saw this was probably in the late 90's, if you can believe it.
You do not want to spend much time scrutinizing the plot or pondering what would actually happen if a prisoner transport airplane was taken over by the convicts, led by a psychopath known as Cyrus the Virus... except I'm sure the air support to combat it would be much stronger. However, it's a movie which lays its cards out rather early; after noticing the slow-motion shot of Nicolas Cage w/ a magnificent head of hair, this is not a movie to take seriously. Instead, you're supposed to root for a Cage sporting a hilarious “hillbilly accent” to save the day so he can see his wife for the first time in years & his daughter for the first time, while trying to help Rachel Ticotin and Mykelti Williamson.
It's a loud movie featuring no shortage of carnage & destruction. As is, I was rather entertained by the outlandish story, the action beats, a murderer's row of quality actors I enjoy flexing their badass muscles--and Dave Chappelle. I don't even want to get into how his stand-up from all appearances has turned rather hateful, except that it was impossible not to think of him now after hearing his character spout racist comments against a Native American on the plane. I'm sure now he just loves that one of the characters in the film was a cross-dresser who was as stereotypical as you'd expect of the time... yeah, some moments now either haven't aged well or probably were always just bizarre; why did psychopath serial killer Steve Buscemi have an interlude inconsequential to the rest of the plot at a trailer park with a little girl?
I was happy to have flown on Con Air again-via Hulu-after all these years. It was simply fun watching all those famous faces in this scenario (Cage and John Malkovich the highlights) & be reminded how the LeAnn Rimes version of How Do I Live was a HUGE deal in the late 90's. The Trisha Yearwood country version on the soundtrack is good and all, but it did not linger around forever on the charts (not to mention the radio) without having actually reached the top of the charts.
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