Con Air (1997)

Director:

Simon West

Writer (WGA):

Scott Rosenberg (written by)

Release Date:

6 June 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

One wrong flight can ruin your whole day

Plot:

A newly released ex con and former US Ranger finds himself trapped in a prisoner transport plane when the other prisoners sieze control.

Plot Keywords:

Explosion | Warrior | Over The Top | Honor | Crushed Head

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Nicolas Cage	...	Cameron Poe
John Cusack	...	U.S. Marshal Vince Larkin
John Malkovich	...	Cyrus 'The Virus' Grissom
Ving Rhames	...	Nathan 'Diamond Dog' Jones
Nick Chinlund	...	William 'Billy Bedlam' Bedford
Steve Buscemi	...	Garland 'The Marietta Mangler' Greene
Colm Meaney	...	DEA Agent Duncan Malloy
Rachel Ticotin	...	Guard Sally Bishop
Dave Chappelle	...	Joe 'Pinball' Parker
Mykelti Williamson	...	Mike 'Baby-O' O'Dell
Danny Trejo	...	Johnny 'Johnny-23' Baca
M.C. Gainey	...	Swamp Thing
Steve Eastin	...	Guard Falzon
Renoly Santiago	...	Ramon 'Sally-Can't Dance' Martinez (as Renoly)
Monica Potter	...	Tricia Poe

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and language.

Runtime:

115 min | USA:123 min (extended version) | USA:122 min (extended cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS (8 channels) | DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Philippines:PG-13 | Netherlands:12 (TV rating) | Finland:K-16 (uncut) (video premiere) | Germany:18 (original rating) | Germany:16 (extended version) (2006) | Brazil:16 | Netherlands:16 (original rating) | Ireland:18 | USA:R (certificate #35192) | Singapore:NC-16 (unrated DVD version) | Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 (DVD version) (cut) | France:-12 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Belgium:KNT | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Ontario) | Chile:14 | Denmark:15 | Italy:VM14 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (original rating) | UK:18 (video rating)

Filming Locations:

2nd Street Tunnel, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Touchstone Pictures

Trivia:

The dead cons Benson, Karls and Popovich are named after second assistant cameraman Garrett Benson, first assistant cameraman John Karls and key grip J. Michael Popovich.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Prior to killing, Poe is outside of bar with "BAR" sign visible. Alabama prohibits using the word "bar". It would be a "club", "place", or just about anything else but never a bar.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Officer at Leaving Ceremony: Army Rangers have a proud history. Since the 1700s, Rangers have led the way in every major confrontation in which the United States has been involved. You men are a credit to that fine heritage, and I'm sorry to see you go. But you've served your country well...

Movie Connections:

References "The Partridge Family" (1970)

Soundtrack:

Theme From 'A Summer Place'

Pretty standard stuff, but enjoyable enough

Con Air is what I've come to expect of a standard Hollywood action flick, nothing more, nothing less. It's got plenty of action, big explosions, one-liners and pure entertainment value. The plot is pretty good, somewhat original, and fairly fast-paced. The acting is good, and the film has a surprisingly large amount of well-known good actors; Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, Danny Trejo, Steve Buscemi, Ving Rhames and John Malkovich. They all give good performances, as do most of the supporting actors. The characters are well-written and credible. I found it interesting how most of the characters aren't all black or white in their actions and personalities; many of them have a shade of gray or two. The action is well-done, exciting and intense. The special effects(the few there are) are good enough. The ending may be a little extreme, but it's a good climax, and the good things in the film make up for the bad; granted, there are a few downright lame parts, but there are far more good parts than bad. All in all, everything you'd expect from a Jerry Bruckheimer action film, and nothing else. I recommend it to fans of standard action films. 7/10