He's got the whole world...
In his hands!
The Story:
Ex-Ranger Cameron Poe (Nicolas Cage) gets sent to prison for killing a man in self-defense. He does his time, and when it's time to go home, he decides to hop a flight on Con-Air, a prison transport. But not just any transport, this one is moving the worst of the worst, and they just decided to break free. If Poe has any hope of getting home to see his wife and daughter, he's going to have to save the day.
If I say "popcorn movie", this is the movie that could easily be in the dictionary as the definition.
It's loud.
It's crazy.
It's fun.
In fact, while Cage is playing his best cajun-accented hero, he gets support from some of the best villains ever assembled:
John Malkovich. Danny Trejo. Ving Rhames. Steve Buscemi.
They're chewing up the scenery, and making Poe's life miserable.
Realizing that he has a sense of duty to a friend onboard, as well as a female marshal who will likely be killed if he leaves her alone, Poe passes up an opportunity to leave the plane and plots to save the day from inside the plane.
Luckily, he's got some help on the ground in the form of John Cusack who races to help Poe get to safety.
The movie is fast-paced, written by Scott Rosenberg who also helped Cusack with High Fidelity and went back for Cage once more with Gone in 60 Seconds.
Given that this was the first time Simon West sat in the director's chair, he knocked it out of the park. He could never have made another movie, and I would have considered him a great one-hit wonder.
West sort of disappeared, but came roaring back in the last few years with The Mechanic and Expendables 2 last year.
Welcome back to the Popcorn Movie genre Mr. West, you've been missed!
Yes, I can pop this movie in, anytime and just lose myself in 2 hours of pure adrenaline fun.
It's not a perfect movie...
But it's perfectly fun!
Final Grade: A
Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I own it. I love it. I have seen it so many times, I've lost count! :)
