Con Air (1997)

A newly released ex-con and former US Ranger finds himself trapped in a prisoner transport plane when the passengers seize control.

Director:

Simon West

Writer:

Scott Rosenberg

Stars:

Colm Meaney, John Malkovich, John Cusack

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Colm Meaney	...	Duncan Malloy
Mykelti Williamson	...	Baby-O
Nick Chinlund	...	Billy Bedlam
John Malkovich	...	Cyrus 'The Virus' Grissom
Steve Buscemi	...	Garland 'The Marietta Mangler' Greene
Ving Rhames	...	Diamond Dog
Dave Chappelle	...	Pinball
Rachel Ticotin	...	Guard Sally Bishop
Danny Trejo	...	Johnny-23
M.C. Gainey	...	Swamp Thing
Steve Eastin	...	Guard Falzon
John Cusack	...	Vince Larkin
Renoly Santiago	...	Ramon 'Sally-Can't Dance' Martinez (as Renoly)
Monica Potter	...	Tricia Poe
Landry Allbright	...	Casey Poe

Storyline

Cameron Poe, who is a highly decorated United States Army Ranger came to his home of Alabama to his wife, Tricia. only to run into a few drunken regulars at where Tricia works. Cameron unknowingly kills one of the drunks and was sent to a federal penitentiary for involuntary manslaughter for seven years. Then, Cameron became eligible for parole and can now go home to his wife and daughter, Casey. Unfortunately, Cameron has to share a prison airplane with some of the most dangerous criminals in the country, who somehow took control of the plane and are now planning to escape the country with the plane. Cameron has to find a way to stop them while playing along. Meanwhile, United States Marshal Vincent Larkin is trying to help Cameron get free and stop the criminals including, Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom.

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Plot Keywords:

convict | prison | criminal | escape | army rangers | 

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Taglines:

Get Ready To Fly

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 June 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Air bagnards

Filming Locations:

Utah, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$75,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$24,131,738 (USA) (6 June 1997)

Gross:

$101,087,161 (USA) (3 October 1997)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Kouf/Bigelow Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min 123 min (extended)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS (8 channels)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Las Vegas scenes were filmed at the legendary Sands Hotel immediately prior to its demolition in late 1996. When the production team heard about the city's intentions to raze the historic landmark, they immediately scheduled a multiple camera setup to take advantage of the rare event, which is what you actually see in the movie.

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Goofs

More than one Corvette was used for all the shots - there were at least two different model years. The rear shots show a 1966 without back-up lights in the panel, and a 1967 which do have the back-up lights.

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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, and you've displayed the ability to fight on to the Ranger objective and complete its mission, never leaving behind a fallen comrade no matter what the odds or the enemy. I thank you. America thanks you. And I wish you luck ...

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Crazy Credits

In Memory of PHIL SWARTZ

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Connections

Referenced in South Park: City on the Edge of Forever (1998)

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Soundtracks

"Carolina In The Morning"
Music by Walter Donaldson
Lyrics by Gus Kahn

User Reviews

The ultimate guy movie!

Macho's in a non-stop action movie with lot's of explosions. This is ladies and gentlemen; the ultimate guy movie.

The movie is filled with crazy over the top characters such as Pinball, Johnny-23, The Marietta Mangler and Sally-can't-dance. It has some of the best casting in a movie I have ever seen. The actors are all simply perfect for their roles. Especially John Malkovich and Steve Buscemi are excellent as always and their characters are the best of the movie even though Buscemi's character wasn't really needed at all. The introduction of the prisoners at the beginning of the movie is completely over the top but I love it! It possibly is one of my favorite scene's in cinema history when we first meet Cyrus the Virus and Diamond Dog, the music really sets the mood in that scene.

Of course the story is not important, it's all about explosions, shootings, fist fights and everything in between. But dislike other action movies "Con Air" actually has a story that I like, even though it's completely over the top. Although I think that the movie might had been better of without the Poe's family scene's and storyline, even though I still sort of like the emotional scene's between them. Also I think that Nicholas Cage is a bit too much of a good guy in the movie, not only does he help his friend on board, he even finds time to try and save all the cops their lives and that of the bunny present for his daughter.

A good thing is the excellent soundtrack by Trevor Rabin and Mark Mancina that gives the movie an extra 'cool' feeling.

One little point of critic is that the editing isn't always great. But I can live with that...

Perfect entertainment in a crazy over the top non-stop action movie! There are better action movies out there but not much.

8/10

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