After his long-term producing partner Don Simpson died of drug-related complications in 1995, Jerry Bruckheimer’s sole standing as a producer was heightened in 1996 with Michael Bay’s THE ROCK, an outlandish tale of a bunch of commandos attempting to retake Alcatraz from the hands of a mad general (Ed Harris). Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery led the line as a chemical weapons specialist and an ex-con at the prison who escaped in a preposterous but still entertaining action film that took action to a new height of spectacle.
Not content with one high concept project, the bar was raised even higher in 1997 with CON AIR, directed by Simon West, which is about a simplistic an action thriller you will get. The plot is simple. Cameron Poe (Nicolas Cage) is a decorated Army Ranger who returns home to Mobile, Alabama to see his then-pregnant wife Trish (Monica Potter), but runs into trouble when some regulars who work at the bar his wife works at as a barperson taunt him for being military.
As they leave, Poe gets into a fight and kills one of them which becomes a case for manslaughter. Poe accepts the punishment of 7-10 years, but gets out on parole. His ride home is a plane which just happens to be populated with some lifers who are on their way to other prisons, among them Cyrus ‘The Virus’ Grissom (Jon Malkovich) and Nathan ‘Diamond Dog’ Jones (Ving Rhames).
The plane is seemingly secure, but when one of the other prisoners brings out a match and some lighter fuel which he sprays on a convict to distract the guards, there is a mutiny on board and the plane is hijacked. Special Agent Larkin (John Cusack), who has orchestrated the flight, faces a race against time to recapture the plane. On board however, Poe decides that he could make a difference too – and the action raises even higher than the clouds….
Given the darkly comic tone of the film, coupled with some incredible action sequences in the desert, resulting in a spectacular climax on the Vegas strip, CON AIR was never designed to be taken too seriously at the best of times – and thanks to some overblown performances by everyone on show, it is also supremely entertaining and one of the best cinematic experiences you will ever have.