The '90s In Action! - 'Con Air' (1997)

Nicolas Cage was one of the biggest actors in the 1990s. In fact, he also became one of the biggest action stars as well. There is actually an unofficial trilogy of Cage films called the “The Beige Volvo Trilogy”. It consists of “The Rock”, “Face/Off”, and “Con Air”. Each film makes reference or shows a beige Volvo and each film came out close to each other in 1996 and ‘97.

Admittedly, “Con Air” is the weakest of the three films. It has random scenes that probably should have been cut such as a weird subplot with Steve Buscemi’s Garland Greene character and a random little girl that has nothing to do with the rest of the movie. It also has more cheese than the other two and that’s saying something considering that one of the other films is about literally swapping each other’s faces.

Finally, it also has Cage’s horrendous Southern accent. The actor claimed that he went to Alabama to perfect the accent, but he must have only stayed there for about 10 minutes, heard someone say something, said to himself “Got it!”, and then left.

The movie that launched a million memes!

Despite the movie’s flaws, though, it is still a shining example of the high-concept action films that invaded the theaters in the ‘90s. The movie follows Cameron Poe, a former Army Ranger that was imprisoned for seven years due to accidentally killing a guy in a bar fight. He has a little girl that was born after he was imprisoned and he can’t wait to finally meet her now that he’s been paroled.

Unfortunately for Cameron, he is temporarily put onto a plane with the vilest of the vile. Led by the highly notorious and intelligent “Cyrus the Virus” (John Malkovich), the criminals bust loose and take over the plane. Cameron stays onboard so he can help his former cellmate Baby-O (Mykelti Williamson) who is a diabetic and needs an insulin shot.

Meanwhile, on the ground, U.S. Marshal Vince Larkin (John Cusack) must figure out how to get the plane down safely. He is also up against the vengeful DEA Agent Duncan Malloy (Colm Meaney), a man who simply wants to shoot the plane down despite there being innocents onboard such as Poe and the guards.

The movie is saved by two things: thrilling action set pieces and the performances. Yes, that even includes Cage with his terrible accent because somehow, he made that work to his advantage.

Both Malkovich and Cusack have tried to distance themselves from this movie from time to time, but they really shouldn’t. Yes, they’re in a cheesy action blockbuster, but it is their performances that help make even the most unbelievable stuff in the movie work. Cyrus is an absolute blast as a villain and Cusack brings his talents to the table as the smart and tactful Larkin who wants to use Poe to help save the plane.

Again, if you give me a choice between this, “Face/Off”, and “The Rock”, I’m going to choose one of the other two to watch first. But once I’m done with both of those movies, I wouldn’t hesitate for a heart beat to put on this solid piece of action entertainment!