Con Air is a 1997 American action/thriller film by Touchstone Pictures that stars Nicolas Cage, John Cusack and John Malkovich. It was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, producer of Crimson Tide and The Rock, and directed by Simon West. The film borrows its title from the nickname of the Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System.
The film featured the 1997 hit single "How Do I Live", originally performed by LeAnn Rimes and performed for the film by Trisha Yearwood. The movie was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Song and Best Sound, losing to Titanic in both categories.
Plot
Cameron Poe (Cage), an honorably discharged United States Army Ranger is paroled after serving eight years for killing a drunken man in a bar brawl while defending his wife Tricia (Potter) and unborn daughter Casey (Allbright). While still under the penal system until his release in Alabama, Poe is to be flown back on the "Jailbird", a C-123 airplane, along with several other prisoners that are being transferred to a new Supermax prison. Drug Enforcement Administration agent Duncan Malloy (Meaney) approaches the U.S. Marshal in charge of the transfer, Vince Larkin (Cusack), and requests he slip undercover agent Willie Sims on board to coax information out of the drug lord Fransico Cindino (Borrego) during the flight before his incarceration. Larkin reluctantly agrees on the condition that Sims doesn't carry a weapon, but Malloy manages to slip a gun to Sims before boarding.
Shortly after the flight, the prisoners launch a choreographed effort led by Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom (Malkovich) and overcome the guards, taking control of the plane; when Sims tries to take control of the situation, he is quickly killed. Poe opts to keep his identity quiet and cooperates with Grissom, who promises all the prisoners that they will also be flown to a non-extradition country thanks to Cindino if they help out. The plane lands in Carson City as scheduled to make prisoner transfers; Grissom and his crew pose as the guards and take advantage of a dust storm to make sure the transfer appears to go smoothly, while Joe "Pinball" Parker (Chappelle) sneaks the "Jailbird"'s transponder onto a private jet. Although Poe secretly manages to get word out on the hijacking, it is too late to stop the plane from taking off.
Malloy orders attack helicopters to follow the transponder, unaware it is no longer on the plane. Poe discovers that Parker did not make it back to the plane on time, his body still stuck in the landing wheel wells, and writes a message to Larkin to inform him that the plane is headed for Lerner Airfield, an abandoned US Air Force base, then dumps the body overboard onto a populated city. Larkin learns of the message, and recognizes that Poe is his ally on the plane, and calls in the National Guard while he travels alone to Lerner Airfield.
The plane lands but overshoots the runway, running aground. When neither Grissom or Cindino can find the promised plane waiting for them, Grissom orders the prisoners to start digging the "Jailbird" free. Poe and Larkin happen upon each other, and quickly apprise each other of the situation, though Poe remains untrusting of Larkin's abilities. Larkin, sneaking about the airfield, discovers Cindino has snuck off to meet with his men at a small private jet. As the plane is taxing towards the runway at high speed, Larkin hops into a nearby crane and lowers it in front of the moving jet, ripping the entire tail section off in the process. Grissom comes quickly to the wreckage and discovers Cindino's treachery. Using a lit cigarette to ignite the fuel leaking from the plane, he kills him and destroys the remainders of the plane.
Meanwhile, one of the convicts spots a convoy of National Guard troops approaching Lerner Airfield and alerts the others. The explosion from Cindino's plane sends a signal to the approaching National Guard. The prisoners realize that the military personnel will arrive shortly and quickly prepare to ambush the troops using shotguns and assault rifles originally meant to be shipped to prison guards. Poe returns to the plane with needed insulin shots for his fellow prisoner, Mike "Baby-O" O'Dell (Williamson), while Grissom and the other convicts open fire on the guards as soon as they approach the junkyard. Larkin helps the National Guard to avoid getting slaughtered by providing a make-shift bulletproof shield using a steam shovel. Several convicts are killed in the shootout before Grissom orders the remaining prisoners to retreat to the plane, and gets it in flight before Poe has a chance of getting off the plane with O'Dell. Malloy and his helicopters arrive, threatening to shoot the plane down, but Larkin orders him not to, and explains about Poe. Meanwhile, Grissom discovers there is a traitor on board the plane, he heavily suspects Poe, Mike stands up and takes the blame. Grissom shoots him in the stomach, but still suspects Poe as well as Mike. Just as he is about to attack Poe, Grissom notices the helicopters and opens fire on them. Poe works his way quickly to the front of the plane and tells Larkin he has control of the plane now. They are ordered to land at Las Vegas McCarran International Airport but the plane has run out of fuel, and the prisoners are forced to make a landing on the Las Vegas Strip.
The landing harms or kills many of the remaining prisoners while causing massive destruction along the Strip. After the landing, Grissom, Jones, and Swamp Thing escape on a firetruck amid the chaos of destruction; both Poe and Larkin spot the escapees and follow them on motorcycles. Poe and Larkin work together to kill the prisoners, and Poe expresses his full trust in Larkin as they return. Poe is shortly reunited with Tricia and sees his daughter Casey for the first time. The last scene shows Garland Greene (Buscemi), the only prisoner to escape, playing craps and sipping whisky.
Characters
- Cameron Poe (Nicolas Cage) - a paroled ex-convict and former Army Ranger catching a ride home aboard the "Jailbird" from San Quentin to Alabama where he will be returned to his family.
- Vince Larkin (John Cusack) - a chief U.S. Marshal looking to take back the "Jailbird" with Poe's help
- Cyrus 'The Virus' Grissom (John Malkovich) - a cunning, intelligent murderer, holder of a Juris Doctor, and leader of the inmate uprising, who has spent 25 of his 39 years in the prison system and has been deemed a "true product of the system"
- Nathan 'Diamond Dog' Jones (Ving Rhames) - a black militant leader imprisoned for murdering National Rifle Association members and who acts as Cyrus's second-in-command during the uprising. While in prison, he wrote a critically-acclaimed book titled Reflections in a Diamond Eye. He attempts to escape along with Grissom at the end of the movie but is killed by Poe and Larkin.
- Mike 'Baby-O' O'Dell (Mykelti Williamson) - Poe's nonviolent, diabetic cellmate who is transferring between prisons and is a steadfast friend and one of the few decent prisoners aboard the plane. His insulin shots were to be administered during the flight but were crushed during the prisoners' uprising, leaving him weak and forcing Poe to stay on board to protect him.
- William 'Billy Bedlam' Bedford (Nick Chinlund) - a mass murderer who is responsible for killing his adulterous girlfriend's entire family and classified as a "separatee" inmate along with Grissom, Jones and Greene. Bedford is first to discover Poe's parole, but Poe secretly kills him.
- Garland 'The Marietta Mangler' Greene (Steve Buscemi) - an infamous, soft-spoken serial killer who is feared by the other inmates and revered by Grissom and imprisoned under the highest security measures, including extreme body restraints and a Hannibal Lecter-style mask. When the plane is grounded in Lerner Airfield, he finds a young girl, and appears fascinated by her dolls, and plays with her. Though it should be noted that despite at the end of the scene it's hinted that he killed her, she is seen while the plane is taking off, alive and unharmed. No explanation is given for this. When the plane crashes in Las Vegas, he calmly makes his escape to a nearby casino, leaving a doll he got from the girl behind on the plane confusing the police.
- Johnny 'Johnny-23' Baca (Danny Trejo) - a serial rapist who derives his nickname from the number of convicted rapes which he tracks by a tattoo on his arm, although he claims to be responsible for hundreds more. He attempts to rape the only female guard on the plane, Sally Bishop, but is stopped by Grissom and Poe. He is killed during the plane crash, his tattooed arm severed from his body.
- Swamp Thing (M. C. Gainey) - a Vietnam War veteran and drug smuggler imprisoned for landing a jet full of controlled substances whose pilot expertise is sought after and used to fly the "Jailbird" to replace the original pilot, following its takeover and his subsequent transfer to the plane while in Carson City. He also attempts to escape with Grissom in Las Vegas but is killed by Poe and Larkin, although he may not have died as he is seen escaping the firetruck before it explodes and a slight bit of his head is seen breathing about a minute later.
- Francisco Cindino (Jesse Borrego) - the heir of a Colombian drug cartel family financing Grissom's escape.
- Ramon 'Sally-Can't Dance' Martinez (Renoly Santiago) - an effeminate, transvestite inmate who appears sexually subservient to his fellow detainees.
- Duncan Malloy (Colm Meaney) - an overzealous DEA agent looking to shoot down the plane after the death of Agent Sims.
- Guard Sally Bishop (Rachel Ticotin) - a female prison guard transporting Poe and O'Dell who remains protected by Poe during the inmates' takeover of the plane.
- Joe 'Pinball' Parker (Dave Chappelle) - a drug addict, arsonist, and inmate responsible for distracting the guards, allowing Grissom and Jones the opportunity to initiate the uprising. He is also responsible for moving the "Jailbird" transmitter off the plane, but fails to make it back in time and is killed while trying to climb up on its landing wheels.
- Guard Falzon (Steve Eastin) - a prison guard who dislikes inmates and is saved by Poe (whom he had dubbed "trailer trash"), who plants Sims' tape recorder on him to alert the Carson City authorities.
- Willie Sims (Jose Zuniga) - an undercover DEA agent who is posing as an inmate to interrogate Cindino about the family drug business and killed during takeover of the plane.
- Tricia Poe (Monica Potter) - Poe's wife.
- Casey Poe (Landry Allbright) - Poe's daughter.
- Conrad (Brendan Kelly) - One of the convicts from Carson City.
Production
On the DVD commentary of Chappelle's Show, Dave Chappelle states that he improvised most of his lines in this film. Jerry Bruckheimer wanted to cut the final scene of Greene at the craps table in Las Vegas and end the movie with the heartfelt family reunion. The screenwriters convinced Bruckheimer to include the scene and in test screenings audiences loved it, thus it stayed.
Reception
The film had generally mediocre reviews with 57% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes with 32 out of 58 critics giving it a positive review with an average rating of 5.7/10. [1]
Box Office
| U.S. Gross Domestic Takings |
US$101,117,573 |
| Other International Takings |
$122,894,661 |
| Gross Worldwide Takings |
$224,012,234 |
References
External links
