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Con Air (1997)
Rating: 3
Simon West
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Main Players: Nicholas Cage, John Cusack, John Malkovich, Steve Buscemi, Colm Meaney, Ving Rhames, Mykelti Williamson ... and some others
Story: A man coming home from prison on an airplane gets entangled in a hijack by the prisoners on board.
Comment: If you really wanna see this, then first, suspend reality and put 20 points of your IQ in the freezer - you won't need them.
Still reading? OK, then the review proper. I can't tell you how disappointed I was with this movie. I was unconvinced by the generally bad reviews it got - how bad could it really be, I reasoned, if Bruckheimer was producing? How bad could it be if Cage was the star? How bad could it be if Malkovich, Rhames, Buscemi, Williamson; who were brilliant in In The Line of Fire, Pulp Fiction, Desperado, and Forrest Gump respectively; were co-starring? Well, quite bad, as I found out.
What wrong with it? Well, lets go through the movie. First, it starts with a glowing account of the US Rangers and their "leave no comrade" policy. This becomes the reason for the movie lasting more than 30 minutes, since at this juncture, we are presented with a situation where the hero, Cage, won't leave his friend. How convenient.
Secondly, we get Cusack. His role in this movie is to help the hero stay alive. But it is played in the most wishy-washy manner that I just wanted him to die somewhere in the movie. Malkovich is also wasted; all he can ever seems to do in action movies is play the psychotic nut. All we ever get to know about him is that he is an evil genius who's also crazy. Such a waste of talent.
Thirdly, the movie is purposely prolonged by the introduction of a convict called Garland Greene, whose murders "make the Manson family look like the Partridge family", Buscemi, who is first seen strapped-down "Hannibal Lecter" style. We later find out that he is to be the subject of a tortuous sub-plot but delivers some wonderful observations on board the doomed airplane. Again, a wasted opportunity.
Fourthly, Cage. He's just plain irritating whenever he tries a Southern drawl. It's really painful to see such talent wasted.
Indeed, it is all very sad to see such potential not being realised. All the ingredients of a really good action movie was there. But then, it may have been a case of way too many cooks, or should we say, chefs. Maybe if you put too many talented actors together, they just cannot shine. Maybe, you should let Simon West direct. Maybe you need Don Simpson. Maybe, you need to hire competent scriptwriters. Maybe, maybe, maybe ...
As a consolation, you may want to see this movie for three (3) things:
1. The great camera angles. Really cool.
2. The great explosions, if you're in to that kind of thing.
3. The cute little commentaries on life by Steve Buscemi; nobody does it with his irrepresible style.
Review: Don't waste your time. Watch The Rock instead.