Ever wonder what ended up on the cutting room floor from Con Air? Apparently, Touchstone and Jerry Bruckheimer think there’s a hidden cult of Con Air fans clamoring for this footage.
Con Air, which was originally released in the summer of 1997, is typical of most Jerry Bruckheimer/Don Simpson produced films: it’s loud, slick, over-the-top, immediately forgettable, ultra masculine, but loads of guilty fun to watch.
Here in his first post-Simpson death production (Simpson died during production of The Rock), Bruckheimer again finds yet another commercial director with MTV style. Following in the footsteps of other Bruckheimer finds like Michael Bay, Tony Scott, and Adrian Lyne, Simon West gathers an eclectic cast, provides a pounding, fist-pumping musical score, and keeps the bullets and explosions coming. For those who are experienced in the Simpson/Bruckheimer films (Flashdance, Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop, Days of Thunder, Crimson Tide, Bad Boys, and The Rock amongst others) you know what you’re getting.
Basically, this film is one comic bookish, two-hour adrenaline/testosterone shot. The enjoyment here comes from the fact that the cast and everyone involved, including screenwriter Scott Rosenberg, are in on the joke and nothing here is taken seriously. Each character is loosely written so you can tell what they’re going to do before you see it and there are few surprises. You know exactly how the film will end, but you are still compelled to watch.
A pumped up, mullet wearing Nicolas Cage stars as Cameron Poe - a decorated Army Ranger who at the beginning of the film is jailed after killing a thug who was menacing him and his pregnant, hot wife (Monica Potter.) After seven years, he is released only to find himself on the Jailbird - an aircraft that’s sending the nation’s worst criminals to a new maximum-security prison. After takeoff, the plane is hijacked by the brilliant but insane leader of the criminals Cyrus the Virus (John Malkovich.)
The plane also contains many other colorful villains including Diamond Dog (Ving Rhames), a black militant, Johnny 23, (Danny Trejo), named after his 23 convictions of rape, and Garland Greene (Steve Buscemi), a serial killer with 37 victims, who arrives on board in full Hannibal Lector restraints. Upon seeing him locked up, Cyrus proclaims, “This is no way to treat a national treasure.” He adds, “Love your work.”
On the ground, we have all-around good guy U.S. Marshall Vince Larkin (John Cusack), and gung ho “AZZ-KIKR” DEA agent Malloy (Colm Meany). The two naturally clash as to how to get the plane full of convicts down. The film moves along with some semblance of a plot before going for broke the last 20 minutes with one outlandish action sequence after another.
The fun here lies in the humor and some of the dialogue. Rosenberg wisely does not make these characters anything more than they’re not and at least every character gets a memorable line. There is a hint of satire in much of the dialogue, particularly Malkovich’s lines, that makes it all right to laugh and go along with the stupidity. Any attempt at seriousness, such as Poe’s scenes with his wife and daughter, are laughably bad.
Women are not too important in the Bruckheimer world and pop up intermittingly. There is a female guard on the plane, Sally Bishop (the underused Rachel Ticotin) that Johnny 23 wants to make 24, but much like Poe’s wife they are of little consequence.
Cage, with a hilariously bad Southern accent, wisely underplays Poe as an honorable hillbilly who just seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He has a chance to get off the plane but chooses to stay in order to save the live of his best friend Baby-O (Mykelti Williamson) - a diabetic who is slowly dying. When Cage breaks out into full action hero mode you just have to laugh and enjoy the ride.
While in his previous Bruckheimer flick The Rock, Cage was given a more realistic character to play, here as Poe he might as well be called “bad-ass hero.” At one point he even says, “What do you think I’m going to do? I’m gonna save the fucking day” - classic. To his credit, he has fun with some of his ridiculous dialogue and, for the most part, makes his dry, but humorous one-liners work.
Thankfully, Cage is not taking this too seriously (see Snake Eyes and Windtalkers for those dangers). One of the running gags for Poe is the peril that the toy bunny Poe buys for his daughter endures on its way to her. Cage’s “Put the bunny down,” and Malkovich’s “Make a move and the bunny gets it” are the highlights.
The film’s wheels off ending manages to poke fun at Cage’s Vegas-themed films like Honeymoon in Vegas and his masterful Oscar-winning turn in Leaving Las Vegas. While much has been made in recent years of Cage’s transformation or is it deterioration (from quirky character actor to action hero) in Con Air, much like The Rock and Face-Off, Cage is surrounded by excellent actors that prevent him from having to carry the film on his own.
Malkovich steals the show and every scene he’s in as the cerebral, murderous Cyrus. His dialogue and delivery are a joy to behold. It’s thrilling to see this marvelous actor take a role that’s clearly beneath him, and make him the most memorable in the film. Cusack, much like Malkovich, is one actor you never find in a film like this, but he also seems to be having great fun in this mindless film. The rest of the cast, including Dave Chapelle as a crack head convict, all clearly seem to be enjoying themselves here. There is even an ending montage with all the actors smiling just to show you how much fun they were having.
Simon West obviously knows how to shoot an action sequence from several angles and, luckily for him, this film does not require much else from him. To his credit, the action is fast, highly stylized, frenetic, and always fun. The score by Mark Mancina and Trevor Rabin (from the band Yes) gets you fired up and ready for blood.
The deleted footage amounts to about 7 minutes of extended and deleted scenes. If you’ve seen Con Air a few times (and I’m ashamed to admit I have), you’ll notice the footage. A lot of it belongs where it came from, but some of it involving Poe and Baby-O helps to explain why Poe is willing to risk his life to save him. There is also a nice exchange between Cage and Ticotin.
As far as extras go - NADA. Not even a damn trailer/teaser for the film. All you get are some Disney trailers for the Pirates of the Caribbean sequel and other DVD releases. Thanks for nothing. Maybe Touchstone will be so kind as to include them on the 10 year anniversary edition for the film which no doubt will be released. The studios’ desire to squeeze every last ounce of profit out of their films through numerous, pointless DVD releases is truly insulting sometimes.
That being said, Con Air is a solid, highly enjoyable summer film. It’s not above making fun of itself. You don’t have to think at all. It won’t linger in the mind. You can basically do a Homer Simpson: allow your brain to temporarily leave your body and switch on the short attention span while you watch the film. Come to think about it, I think that’s the type of person Bruckheimer films are geared towards. DOH!
Con Air (Unrated Extended Edition) is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD’s database for more information.
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