Review of Con Air

Introduction

In today`s society hijacking is another example of ruthless terrorism - and nine times out of ten it will endanger the lives of innocent people. Hijacking can take many forms: buses; boats; trains; buildings; and of course, probably the most infamous example, the hijacking of a plane. The most savage example of this was the hijackig of passenger jets that led to the atrocities on 9-11, but many other incidents have occurred throughout history.

Now Hollywood has come up with a spin on it, and Con Air is the result. The film is the story of a plane containing ruthless criminals, used to transport them across the USA for all sorts of reasons. The plane is secure...cages, shackles, armed guards and so on, so surely the chained and restrained prisoners couldn`t fight back, and ultimately seize control of the jet? Well, this is Hollywood, so yes, they could.

However, one prisoner on the plane is not corrupted by evil. He is the recently paroled Cameron Poe (Nicolas Cage), who is hitching a ride home to his wife and daughter. But he suddenly finds himself embroiled in a mid-air skyjacking masterminded by serial killer and all-out bad boy, Cyrus `The Virus` Grissom (John Malkovich). While Poe fights to keep the savage convicts from massacring everyone on board, a Government agent on the ground (John Cusack) battles to keep his overzealous superiors from blowing the plane into oblivion, and causing one hell of a fireworks show...

British helmer Simon West (who later went on to do Tomb Raider) directs, and Jerry Bruckheimer serves as producer. So the lowest expectations one could have for the film is a flick with some great action set-pieces, thanks to the latter crew member.

Video

It is presented in 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, and as one would expect from a recent release, the visuals are deep and well defined, as well as being crisp and clear throughout. The transfer is free from dust and grain, and there are no artefacts evident.

Simon West directs well for a newcomer, with intensity and savvy during action sequences. Bruckheimer adds his usual C4 to the mix, and Con Air has some great set-pieces: the finale in Las Vegas is particularly daring, and one of my favourite bits in the film is when the prisoners are introduced, named and shamed, and locked up. It might not be sheer action, but it is well done and develops the convicts as much as possible.

Audio

A DD 5.1 track is on offer, and the surrounds spring into life frequently: due to the action nature of the flick, the ambience levels are good, and the subwoofer is used to reproduce the bass well. The main audio stream, used for the dialogue, is crisp and clear, and when there is music, this too is done well. All in all, a trademark DVD soundtrack.

The script by Scott Rosenberg is excellent - from the characters he has created to the narrative he weaves, it is not your average action screenplay: there are emotions involved, although toned down, most notably with the romance between Cameron and Tricia Poe.

I must also mention the music as it sets the tone of the film perfectly: it is edgy and engrossing, and compliments the action well.

Features

This is a Buena Vista re-release, so you would expect a decent array of features. Read on to be enlightened...

The meat of the features are two featurettes: "View From Above" and "The Destruction of Las Vegas" - as you have probably guessed they focus on how the set-pieces were achieved, but are very short, and therefore very lacking.

The only other extra is a couple of trailers - one for this film, and one for Pearl Harbor.

The menus are animated with music in the background and a moving montage, and they are easy to navigate.

Conclusion

Of all the action films I have seen, this has to rank amongst the best. It is up there with Die Hard - the kind of film you can watch with a few mates over and over, and still get some kicks out of it.

Con Air blends some great humour with some great action, and this really does stand up to repeat viewings - when I first got it I think I watched it three times in a couple of days, and since then, several times, and each time`s a charm as they say.

The performances are all solid - the great Cage acts well; one of the best comic actors of the modern cinematic generation, John Cusack, fits his role perfectly; and John Malkovich combines the right amount of skulk and savageness to convey the impression that he really is an evil bast**d.

However, we fall down in the disc department: although the presentation is great, the features sadly are not. This cries out for a two-disc edition, and given the fact that Buena Vista have given other older releases decent treatment (Pulp Fiction, The Rock, Jackie Brown, Die Hard With A Vengeance et al) it won`t be too much of a trouble to give this what it deserves as well.

Aside from the extras, this is a solid DVD - and one definitely worth adding to your collection.