Con Air (1997) - Loud, dumb actioner coming in hot

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Fiery action and tough-posing male stars attract attention on this poster for Simon West's Con Air

A sympathetic prisoner (Nicolas Cage (The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022))) is going on a prisoner air transport, which almost immediately goes completely wrong. Our hero just wants to get home to his family, but the maniacs around him are making that very hard!

 

Con Air is written by Scott Rosenberg (Air Time (1992, TV movie)) and directed by debuting Simon West (The Expendables 2 (2012)).

One may admire how in a Jerry Bruckheimer production such as this, an entire backstory is explained in a matter of minutes even before the intro credits end, so that the film can then proceed to play out without pause: From then on it is just hung up on a lot of idiotic scenes, stereotypes and general tastelessness. (Among much else, notorious real-life serial killers are in Con Air mere content for tacky one-liners.)

The entire star cast work as so many beams of hardwood squeezed into a wood-chipper here in an insanely dumb movie, which makes manipulative stabs into thin air. 

 

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The Mechanic (2011) - West's dull, flawed action remake 

 

 

Watch a 3-minute clip from the film here

Cost: 75 mil. $

Box office: 224 mil. $

= Box office success (returned 2.98 times its cost)

[Con Air premiered 2 June (Las Vegas) and runs 115 minutes. Shooting took place from July - September 1996 in Utah, Indiana, Las Vegas, Nevada and in Los Angeles, California. The film opened #1 to a 24.1 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 4 weekends in the top 5 (#2-#3-#5-8X-#4), grossing 101.1 mil. $ (45.1 % of the total gross). It was nominated for 2 Oscars: Best Sound, lost to Titanic, and Best Song (Diane Warren's How Do I Live), lost to My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion, James Horner and Will Jennings from Titanic. It was also nominated for a Grammy. Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, translating to 3 notches over this one. West returned with The General's Daughter (1999). Nicolas Cage (Time to Kill (1989)) returned in Face/Off (1997); John Cusack (2012 (2009)) in Chicago Cab (1997); and John Malkovich (RED 2 (2013)) in Cannes Man (1997). Con Air is rotten at 55 % with a 5.60/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Con Air? 

Gone in 60 Seconds (2000) - Cage, cast and LA shine in wonderful Bruckheimer vehicle

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Nicolas Cage's intense stare, Angelina Jolie's sexpot stare and a promise of speed work their magic on this poster for Dominic Sena's Gone in 60 Seconds

When his little brother finds himself in really deep trouble, Los Angeles premier ex-car thief, Memphis, is forced to tread backwards and drive him out of his morass; by stealing 50 cars in one night - without getting caught!

Gone in 60 Seconds is written by Scott Rosenberg (High Fidelity (2000)) and directed by Dominic Sena (Kalifornia (1993)), loosely remaking the 1974 mega-hit indie movie of the same name.

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer's (Chase (2010-11)) largesse is here perfectly combined with Nicolas Cage's (Bangkok Dangerous (2008)) larger-than-life showmanship, coupled with an ensemble cast with James Duvall (Mission Possible (2018)), Robert Duvall (The Conversation (1974)), Grace Zabriskie (George B. (1997)), Scott Caan (In Enemy Hands (2004)), Angelina Jolie (Playing God (1997)), Delroy Lindo (The Core (2003)), Timothy Olyphant (Meet Bill (2007)) and more. Marvelous car chases en masse and a fairly amusing script, which runs like a masterclass in structure and brother mythology, helps rev the entertaining Gone in 60 Seconds into the 6th gear.

Cage gives an interview about the film here

Cost: 90 - 103.3 mil. $ (different reports)

Box office: 237.2 mil. $

= Minor flop or box office success (returned between 2.29 - 2.63 times its cost)

[Gone in 60 Seconds premiered 5 June (Los Angeles) and runs 118 minutes. Development began in 1995. Shooting took place in Ontario and in California, including Los Angeles, from May - October 1999. The film opened #1 to a 25.3 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 2 weeks in the top % (#2-#4) and grossed 101.6 mil. $ (42.8 % of the total gross). While the film's Box Office Mojo site claims a 90 mil. $, a Slate.com article claims the 103.3 mil. $ number, (which could hint to the film going 13.3 mil. $ over budget), and the numbers make the difference between whether the film ranks as a minor flop or a box office success theatrically. It likely made a healthy pile of money on secondary markets. Roger Ebert gave it a 2/4 star review, translating to 2 notches harder than this one. Sena returned with Swordfish (2001). Cage returned in The Family Man (2000). Gone in 60 Seconds is rotten at 26 % with a 4.40/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Gone in 60 Seconds?