‘Con Air’ Still Soars Among the Best Action Films of the ‘90s

June 3, 2022

The one term I often use when describing Nicolas Cage as an actor is “chameleon”. Cage is one of the few actors that has the range needed to produce a banger in almost every single major genre in the film industry. He’s flawlessly able to match the film’s energy, regardless of the style. Need a heartbreaking romance film? I present you City of Angels. Want to laugh out of your seat? Go give Raising Arizona a watch. For horror, we have Mandy. For drama, we have Pig. For Adventure? National Treasure is where it’s at. I could go on and on with this list and about Cage’s ability to give his all, even in less-than-stellar films. But today, I’m landing (no pun intended) directly in the action genre, on one of the best action films of the ‘90s, and possibly of all time, Con Air.

*Cue Trisha Yearwood’s “How Do I Live*

For those that are unfamiliar with this thrilling aviation-based action flick, Nicolas Cage plays Cameron Poe, a freshly discharged Army Ranger who comes home to Alabama to his pregnant wife. Poe immediately ends up in prison after accidentally using the “nose bone-into-the-brain” technique we were all terrified of falling victim to as kids, on a man that was trying to sexually assault his wife. Poe is unrealistically sentenced to eight years for manslaughter.

At the end of his sentence, Poe is placed on a transfer plane along with many other supermax inmates, including Cyrus “The Virus” Grissom (John Malkovich), Johnny 23 (Danny Trejo), and Garland Greene (Steve Buscemi). The inmates (sans Poe and his buddy Baby-O) hatch a plan to take over the plane and escape, killing multiple guards in the meantime. Being a good guy at heart, it’s up to Poe to save the remaining guards and stop the violence while blending in with hardened criminals.

What a cast this film has. In addition to the excellent talent listed above, Con Air boasts fun performances from Ving Rhames, Dave Chappelle, Mykelti Williamson, John Cusack, and Colm Meaney. Each criminal character has a fun, typical action movie introduction, where Cusack and Meaney expertly discuss their rap sheets to familiarize them to the audience. Trejo and Buscemi played particularly nasty characters. Malkovich stole the show with his almost silly, over-the-top villainy, winning the role over both Willem Dafoe and Mickey Rourke. Though, the actor was reported to have been frustrated with his character, due to script re-writes that were going on even as the movie was being filmed.

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Cage’s portrayal of Poe is one of the most memorable things about the film. He traveled to Alabama to get coaching on a realistic Alabamian accent, and though it didn’t pan out great, it still helped to make the character pop, alongside his long, flowing, ridiculous mullet. Cage was also able to maintain a physical look that he hadn’t reached to that point in his career. Between the scenes, he would routinely lift weights, and got down to a mere 3% body fat. It was by far the most jacked he’d ever looked, but when the film called for him to be able to no-sell getting shot in the arm, and then using that same arm to do pull-ups on a speeding fire truck, he had to look the part as well as take on the physical obstacles. Cameron Poe was a truly memorable character.

Though Con Air was considered one of Nic Cage’s “holy trinity” action films of the ‘90s, along with Face/Off (which premiered just a few weeks later), and The Rock (1996), director Simon West didn’t have nearly the long-standing success as an action director that both John Woo and Michael Bay had after those films. West would go on to direct Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and The Expendables 2 as his next biggest films. Writer Scott Rosenberg (no relation) gained a little more success, teaming up with Cage again for Gone in 60 Seconds (2000) and writing the Jumanji films starring Dwayne Johnson.

Though some of the dialogue, and especially Cage’s accent were a little rough, there’s no arguing with the sheer impressiveness of the special effects. Real planes, real helicopters, and real explosions were used in a film that cost a massive (for 1997) 75 million to make but made back more than 224 million worldwide at the box office. Normally such numbers would prime a popular action film for an immediate sequel, but many of the actors weren’t interested, either due to the strenuous physical requirements for the film, or a general disinterest for the content. Con Air did, however, receive two Academy Award nominations, one for Best Sound, and one for Best Original Song.

For one reason or another, going back and watching many of the big action hits of the ‘90s usually doesn’t hit as hard as the slammers from the ‘80s, but Nic Cage had a way of keeping his performances timeless, and outside of a few cringy lines, he carried his films into the sweet spot, where they still hold up, even this long after their releases. Stanley Goodspeed, Cameron Poe, Castor Troy. These are characters that even a mention of, bring all the action-packed and explosive moments of their films crashing down into our brains, and have us questioning, “How Do We Live?” without Nic Cage.