Nic Gauge

NIC GAUGE / Con Air

MOVIE: Con Air

STARRING: Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, John Malkovich, Steve Buscemi, Monica Potter, Danny Trejo, Ving Rhames, Dave Chappelle

RELEASE DATE: June 2nd, 1997

WHERE TO WATCH: VOD (Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Redbox, Vudu)

By Justin Pomerville (2 Broke Geeks)

Cameron Poe (Nicolas Cage) in Con Air.

When you use a randomizer to pick out these movies, you are left at the mercy of what comes up. Over the past couple of rounds, it has seemed to be stuck on the late 2000s to now. And boy, it has been an interesting journey, with plenty more to go. So, it’s always a joy when you finally come across what is considered a “Classic 90’s Cage” film. This week's edition is about Con Air.

Cameron Poe (played by Cage) is a newly paroled ex-con hitching ride on a prisoner transport plane to get home to see his wife and kid. Unfortunately, this transport is also carrying some of the most vicious criminals around, including ring-leader Cyrus “The Virus” Grissom (played by John Malkovich), Nathan Jones (played by Ving Rhames), and Garland Greene (played by Steve Buscemi). Cyrus and company take over the plane and plan a daring escape. It’s up to Poe and U.S. Marshal Agent Vince Larkin (played by John Cusack) to bring them all down

Cameron Poe (Nicolas Cage) and Cyrus “The Virus” Grisom (John Malkovich) in Con Air.

This movie is another one that I have extremely fond memories of. Full of action and suspense, this film checks all the boxes of what can make a great action film; explosions, gun fights, fun fight scenes, and the addition of having an insanely talented cast. Cage and Malkovich work very well together. The only minor negative is that, although I love Cage, he has a terrible southern accent that sounds more like Forrest Gump at points.

Because this movie was one of the first ones I have seen next to “Face/Off” that has brought me such fond memories, I was a little nervous to see if it still lived up to the expectations. Fortunately, it still is a great film and lands right on the edge between “Bloody Awesome” and “Good”.