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Shat the Movies: 80's & 90's Best Film Review

Con Air (1997)

Shat the Movies: 80's & 90's Best Film Review

Shat on Entertainment

Tv & Film, Film Reviews

4.51.8K Ratings

🗓️ 21 August 2024

⏱️ 58 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

If Michael Bay movies are orange juice, "Con Air" is orange-juice concentrate—loaded with stars, explosions and plot holes. What else would you expect from Shat The Movies commissioner extraordinaire Frank F?

Simon West's directorial debut had the Shat Crew scratching their heads. The geography makes no sense. The crime makes no sense. The courts make no sense. Even prison had Dick and Gene confounded.

But there was no mystery to the entertainment factor of this summer blockbuster. Cartoon bad guys, over-the-top action sequences, and some of 1997's hottest actors make "Con Air" a standout movie ... even if it isn't a particularly good one.

Plot Summary:

In the 1997 action-packed thriller Con Air, directed by Simon West, Nicolas Cage stars as Cameron Poe, an honorably discharged Army Ranger who is imprisoned after a deadly confrontation defending his wife, Tricia (Monica Potter). After serving eight years, Poe is finally paroled and set to reunite with his family. His trip home, however, takes a dangerous turn when he is placed aboard a prison transport plane, the "Jailbird," filled with some of the most violent and notorious criminals in the country.

John Malkovich co-stars as Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom, a psychopathic mastermind who leads a group of inmates in a daring hijack of the plane. With his fellow convicts, including Diamond Dog (Ving Rhames) and Garland Greene (Steve Buscemi), Cyrus plans to escape to a foreign country, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. Poe, who wants no part of the escape but is determined to protect his diabetic cellmate, Baby-O (Mykelti Williamson), and a female guard (Rachel Ticotin), covertly works against the convicts while keeping his identity as a free man a secret.

Meanwhile, U.S. Marshal Vince Larkin (John Cusack) races against time on the ground to stop the convicts from reaching their destination. As Poe navigates the chaos on board, he must outsmart the criminals and take control of the plane to ensure the safety of the innocent people onboard and finally make it home to his family.

Con Air is a high-octane ride filled with explosive action, memorable one-liners, and intense performances from its ensemble cast. Tune in to our podcast review as we dissect the film's over-the-top action sequences, unforgettable characters, and the classic 90s charm that has made it a cult favorite. Does this adrenaline-fueled blockbuster still soar with audiences today?

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Transcript

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0:00.0

you're a strong black man why are you going to follow this this did he call him a cracker up from the plane and took him down the Nakatomi Tower at the Christmas party

0:16.0

and the terrorists were overzealous but it was sweet when they killed Ellis and

0:22.0

with a little help from Allen drama-clay kicked us.

0:26.4

Welcome back to Shatt the Movies, the podcast where we answer the question

0:29.3

where the movies we love and we were growing up really that good.

0:32.3

Have you ever caught yourself thinking, why don't they make movies like they used to?

0:35.0

Can you still remember spending your Friday night searching for the perfect movie rental blockbuster video?

0:39.0

Do you know what blockbuster video is?

0:41.0

If you answer yes, this is the podcast for you. I am one of your

0:44.0

hosts Gene Lyons and alongside me is my co-host Big D Dickiebert. Good evening.

0:49.4

And each week we take a look back in time and decide if our favorite films still hold up.

0:53.6

The movies we cover are chosen by you the listeners who generously commissioned the films

0:56.9

you love.

0:57.9

If you like to tell the movies we have covered, will cover, want to choose one for yourself,

1:01.0

please visit us at shapod.com and have a look at the end of each

1:04.4

podcast we will provide you the audience with a number of wipes each movie

1:07.7

you take to get off your respective buts. Thank you so much for listening if you

1:11.2

have not already hit that subscribe button and share with a friend.

1:13.5

It's how we helped the podcast grow. Additionally, you can subscribe to our sister

1:16.8

podcast. Shout on TV or review TV series such as Westworld Tabu,

1:20.7

American Gods, Game and Thrones, True Detective, Left Crab Country, and Watchmen.

1:23.7

Find all that information at past episodes atchapod.com slash TV.

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