| Con Air | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Simon West |
| Written by | Scott Rosenberg |
| Produced by | Jerry Bruckheimer |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | David Tattersall |
| Edited by |
|
| Music by | |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Buena Vista Pictures Distribution |
Release date |
|
Running time | 115 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $75 million[1] |
| Box office | $224 million[1] |
Con Air is a 1997 Americanaction thriller film directed bySimon West (in his featuredirectorial debut) and starringNicolas Cage,John Cusack andJohn Malkovich in the lead roles. Written byScott Rosenberg and produced byJerry Bruckheimer, the film centers on aprison break aboard aJPATS aircraft, nicknamed as "Con Air". It features anensemble supporting cast ofSteve Buscemi,Ving Rhames,Colm Meaney,Mykelti Williamson andRachel Ticotin, withMonica Potter,Dave Chappelle,M. C. Gainey, andDanny Trejo in minor roles.
Con Air was released theatrically on June 6, 1997 byBuena Vista Pictures throughTouchstone Pictures and was a box office success, grossing over $224 million against a production budget of $75 million. The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the acting, musical score and action sequences but criticized the inconsistent tone, direction and character development. The film achieved acult following among action aficionados and the Nicolas Cage fanbase.[2][3][4][5][6] It receivedOscar nominations forBest Sound andBest Original Song for "How Do I Live", performed on the soundtrack byTrisha Yearwood.
Decoratedhonorably dischargedArmy Ranger Cameron Poe is convicted of involuntary manslaughter for killing a bar patron in self-defense when the other man drunkenly attacks him and his pregnant wife, Tricia. Eight years later, he isparoled and boards a flight toAlabama on theJailbird, aFairchild C-123 Provider converted to a prison transport plane, so he can be reunited with Tricia and their daughter Casey, whom he has never met. Accompanying Poe is hisdiabetic cellmate and best friend Mike "Baby-O" O'Dell.
Most of the inmates boarding the flight are convicts being transferred to asupermax prison, including mass murderer William "Billy Bedlam" Bedford, serial rapist John "Johnny 23" Baca,Black Guerrilla Nathan "Diamond Dog" Jones, andprofessional criminal Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom. The flight is overseen byU.S. Marshal Vince Larkin whileDEA special agent Willie Sims plans to go on anundercover mission to get information fromnarcoterrorist Francisco Cindino, who is being picked up en route.
After taking off, inmate Joe "Pinball" Parker sets another prisoner on fire as a distraction, allowing Grissom and Jones to take over the plane. They plan to land atCarson Airport as scheduled, pick up and transfer other prisoners and fly to a non-extradition country. Sims tries to retake control, but Grissom kills him in the process.
The plane arrives at Carson City and the inmates exchange commences, with the ground crew unaware of the hijacking. Amongst the new passengers are Cindino, pilot Earl "Swamp Thing" Williams andserial killer Garland Greene. The authorities discover the hijacking upon finding evidence in Grissom's old cell and a tape recorder planted by Poe on one of the disguised guards but cannot prevent the plane from taking off. Meanwhile, Pinball disposes of the plane'stransponder, but he is crushed to death by the landing gear during takeoff.
The inmates agree to land at Lerner Airfield, a desert airstrip, and transfer onto another plane owned by Cindino and hiscartel. Poe finds Pinball's corpse trapped in the landing gear and writes a message to Larkin on the body before throwing it out. Larkin learns of the news and heads to Lerner after contacting theNational Guard. Bedford, raiding the cargo, discovers Poe's identity, forcing Poe to kill him.
TheJailbird is grounded at Lerner, with no sign of the transfer aircraft. Grissom orders the others to fuel up the plane and prepare for takeoff. Poe leaves to find Baby-O a syringe to give himinsulin, meeting Larkin and informing him of the situation. They discover Cindino attempting to escape on a hiddenprivate jet, which Larkin sabotages by lowering a crane arm onto it. Grissom executes Cindino by igniting the plane's fuel. Greene meets a little girl playing tea party near the hangar and is tempted to kill her, but he resists his homicidal urges. Johnny 23 spots a National Guard convoy approaching and gives the alarm. As the National Guard arrives, the inmates launch an enormous assault, resulting in various casulties, but Larkin uses abulldozer as a makeshift shield. The surviving inmates return to theJailbird and take flight.
Poe's identity is revealed when Bedford's body is found. Baby-O takes the blame and is shot by Grissom, when Larkin and Sims' partner, Duncan Malloy, arrive inattack helicopters, damaging theJailbird's fuel tank. Poe takes command of the cockpit, and Larkin instructs him to have the plane land atMcCarran International Airport, but Swamp Thing is forced to land it on theLas Vegas Strip, causing mass destruction and killing Johnny 23. Grissom, Jones, and Swamp Thing escape on afire truck, pursued by Poe and Larkin on police motorcycles; the chase results in the deaths of all three escapees. Poe reunites with his family and the surviving inmates are apprehended, except for Greene, who gambles in a casino.
Additional actors includeTy Granderson Jones as "Blade",Emilio Rivera as Carlos,Doug Hutchison as Donald,Jeris Lee Poindexter as Watts,David Ramsey as Londell,Conrad Goode as Lars "Viking" Olsson,John Diehl as Poe's defense attorney, andDon S. Davis as the motorist whose car Pinball's corpse falls on.Powers Boothe makes an uncreditedvoice-over cameo in the opening credits as the Army officer at Poe's leaving ceremony. John Cusack's brother Bill Cusack appears as a Las VegasEMT.
Malkovich was considered early for the role of Grissom.Jason Isaacs,Mickey Rourke,Willem Dafoe andTom Sizemore auditioned for the role.Bruce Willis turned down the role.[7][8]
Withsecond unit work beginning on June 24, 1996, principal photography began shortly after inSalt Lake City, on July 1, 1996 and continued until roughly October 29, 1996, at a number of locations.[9] While most of the interiors of theFairchild C-123 Provider transport aircraft were filmed inHollywood Center Studios soundstage #7,Wendover Airport inUtah, as the stand in for the fictional Lerner Airfield, was used for the C-123 flying and taxi scenes.[10] Director Simon West chose the barren and remote Wendover area "because it looked like the surface of the moon ... My idea was that it was perfect for the convicts who had been locked up for 10, 20, 30 years in little cells."[11] The old wartimebomber base was also used for theaircraft boneyard scenes while the original swimming pool at the base was used in a scene where Garland Greene was talking to a young girl.[12]
On August 29, 1996, Phillip Swartz, a welder employed by Special Effects Unlimited, a Los Angeles–based firm, was crushed to death at Wendover when a static model of the C-123 used in the film fell on him. The film credits end with "In Memory of Phil Swartz".[13]
Other filming locations includedOgden Airport where the exchange of prisoners is seen. The scene where the aircraft's left wing hits theFender Stratocaster sign ofHard Rock Hotel and Casino (which later played host to the film's premiere), was filmed using a replicated guitar sign and aJailbird miniature model. The crash site was filmed in theSands Hotel before its demolition on November 26, 1996.[14] Producer Jerry Bruckheimer found the right spot for the climactic finale, originally planned for a crash at theWhite House, but Las Vegas was more in keeping with the theme and visual pun of convicts "cashing in". "We got very lucky ... The Sands was going to be demolished anyway. They blew up the tower on their own. We arranged to blow up the front of the building." The2nd Street Tunnel in Los Angeles was also used for the tunnel chase scene near the end of the film.[11]
Three C-123's were used during production and were painted with theJailbird livery. The actual flying C-123 model used during flight scenes in the film had a series of both military and private owners. In December 2003 it was sold to All West Freight Inc. inDelta Junction, Alaska.[15] On August 1, 2010, the C-123 was destroyed when it crashed intoMount Healy withinDenali National Park inAlaska.[16] The three member flight crew was killed in the crash.[17][18][19] Another C-123, formerly registered as N94DT, was used for the crash scene in Las Vegas and then scrapped following production. The thirdJailbird movie model used for the taxi scenes was later donated by the filmmakers to theHistoric Wendover Airfield Foundation, where it remains on display at the ramp as an attraction for visitors.[12]
The film used several highly detailed models at 1/15th scale, and a multitude of military and private aircraft assembled for the desert boneyard scene.[Note 1]
| Con Air: Music from the Motion Picture | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | |
| Released | June 17, 1997 |
| Genre | Soundtrack |
| Length | 44:19 |
| Label | Hollywood Records |
| Producer | Paul Linford, Mark Mancina, Trevor Rabin |
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [21] |
The film featured theDiane Warren–pennedLeAnn Rimes hit single "How Do I Live", performed byTrisha Yearwood for the film.[22][Note 2]
TheCon Air soundtrack album omits two songs featured in the film: "How Do I Live", written byDiane Warren and performed by Trisha Yearwood and "Sweet Home Alabama" byLynyrd Skynyrd. Although a key element of the film, Mick LaSalle of theSan Francisco Chronicle noted, "The soundtrack kicks into loud, obtrusive gear ... [and] remains so loud throughout the picture that it practically functions as a distancing device."[23]
Con Air opened June 6, 1997 on 2,824 screens in the United States and Canada and grossed $24.1 million in its opening weekend,topping the US box office aboveThe Lost World: Jurassic Park.[24] For its second weekend, the film dropped into second place behindSpeed 2: Cruise Control, but still made $15.7 million.[25] It also opened in theUK, Hong Kong, Israel and parts of Latin America, including Brazil and Mexico grossing $5 million for the weekend, for a total worldwide opening of $29 million.[26] In the US and Canada, it grossed $15.7 million in its second weekend and $10.4 million in its third, finishing second and third, respectively.[27]
The film grossed $101.1 million in the United States and Canada, and $122.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $224 million.[1]
According to review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, 58% of 71 critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 5.7/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Con Air won't win any awards for believability – and all involved seem cheerfully aware of it, making some of this blockbuster action outing's biggest flaws fairly easy to forgive."[28] OnMetacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 52 out of 100, based on 23 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[29] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[30]
Roger Ebert, reviewing the film for theChicago Sun-Times, awarded it three out of four stars, saying it "moves smoothly and with visual style and verbal wit," although he criticized Cage for playing Poe as a "slow-wittedElvis type who is very, very earnest and approaches every task with tunnel vision".[31]Janet Maslin, reviewer forThe New York Times consideredCon Air an exemplar of the "thrill ride genre".[32] In contrast,Rolling Stone reviewerPeter Travers decried the "flip, hip" and ultimately, "depressing ... pandering" present in the treatment.[33]
Andrew Johnston, reviewer forTime Out New York, stated: "LeavingThe Rock last summer, I thought it seemed physically impossible for a more over-the-top action movie to be made. That was pretty short-sighted of me, since it was only a matter of time until producer Jerry Bruckheimer topped himself as he does with the wildly entertainingCon Air."[34]
Maxim put the film's climactic Las Vegas plane crash at the top of their 2007 list of "The Top Ten Most Horrific Movie Plane Crashes", a decision that was derided byWired.[35]
| Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards[36] | Best Original Song | "How Do I Live" Music and Lyrics byDiane Warren | Nominated |
| Best Sound | Kevin O'Connell,Greg P. Russell andArt Rochester | Nominated | |
| ALMA Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film | Rachel Ticotin | Nominated |
| ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards | Most Performed Songs from Motion Pictures | "How Do I Live" Music and Lyrics by Diane Warren | Won |
| Blockbuster Entertainment Awards | Favorite Actor – Action/Adventure | Nicolas Cage(also forFace/Off) | Won |
| Favorite Supporting Actor – Action/Adventure | John Cusack | Won | |
| Favorite Supporting Actress – Action/Adventure | Rachel Ticotin | Nominated | |
| Favorite Song from a Movie | Trisha Yearwood – "How Do I Live" | Nominated | |
| BMI Film & TV Awards | Film Music Award | Mark Mancina | Won |
| Bogey Awards | Won | ||
| Golden Raspberry Awards[37][38] | Worst Original Song | "How Do I Live" Music and Lyrics by Diane Warren | Nominated |
| Worst Reckless Disregard for Human Life and Public Property | Won | ||
| Golden Reel Awards | Best Sound Editing – Dialogue & ADR | David Williams, Robert Ulrich, Gail Clark Burch, Jeff Clark, Richard Corwin, Susan Kurtz, Carin Rogers, Zack Davis, Stephen Janisz and Kerry Dean Williams | Nominated |
| Best Sound Editing – Sound Effects & Foley | Nominated | ||
| Grammy Awards[39] | Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television | "How Do I Live" Music and Lyrics by Diane Warren | Nominated |
| Jupiter Awards | Best International Actor | Nicolas Cage(also forFace/Off) | Won |
| Online Film & Television Association Awards[40] | Best Original Song | "How Do I Live" Music and Lyrics by Diane Warren | Nominated |
| Saturn Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Steve Buscemi | Nominated |
