R-Rated Action Classic Is Everything You Loved About The ‘90s

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 19 seconds ago

So many people were surprised when Nicolas Cage was cast as Spider-Noir in Into the Spider-Verse, a role he later reprised for the live-action Spider-Noir series on Prime Video. For skeptics, it was hard to imagine Cage as a high-flying superhero, especially when so much of his career is defined by dramatic films (including Raising Arizona and Leaving Las Vegas) and downright weird films (like Vampire’s Kiss and Long Legs). However, Cage as a superhero isn’t so crazy when you remember some of his best movies from the ‘90s. For a while, he helped to redefine action cinema thanks to balls-to-the-wall classics such as Face/Off and The Rock.

Those movies were great and helped establish Cage as a bona fide action hero. However, neither of them has had quite the lasting appeal as Con Air (1997), a movie produced by blockbuster auteur Jerry Bruckheimer. This is arguably Cage at his most intensely charismatic: he’s kicking butt and dropping one-liners, all while mugging for the camera and letting the wind blow through luxurious locks worthy of the best hair metal bands. Plus, the movie is stacked with more talent than should legally be allowed on one plane. Ready for the flight of your life? Grab your boarding pass, because Con Air is now streaming on Hulu.

The Man Of Your Memes

The premise of Con Air is that Cage’s character is a former Army Ranger who kills a man in self-defense. Incredibly, he gets sentenced to eight years, during which he constantly writes to his wife and daughter. It’s the happiest day of his life when he finally gets paroled, and he boards a flight filled with some of the most dangerous criminals in the world. Soon enough, the criminals hijack the plane, forcing the former Army Ranger to find a way to fight back when he is stuck thousands of miles off the ground. 

Obviously, the plot of Con Air is insane, starting with the idea that a decorated military man would get sentenced to nearly a decade in prison for defending himself against multiple attackers. But all of this is just an excuse to bounce Cage off of some other big personalities. It works, too, because of this movie’s insane bench of talent. This is a movie where Star Trek legend Colm Meaney plays a DEA agent and comedy icon Dave Chappele plays a smartass inmate. Meanwhile, Danny Trejo is at his intimidating best playing a man who has intimately assaulted nearly two dozen women.

A Scary Good Cast

Other big names include John Malkovich as the criminal mastermind behind the plane hijacking. Ving Rhames plays a terrorist, while Steve Buscemi steals scene after scene as a sarcastic serial killer with genuinely hilarious observations. John Cusack plays a US Marshal who becomes a reluctant ally of Nicolas Cage’s character. As for Cage, he is magnificent, transforming his typically quirky aura into pure macho bravado. He’s honestly never looked fiercer onscreen, and it’s glorious to see, especially when he gets perfect action hero lines. For example, when asked what he is about to do next, Cage evenly replies, “I’m going to save the f***ing day.” 

One of the things that Con Air is rightfully known for is its action, and these scenes hold up remarkably well. The hijacking is genuinely thrilling to watch, and it’s tough not to cheer out loud in your living room whenever Cage busts out his special forces smackdowns. But what makes the movie so enduring is that Cage’s character has to play a constant cat-and-mouse game with his fellow prisoners, foiling their plans without letting them realize he’s a good guy. This adds tension to each scene that just keeps ratcheting up to an insanely exciting climax that gives us both an emergency landing and a pulse-pounding motorcycle chase. 

A Movie That Will Leave You Smiling

In some ways, Con Air is the precursor to the modern, self-aware action extravaganza. For example, the completely unironic inclusion of Trisha Yearwood’s “How Do I Live” for an emotional reunion after nearly two hours of insanity is a clear inspiration for movies like Deadpool & Wolverine using Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” as an ironic needle-drop for a climactic moment. Con Air also feels prescient with humor, like when Steve Buscemi comments on inmates listening to “Sweet Home Alabama:” “Define irony. A bunch of idiots dancing on a plane to a song made famous by a band that died in a plane crash.” Long before Whedon-esque dialogue became the norm, Con Air blazed the trail. 

Honestly, Con Air is a movie that really fires on all cylinders. Every actor is giving it his all, the over-the-top action feels appropriately weighty, and the soundtrack fills each scene with crackling energy. Plus, without descending into pure farce, the film periodically winks at the audience, as if to say, “Yeah, we know this is goofy, and we know you love it!” Ultimately, this movie is incredibly fun, delivering a high-octane thrill ride that you won’t want to stop. But you can’t take the ride until you get on the plane, so be sure to stream this R-rated ‘90s masterpiece for yourself on Hulu!