Con Air

Starring: Nicolas Cage, John Malkovich, John Cusack
Directed by: Simon West
Released: Buena Vista Pictures, 1997

Debut director helms this instantly forgettable Nicolas Cage vehicle about a prison plane full of maximum-security goons doomed for a hijacking. John Cusack and John Malkovich costar on opposite sides of the law, but once stuff starts to blow up, it doesn't really matter. Cage utters his lines with a pretentious sense of ultra-seriousness rivaled only by William Shatner, and Malkovich does the villain's role without breaking a sweat. Only Cusack seems to realize that this one's for the birds, and injects as much sarcasm into his part as he can get away with. Nevertheless, any halfway-decent Jerry Bruckheimer film is worth gold to an aspiring action helmer, and this summer film will be just the ticket for director West's career. He shows some taste underneath all the testosterone but by and large everything here's been done before. Often compared to 1996's The Rock for the similar involvement of Bruckheimer and Cage, it pales in comparison.