Nicolas Cage’s transformation from Academy Award-winning eccentric darling of independent cinema to blockbuster A-list action hero was as surprising as it was swift, with Leaving Las Vegas separated by only two years from the all-time classic trio of The Rock, Con Air, and Face/Off, all three of which rank as indisputable greats of the genre.
And yet, Simon West’s airborne extravaganza wasn’t quite greeted with an outpouring of acclaim fitting its reputation. In fact, Con Air only holds a 58 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes more than quarter of a century on from its release, even though it’s long since been held up as a textbook example of how to turn the ludicrous into the glorious.
Everything about the story is incredibly stupid, but that’s precisely why everyone loves it so much. Even the accent and wig combination Cage settled upon for protagonist Cameron Poe is utterly ridiculous, but you’d best believe he could convince anyone to put the bunny back in the box through sheer force of will alone.
A delightfully unhinged example of big budget excess – which also happens to boast one of the most impressive ensemble casts ever gathered together for an explosive actioner – Con Air will forever endure as a timeless gem, regardless of what critics thought way back when, or to even now for that matter.
Proving once more that greatness never goes out of fashion, Con Air has taken to the skies on streaming per FlixPatrol, with the over-the-top romp that leaves nothing to the imagination having soared straight onto the iTunes worldwide watch-list.
