Con Air

A newly released ex-con and former US Ranger finds himself trapped in a prisoner transport plane when the passengers seize control.

• Director:Simon West
• Genre:Action / Thriller

Cast

Nicolas Cage : Cameron Poe
John Cusack : U.S. Marshal Vince Larkin
John Malkovich : Cyrus ‘The Virus’ Grissom
Ving Rhames : Nathan ‘Diamond Dog’ Jones
Nick Chinlund : William ‘Billy Bedlam’ Bedford

Cameron Poe (Cage), a U.S. Army Ranger, arrives home after fighting in Desert Storm and being honorably discharged from the military. However, on the night he returns, he is assaulted by three drunkards while escorting his pregnant wife (Potter) home from the bar where she works. Poe aggressively defends himself by using lethal combatives in which special ops personnel are trained, and subsequently kills one of his attackers. On advice from his attorney, he pleads guilty to first-degree manslaughter. The Alabama judge sentences Poe to 7-10 years in a maximum-security Federal penitentiary, because his special ops training makes him a deadly weapon.

Eight years later, while still under the penal system until release in Alabama, Poe is to be flown back on the “Jailbird”, a C-123 airplane, along with several other prisoners that are being transferred to a new Supermax prison. DEA agent Duncan Malloy (Meaney) approaches U.S. Marshal in charge of the transfer, Vince Larkin (Cusack), and requests he slip undercover agent Willie Sims on board to coax information out of drug lord Francisco Cindino (Borrego) during the flight before his incarceration. Larkin reluctantly agrees on the condition Sims doesn’t carry a weapon, but Malloy manages to slip a gun to Sims before boarding.

Shortly after the flight, the prisoners launch a choreographed effort led by Cyrus “The Virus” Grissom (Malkovich) and overcome guards, taking control of the plane; when Sims tries to take control of the situation, he is quickly killed. Poe opts to keep his identity quiet and cooperates with Grissom, who promises all prisoners that they will also be flown to a non-extradition country thanks to Cindino if they help out. The plane lands in Carson City as scheduled to make prisoner transfers; Grissom and his crew pose as the guards and take advantage of a dust storm to make sure the transfer appears to go smoothly, while Joe “Pinball” Parker (Chappelle) sneaks the Jailbird’s transponder onto a private tour plane. Although Poe secretly manages to get word out on the hijacking, it is too late to stop the plane from taking off.

Malloy orders attack helicopters to follow the transponder, unaware it is no longer on the plane. Poe discovers Parker did not make it back to the plane on time, his body still stuck in the landing wheel wells, and writes a message to Larkin to inform him the plane is headed for Lerner Airfield, an abandoned US Air Force base, then dumps the body overboard onto a populated city. Larkin learns of the message, and recognizes Poe is his ally on the plane, and calls in the National Guard while he travels alone to Lerner Airfield. Read more

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