ConAir MPAA Rating: R Entertainment: +3 Content: -3

Cameron Poe (Nicolas Cage), a former Army Ranger, has been in prison for eight years after accidentally killing a man who had been harassing his wife. Now he's finally being paroled and looking forward to getting acquainted with a young daughter he's never met. Poe hitches a ride on an airplane transporting several notorious criminals to a new maximum security prison. Unfortunately, one inmate is Cyrus The Virus Grissom (John Malkovich), a brilliant but twisted psychopathic killer. Assisted by murderer Diamond Dog (Ving Rhames) and other devious convicts, he masterminds a hijacking of the plane while in flight. As they head for a remote airstrip to rendezvous with a South American druglord, Poe keeps his identity a secret as he looks for a way to save the day. On the ground, U.S. Marshal Vince Larkin (John Cusack) tries to track the plane and avert further disaster. This film should appeal to the same audience that made Nicolas Cage's last action movie, The Rock, a box office smash.

The film features almost continuous violence, with numerous assaults and fistfights, frequent bloody and deadly shootings and even the attempted rape of a female guard. Fortunately Poe intervenes in the latter incident before anything serious happens. Many explosions result in property destruction and death, and a traitorous prisoner doused with gasoline is burned to death. Foul language is equally overwhelming, with 91 obscenities and many crude words and regular profanities. With its excessive violence and foul language, CONAIR is a criminal waste of time.

Preview Reviewer: Mark Perry
Distributor: Buena Vista Pictures Distribution (Touchstone Pictures), 3900 W. Alameda Ave., Burbank, CA 91521