Since it is a movie, the violent hard-timers take over the plane, and it is up to Cage-the-hero to stop them. Can Cage do so (duh) and in addition, save his diabetic buddy (Mykelti Williamson), the improbable virginity of a female guard (Rachel Ticotin), and (most important of all) a stuffed bunny rabbit?
Colm Meaney and John Cusack play easily provoked Federal agents of some type who constantly clash in my-daddy-is-bigger-than-yours conflicts. These tend to wind up with Meaney being proved wrong and looking stupid, while Cusack is proved right but still in need of a tan.
Back on the Con Air flight, the colorful villains include mad genius John Malkovich, burly second bannana Ving Rhames, sarcastic child killer Steve Buscemi, and so on and on.
How others will see it. This is an action movie aimed at young men who like to see things blow up. The big finale involves landing a plane on the Las Vegas strip (of all places). Yet in A-team fashion, no one seems to get hurt in the crash, despite the infinite number of glass-containing objects that get shattered. Con Air is the kind of movie where the hero looks like Jesus but fights like Rambo, even after he has been shot in one arm.
If you like this kind of movie, as a two-hour escape from the comparative dullness of your own existence, Con Air is quite good for its kind. It even has moments of humor that work, such as Colm Meaney's pricey new sportscar smashed to bits in front of him. Other intended moments of comedy fall short of their target, such as a guard's taunt to a prisoner that he'll never eat steak again. Red meat isn't good for you anyway.
How I felt about it. The story is preposterous, of course. We realize that even before the plane lands on the Vegas strip, without loss of life. And the smell of formula is strong. Superman, superhero Cage will simmer in a slow boil throughout, occasionally emerging from his low key bad temper to whup some bad convict butt. A confrontation, one on one, between Cage and the evil boss con Malkovich is inevitable, and we know who'll come out on top. A reunion of Cage with his remarkably beautiful wife and adorable daughter is also in the cards, although Cage will suffer through the labors of Hercules to get there.
Even the stuffed bunny, as an innocent, makes it intact. The only surprise involves the allegedly humorous fate of Buschemi, which I won't spoil in the remote chance you haven't seen this film, but will someday.