Con Air – Unrated Extended Edition

 

Picture: B-     Sound: B-     Extras: C-     Film: C-

 

 

Except as a curio, Simon West’s Con Air (1997) is a bad action film that ties Nicolas Cage’s remake of Gone In 60 Seconds as the nadir of his blatantly commercial films.  After serving 8 years for “a crime he did not commit” unfortunately takes a plane with a mutiny on board, where a colorful cast of characters (including John Malkovich, Dave Chappelle) are on board for the fun.  Of course, the plane crash lands after some crazy distractions and the hunt begins.  Will Cage’s character still get nailed (killed) leaving us to never see justice?  Will the prisoners truly escape?  Did anyone write a smart script?

 

The film has dated very, very badly and is the kind of bad actioner that would have never been greenlighted post-9//1, but it is a shame it takes a national tragedy for some bad films to cease production.  John Cusack is also once again wasted, while Cage sets a personal record for slow motion shots in one film.  Guess that is what the long hair was intended for?  This “Unrated Extended Edition” makes no major difference and just drags the torture of watching further on.  The only thing that leaves for this to be worth anything is its technical playback.

 

Unfortunately, the anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image is flat and dull, though it has some color richness and detail.  I remembered this looking a tad better, and certainly sounding better.  The film was once issued in an impressive 12” DTS-only LaserDisc and you would think this new edition would have those tracks, right?  Think again.  It has Dolby Digital 5.1 only and is not representative of the punch the sound design had.  Especially with only a trailer and other Disney previews as the only extras, there was room for DTS.  That makes this new edition a dud all around.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo