CON AIR

Con Air is a well-directed, fast-moving shoot-em-up built for viewers who crave excitement. The production has high energy, amusing and sometimes brilliant dialogue, and a strong central concern for family as Cameron Poe tries to protect his former cell mate and a female guard.

But the movie offers little redemptive value. Its hardened criminals display brutal rage, intelligent scheming, and abject rebellion, while the non-stop gunfights and exploding bombs leave the viewer emotionally stunned and enervated. Its anti-hero focus also sits uneasily beside its family-film distributor.

If you are an adult looking for intense action, you may find the film entertaining, but it is better watched at home, away from children and young teens.

Cameron Poe, a just-released ex-con on parole, boards a prison transport plane with his former cell mate, Baby-O. When a group of hardened criminals commandeers the aircraft during its prisoner-transfer journey, Poe stays behind and tries to protect the innocent people aboard. On the ground, federal authorities must decide how to stop the plane without sacrificing its victims.

Three stars means Con Air is effective entertainment with significant weaknesses. Director Simon West keeps the picture fast-paced and gives it high production values. The heavily armed good guys and bad guys drive a constant stream of action, while the criminals’ amusing, even brilliant dialogue gives the film some spark.

The problem is the exhausting effect of that design. Non-stop gunfights and exploding bombs leave the viewer emotionally stunned and enervated after the picture ends. The result is a well-directed action thriller that delivers excitement but not much lasting value.

The source describes Con Air as a “Romantic worldview with biblical & homosexual elements.” The film’s central hero is an ex-convict whose affection for his family motivates him, and Cameron Poe speaks of rescuing others and showing a woman guard that God exists. Those elements point toward family loyalty, protection of the innocent, and a moral difference between Poe and the murderous criminals around him.

The film also centers notorious criminals whose brutal rage, intelligent scheming, and abject rebellion present what the review calls the worst elements of unregenerate human nature. Yet the story gives these criminals amusing and brilliant dialogue and makes its anti-hero the focus of an action spectacle. The result has little redemptive value and leaves the viewer with excitement more than moral renewal.

Poe’s desire to return to and protect his family reflects a longing for home and belonging. Scripture connects the deeper longing for God with faith: “whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists” (Hebrews 11:6).

Con Air offers fast, high-production action and memorable dialogue, but its relentless violence and lack of redemptive value make it better for discerning adults at home. For a more suitable family night, see our family-friendly picks.

WAIT FOR HOME — ADULTS ONLY