Con Air (1997)

Con Air’s big idea for moving the worst prisoners in the system is to put them all on one plane, and that’s the last sensible decision anybody makes. Nicolas Cage plays Cameron Poe with flowing hair, a Southern drawl so thick it needs its own seatbelt and a stuffed bunny he guards like the nuclear codes. He’s completely sincere, which is both the joke and the reason it works. John Malkovich’s Cyrus the Virus gives speeches like a bored professor who wandered into a heist. Steve Buscemi plays the passenger even this crowd is scared of, and he steals the movie without raising his voice. John Cusack spends most of his time on the ground, arguing with Colm Meaney’s hothead DEA agent about whose plan is dumber. The Las Vegas Strip landing is loud enough to rattle your fillings. A 6.3 because it’s ridiculous on purpose and fully committed to every bit. $546 says you buy a stuffed bunny as a gift this year and carry it home like it’s the most valuable thing in the city.

What works: Nicolas Cage is completely sincere in a completely absurd movie, and the supporting cast of oddballs, led by Malkovich and Buscemi, has a blast.

What doesn’t: The plot runs on one dumb decision after another, and the finale is so loud and busy it turns into noise.

Who it’s for: People who want a big, silly action movie that knows exactly how silly it is and never winks too hard.