The ’90s Action Thriller Epic Can’t Be Made Today

Upon its theatrical release, Con Air earned an impressive $224 against its reported budget of $75 million.

Critically speaking, Con Air received mixed reviews, and currently has a 58 percent critical score on Rotten Tomatoes. The biggest issue that critics had with the film was how it shifted from sincere to cheesy at the drop of a hat. But those who disagree with the critics celebrate Con Air for the exact same reasons, and suggest that these tonal shifts are what makes it such a unique film in the first place.

In other words, Con Air is a self-aware movie that shamelessly leans into every single action-movie trope that has been established and done to death up to this point, which only adds to its charm. It’s almost as if Nicolas Cage, John Malkovich, and John Cusack are winking at the audience the entire time.

It’s also worth noting that the audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is 75 percent, which just goes to show you that some moviegoers just want to hear some snappy one-liners and watch things blow up without having to think about it too much.