How Con Air Transformed Nicolas Cage from Strange Character Actor to Combustible Action Star
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The post How Con Air Transformed Nicolas Cage from Strange Character Actor to Combustible Action Star appeared first on Consequence.
Nicolas Cage may be the most unlikely action star of his generation. After all, he’s rarely — if ever — been conventionally attractive, overtly stoic, or intimidatingly buff and domineering. On the contrary, his oddball look and acting style fluctuate so broadly and frequently that he’s become a beloved meme legend. With dozens of action titles now under his belt, however, he’s certainly earned the title, and it was the lovably ludicrous Con Air that first charted that path.
Released in early June 1997, Con Air was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, who’d already established himself as a stylistic heavyweight with movies such as Top Gun, Bad Boys, Crimson Tide, and The Rock. Although the same couldn’t be said for fledgling screenwriter Scott Rosenberg and first-time director Simon West, they’d collectively go on to create adrenaline-fueled hits like Gone in 60 Seconds, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Venom, and The Expendables 2.
Clearly, Con Air had the correct creative team behind it (especially since Rosenberg drew inspiration and authenticity from witnessing actual in-flight inmate transportation, as well as from visiting Folsom State Prison with Cage, Bruckheimer, and West). As for Cage — and speaking of 1996’s The Rock — he was just starting to shift into his career as a tough guy protagonist. In fact, The Rock, Con Air, and 1997’s Face/Off are typically seen as the trifecta of this transition.
Previously, Cage was known primarily for being a bizarre and meek character in comedies, dramas, thrillers, and romances (such as Rumble Fish, Trapped in Paradise, Wild at Heart, Moonstruck, Raising Arizona, and perhaps most infamously, Vampire’s Kiss).
While Michael Bay’s The Rock saw Cage kicking butt, dishing out one-liners, and ultimately saving the day, his role as FBI Special Agent Dr. Stanley Goodspeed was relatively subservient and — for lack of a better way to put it — normal. He was reluctantly thrown into the chaos by circumstance, not courageous choice, and he relied on Sean Connery’s SAS Captain John Patrick Mason to lead the way and confront the baddies.
John Woo’s Face/Off definitely showcased more of Cage’s trademark dramatics and weirdness, but he was playing the villain (Castor Troy), so it really doesn’t count. Thus, it’s Con Air that originally drove him to mix emblematic eccentricities with the traditional genre trope(s) of a virtuous family man fighting his way out of a perilous situation to reunite with loved ones, rescue innocent bystanders, and redeem himself for past transgressions.
As paroled Army Ranger Cameron Poe, Cage’s quest to thwart a ragtag group of terrorist convicts from hijacking a plane so that he can finally become an honorable husband and father is ridiculously hazardous. Yet, the movie wonderfully offsets its genuine tenderness and spectacle with a generous amount of silliness — the accent, the hairstyle, the stuffed bunny for his daughter, Casey — that’s impossible not to love.
It’s worth noting that Cage wasn’t just an improbable pick for Poe because of the types of films he’d done and people he’d played, but also because of the quality of them. Specifically, he’d just won multiple awards (from the Oscars, Golden Globes, and SAG, among others) for his harrowing performance as Ben Sanderson in 1995’s Leaving Las Vegas.
Logically, this would’ve led to him seeking out similarly prestigious projects, not a popcorn flick overflowing with outlandish explosions and plot points. Nevertheless, he was completely committed to the job, as Bruckheimer once recalled: “Nicolas is the consummate pro who brings everything of himself to each role he plays. He always invests a great deal of time into his character and in the script. . . . It was his concept to make Poe a decorated Army Ranger, which adds tremendously to the power of his character and the empathy you feel for him.”
To that end — and as Den of Geek noted — it was Cage’s concern for his backstory and relatability that encouraged West to add the prologue (which establishes Poe as an admirable and well-adjusted soldier whose commitment to defending his pregnant wife, Tricia, results in him unintentionally committing manslaughter).
Honestly, it’s not until he’s released from prison and boards the ill-fated flight (eight years later) that his breezily disheveled mullet and laughable Southern accent turn him into a delightfully quotable caricature. Undoubtedly, those qualities — alongside his earnest line deliveries — elevate phrases such as “Put the bunny back in the box,” “Aw, shucks,” “Well, Baby-O, it’s not exactly Mai Tai and Yahtzee out here,” and “Hey, Cyrus. It’s your barbecue, man, and it tastes good” into peak 1990s action cheese.
Of course, another crucial aspect of his conversion into a cunning, quippy, and intrepid badass comes from his ripped physique. Again, he doesn’t come close to matching the amplified beefcake bravura of, say, Schwarzenegger, Stallone, or Van Damme, but he’d never been this toned and agile, either.
To prepare for the role, he spent “several hours each day… working out and lifting weights with trainer Lee Nichol to build strength and endurance. He also trained with kickboxing champion Benny Urquidez to perfect his fighting technique.” Eventually, he got himself down to having only “3% body fat,” too.
The final attribute that allows Cameron Poe to stand out — and one that steered Cage’s career forward — is his blend of self-aware humor and noble heart. “[He] was a different type of action hero than other ‘90s blockbuster stars,” Slash Film rightly deduced, because he “also had enough dramatic gravitas to give his characters actual depth… Cage was also willing to poke fun at himself.”
Quotes like the ones above — in addition to the charmingly smug glee his displays as he engages in various scuffles, plans, and heated conversations — reveal a tongue-in-cheek swagger beneath his serenity. Plus, he refuses the chance to leave the conflict early on so that he can look after his diabetic cellmate (Mike “Baby-O” O’Dell), protect female guard Sally Bishop, and do his damnedest to stop the villains.
Consequently, he totally embodies what West deems an “operatic” and “classic tale of an honest man’s fight against evil” as he “fight[s] to claim back his self-esteem and take his place in society again.”
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Underneath all the corresponding toxic machismo and outrageous anarchy lies one of Cage’s most thoroughly righteous, daring, and compassionate figures. Because of this, viewers are truly happy when he finally reunites with Tricia and meets Casey for the first time. Prior to that, though, there are enough extravagant moments of unrealistic chaos and masculine confrontation to make Con Air both a transformative endeavor for Cage and one of the most gleefully nonsensical action films of the decade.
For example, there are U.S. Marshal Vince Larkin’s relentlessly boisterous arguments with Agent Duncan Malloy, as well as the constant bickering between various criminals as their plan keeps getting disrupted. Also, inmate Joe “Pinball” Parker lights someone on fire without a moment’s thought, only to subsequently have his corpse dropped from the cargo bay and onto oncoming traffic. There’s also the massive confrontation at Lerner Airfield, complete with plenty of explosions, gunshots, yelling, and dangerous driving.
Oh, and who could forget about the extensive climax in Las Vegas, wherein the plane crashes into the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino’s Stratocaster sign before really obliterating the Sands Hotel (which was going to be blown up anyway). Naturally, Poe and Larkin use police motorcycles to chase a hijacked firetruck driven by mastermind Cyrus “The Virus” Grissom and a few of his underlings; this, too, leads to excessive deaths and destruction.
Looking back, it’s easy to see how Con Air propelled Nicolas Cage from strange character actor to wild action star. True, he’s done many other kinds of roles since then, too; that said, the heartfelt motivations, off-kilter wit, unusual appearance, and/or forceful resilience of Cameron Poe can be found in future protagonists such as Memphis Raines (Gone in 60 Seconds), Johnny Blaze (Ghost Rider), Joe (Bangkok Dangerous), Cris Johnson (Next), Milton (Drive Angry), and Red Miller (Mandy), to name a few.
Along the same lines, the movie certainly drew from the ludicrousness of prior action films, but by embracing its illogicality and overindulgences, it paved the way for later ones, too. From the Fast and the Furious, Mission: Impossible, Transporter, and Has Fallen franchises to individual titles like Hard Rain, Money Train, Shoot ‘Em Up, and Boss Level, its DNA still looms large over the genre.
Even today, it’s a one-of-a-kind treat with endless replay value. Long live Cameron Poe and Con Air.
Con Air is streaming now on Prime Video.
How Con Air Transformed Nicolas Cage from Strange Character Actor to Combustible Action Star
Jordan Blum
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