Con Air

"Since producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Simon West — he does commercials — care nothing for the connective tissue of character, the film comes off as cynical pandering, an invitation to revel in the perversity and join in. Con Air has all the signs of a hit. That’s depressing."

"Still, the tech credits, especially cinematographer David Tattersall's kinetic compositions and visual effects supervisor David Goldberg's high-tech blendings, stoke the story. It's the well-chosen cast, however, that make this thing fly."

"Malkovich and Buscemi, both playing characters apparently vying to join the Hannibal Lecter ranks of mad genius killers, stand out among a stellar lineup of baddies portrayed by the formidable Rhames, Gainey, Trejo, Chinlund, Jesse Borrego and Dave Chappelle, among others."

"This is a movie that knows it is absurd, and does little to deny it."

"Yes, disbelief is required not so much to be suspended as removed altogether, but it barely matters as this is an adrenaline blast of the highest order."

"Preposterous, predictable, but excessively entertaining, this frenzied thriller draws both story and characters from such action classics as "The Fugitive," "Die Hard," "The Dirty Dozen" and "The Silence of the Lambs.""