Con Air is one of the best action movies ever made. Everyone knows that. Directed by Simon West, the thriller movie stars Nicolas Cage as U.S. Army Ranger Cameron Poe, a literal living weapon who ends up in a high-security prison after killing a man who was harassing his wife.
On the day Poe’s set to be released, his plane is taken over by criminal mastermind Cyrus ‘The Virus’ Grissom (John Malkovich), who frees all the criminals on the plane. Desperate to get his freedom back, Poe takes it upon himself to save everyone on the plane so he can reunite with his family.
Now according to West, however, we’re going to be able to enjoy Con Air in exquisite ultra high definition. That’s right, the movie is apparently getting an ultra HD remaster. “I have actually been making a new ultra high definition version for Disney,” West told The Digital Fix. “It was really it was originally shot on 35mm, and but when it was transferred digitally, it was the lower res version. We’re also remixing the sound, you know, with Dolby Atmos and all that.”
West joked that working on the film is the first time he’s watched it since originally editing the movie together. “I actually got to watch it again, for the first time in 25 years, because believe it or not, I have not watched it since I made it,” he laughed. “Why would I? I watched it, like, 500 times editing it.”
Con Air, of course, has a lot of fans, myself included, but West was quite modest, claiming all he can see when he watches it is the film’s mistakes. “The trouble is as a filmmaker or a director, you kind of see what you wanted to get, not what’s actually there,” he admitted, although he’s had some sage advice from one of the greatest living directors.
“Francis Coppola said you’ve got to remember the balls you catch, not the balls you drop,” he continued. “And if Francis Coppola has dropped a few balls, then you know, I shouldn’t be so hard on myself. But it is very hard to watch your own films, so I almost never do.”
If you love Con Air, then check out our list of the best movies ever made, or if you prefer your entertainment a bit more serious, we have a guide to the best drama movies.