Simon West's fun action thriller carries with it a boatload of swiss cheese, but there's no denying the brilliance of John Malkovich's performance as the dangerous, psychopathic inmate Cyrus The Virus. While Nicolas Cage is busy playing the disappointingly straight, earnest good guy, Malkovich is given license to run away with the picture, delivering one dour one-liner after another, hewing away from his usual choice of straight roles. Malkovich uses the role as an excuse to just have a laugh and take it easy, reading Poe's daughter's letter to him aloud in a shrieking little girl's voice, before letting out a dead-pan delivery of "Make a move, and the bunny gets it". This is the sort of film where that type of work is totally appropriate; Con Air is a daft bit of silly, entertaining action pulp, and Malkovich's contribution is both well-judged and very, very welcome.