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• 1080p High Definition

• 5.1 EX and ES Surround Sound

• A View From Above Feature 

• The Destruction of Las Vegas Feature

• Interactive Menus

• English and Spanish Subtitles

Special Feature Rating:

Former Army Ranger Cameron Poe (Nicholas Cage) has been sent to prison on manslaughter charges for accidentally killing a man while defending himself and his pregnant wife. On his daughter's seventh birthday, Cameron is released on parole and boards a prison transport plane headed for his home state of Alabama. The plane is packed with a variety of dangerous inmates (played by John Malkovich, Ving Rhames, Steve Buscemi, Dave Chappelle, and other notable faces) who are being flown to a new supermax prison down south. When a group of particularly vicious criminals manages to take control of the plane and re-route it to Nevada, Cameron works in secret to help a pursuing US Marshall (John Cusack) gain control of the situation.

'Con Air' certainly isn't for everyone, but action fans will find this to be a testosterone-fueled thrill ride that showcases plenty of brains with its brawn. Best of all, 'Con Air' is host to a collection of fine performances that lift it above the trappings of its genre. I for one am excited to see it make its debut on high definition.

Story Rating:

After comparing this 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 encoded Blu-ray edition of ‘Con Air’ with the 1998 DVD version in my personal collection, it’s clear that technology has come a long way in ten years. The high definition transfer trounces the DVD in every way -- colors are far more vibrant, blacks are incredibly deep, and the contrast level is beautiful. Detail benefits the most, as skin textures pop, and on screen text is crystal clear. For a real "wow" moment, skip to the crash in Vegas and compare the SD and HD versions of the film for a palpable shock to the system. In high-def, the Vegas strip is alive with crisp lights, tiny bystanders, and shattering glass shards. In standard definition, the scene looks as though it’s been filmed with shoddy cameras through vaseline smeared lenses.

The Blu-ray squashed the standard DVD again and again. Gone are the murky, oversaturated skintones. Gone are the bothersome artifacts that once stormed across the screen. Gone are the patches of smudged texture and blurry detail. As it stands, longtime 'Con Air' fans will be relieved to see how good the film finally looks.

Picture Rating:

'Con Air' features a remarkable, uncompressed PCM 5.1 surround track (48 kHz/ 24-Bit) that provides a substantial upgrade from the DVD as well. Conversations are crisp and balanced across the front channels -- I never had to strain to catch any dialogue, and the track is nicely prioritized

Sound Rating:

Overall Rating:

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