I've seen Asian filmmakers direct American films, but I had never heard of a Westerner direct an Asian movie. I recently saw the Chinese disaster film Skyfire, and although it's kind of generic, it's done exceptionally well. I was surprised to learn it was directed by British filmmaker Simon West and was curious to know how he communicated with the predominantly Chinese cast and crew.
Jerry Bruckheimer has produced some of the craziest, over-the-top action films, and one of the most outrageous is Con Air from 1997. It's about a U.S. Marshals plane that gets hijacked while transporting deadly inmates.
If I didn't know better, I would have thought Tony Scott directed Con Air because of the film's visual and editing style, and Scott collaborated with Jerry Bruckheimer on several movies. Nicolas Cage, John Malkovich, and John Cusack lead the star-studded cast in Con Air, which also featured an up-and-coming comedian at the time Dave Chappelle.
Surprisingly, Con Air was Simon West's directorial debut. Simon West may not be a familiar name, but he's done mostly action films. One of them is Expendables 2, which I showcased in Ted's MOVIE OF THE WEEK.
Con Air has been in my movie collection for a very long time, and it's among my favorite Jerry Bruckheimer films with its mindless, action-packed fun. Even though it's from the producer of blockbuster hits like the Bad Boys and Pirates of the Caribbean movies, Con Air was directed by someone you may never heard of and who never directed a major motion picture before. Simon West is a very underrated director, and even though it's his first film, I think Con Air ranks as one of the best action thrillers of all time.
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