Newly-paroled former US Army ranger Cameron Poe is headed back to his wife, but must fly home aboard a prison transport flight dubbed "Jailbird" taking the “worst of the worst” prisoners, a group described as “pure predators”, to a new super-prison. Poe faces impossible odds when the transport plane is skyjacked mid-flight by the most vicious criminals in the country led by the mastermind — genius serial killer Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom, and backed by black militant Diamond Dog and psychopath Billy Bedlam.
Nominated for 2 Oscars. 7 wins & 11 nominations total
Top Critics Reviews
fresh:
Rosenberg's sarcastic, tough-guy dialogue is full of lean-and-mean one-liners, and the superbly cast actors know how to milk them for all they're worth.
– Todd McCarthy,
Variety,
18 Sep 2008
rotten:
They're 'the worst of the worst.' So's the movie.
– Peter Travers,
Rolling Stone,
11 May 2001
rotten:
Numbing but not boring, it's finally more dispiriting than exhilarating, like a wild night of debauchery that leaves only a fearsome hangover for a souvenir.
– Kenneth Turan,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Feb 2001
rotten:
I kept thinking that if their budget were cut in half, they would have made a better picture. If the special effects department were put on a much stricter budget, the show might have had to develop the characters beyond caricature.
– Mick LaSalle,
San Francisco Chronicle,
1 Jan 2000
rotten:
Sitting through this movie is like watching a dog running in circles chasing its tail -- the amusement factor dies quickly as the situation become repetitive.