PERFORMANCES LIFT `CON AIR' ABOVE EXPLOSIVE GRIND : THE FACTS.

Byline: Bob Strauss Daily News Film Critic

Lot of really smart actors do lots of dumb action movie posturing in ``Con Air.'' The results, not surprisingly, are more amusing than in your typical, high-decibel head-banger.

Scott Rosenberg's script has been compared to ``The Dirty Dozen,'' but the similarities end at the convicts-with-weapons concept. Otherwise, the discernible difference between precision plotting and a narrative free-for-all should be apparent to all.

To say there's not a believable moment in ``Con Air'' is to overstate the obvious. To acknowledge that things reach entirely new thresholds of absurd overkill in the last 20 minutes is, actually, something of a tribute to the talented actors who keep the wacko thing flying for as long as they do.

Nicolas Cage, decked out in long, Jesus-like locks and soulfully suffering eyes, is Cameron Poe, the ultimate wronged man who is nonetheless the right guy to have in the wrong place. A few seconds after completing Army ranger service, Poe was imprisoned for killing some scum who threatened his wife (Monica Potter).

Eight years later, Poe is paroled and anxious to meet the daughter he's never seen. He's in such a hurry that he hitches a ride home to Alabama on a U.S. Marshals' transport plane. Poe's fellow passengers are the meanest felons in the prison system, and they're on their way to a new, state-of-the-art, maximum-security penitentiary.

Guess what happens. Within minutes of takeoff, criminal genius Cyrus ``The Virus'' Grissom (John Malkovich, having loads of fun acting cartoon, rather than complex, evil for a change) stages a mutiny, kills a bunch of guards and steers the bulky C-123 toward some extradition-phobic nation to the south.

The only thing standing between the cargo of violent psychos and certain death for the surviving hostages is Poe. Lots of luck, violent psychos.

The bad guys are played most amusingly by Malkovich, Ving Rhames as his race-obsessed henchman Nathan ``Diamond Dog'' Jones, and a bunch of distinctive supporting actors (Dave Chappelle, M.C. Gainey, Danny Trejo, Nick Chinlund) who bring as much flavor as they can to underwritten roles.

But by far the cleverest creation on this side of the law is Steve Buscemi's Garland Greene. Sort of a Dr. Lecter with a ``Saturday Night Live'' worldview, scrawny little Greene is, funnily enough, feared by all the other, beefier criminals. Maybe it's because of his mouth; Greene's withering observations on the lunacy of life in general and their situation in particular cause Poe nearly as much anguish as do all the brutal hijackers put together.

On the ground, John Cusack finds the tough core beneath his usual, well-spoken neurosis schtick as Marshal Vince Larkin, a guy who's screwed up big time but still has the best counter-measuring strategy. Colm Meaney (``Deep Space Nine'') is enjoyably hissable as the thorn in Larkin's side, a trigger-happy DEA honcho.

As for Cage, he pours a little Eastwood, a little Confederate cavalier and some trademark absurd humor (the stuffed bunny business is a scream, at least until it's done to death) into Poe. It's a lot of work for a character who's mainly defined by his well-cut physique, which Cage displays with rightful pride.

Simon West, a British director of TV commercials, makes his feature debut with ``Con Air.'' He knows how to showcase fine actors and maintains a nice level of nasty humor, but he doesn't film the climactic, logistics-heavy action pieces - big shootout at a desert airstrip, crash landing into a Vegas casino, ``Mission: Impossible'' business with a speeding fire truck in a tunnel - quite right. The framing is too often cramped, and there's not enough depth in many of the bigger, battle-heavy shots.

And, of course, the action itself is preposterous beyond belief. But that's standard issue in these kinds of movies. What ``Con Air'' delivers well - genuinely witty acting - is a rare escape from the numbing, explosive grind.

The film: ``Con Air'' (R; violence, language).

The stars: Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, John Malkovich, Steve Buscemi, Ving Rhames, Mykelti Williamson, Rachel Ticotin, Colm Meaney.

Behind the scenes: Directed by Simon West. Written by Scott Rosenberg. Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. Released by Touchstone Pictures.

Running time: One hour, 50 minutes.

Playing: Citywide.

Our rating: Three stars