When Cameron Poe, of the US Army, is found guilty of manslaughter after killing a drunk man while protecting his wife outside a bar, he is sent to jail for eight years. During that time his daughter is born, but he waits patiently in his cell until his release date. He is flown home on board the Jailbird, which also transports some very dangerous convicts to a maximum-security prison in Louisiana. The convicts manage to escape directed by Cyrus "The Virus", who also leads the plane's take-over and re-routes it to an abandoned airfield to catch another plane which will take them to a foreign country. With Poe's help, the authorities learn where the convicts are headed for and manage to get there before they take off again.
Probably Simon Wests' best work. The General's Daughter was pretty weak and the remake When A Stranger Calls was too watered down for the PG-13 rating and also was more of a suspense movie than horror film. Another noticable cast and I was extremely surprised to see Dave Chappelle in there. John Malkovich was brilliant as Cyrus 'The Virus' Grissom. Although, my biggest beef with the film was the use of the song "How Do I Love" by Trisha Yearwood. To me it just didn't seem to fit the film. Finally, and I don't know this may just be me, but this seemed like a Michael Bay film. I know he didn't have any part in it but to me, it just felt like I was watching Bay (not in a bad way).
