Non-Stop
Directed by: Jaume Collet-Serra
Written by: John W. Richardson, Christopher Roach, Ryan Engle
Starring: Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore, Scoot McNairy, Michelle Dockery, Nate Parker, Corey Stoll, Lupita Nyong'o, Omar Metwally, Jason Butler Harner, Linus Roache, Shea Whigham, Anson Mount, Quinn McColgan, Corey Hawkins
Action/Mystery/Thriller - 106 min
Written by: John W. Richardson, Christopher Roach, Ryan Engle
Starring: Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore, Scoot McNairy, Michelle Dockery, Nate Parker, Corey Stoll, Lupita Nyong'o, Omar Metwally, Jason Butler Harner, Linus Roache, Shea Whigham, Anson Mount, Quinn McColgan, Corey Hawkins
Action/Mystery/Thriller - 106 min
You will never see Non-Stop on an in flight movie list. Certain action scenes are so intense set inside a claustrophobic airplane cabin that flight attendants will prefer all thoughts of such a scenario stay far away from their passengers. We’ve all seen hijacking films before and Non-Stop does not push the genre too far into new territory, but it does not follow a familiar checklist either. Non-Stop is a tense whodunit most of the time until it is forced to choose who is good and who is bad.
Air Marshal Bill Marks (Liam Neeson) likes to drink and smoke, so much so that he requires a stiff beverage just before he reports for work on an international flight from New York to London. He hates flying and appears to hate the idea of possibly interacting with any of his fellow passengers. This is not the job for Bill, yet when he starts receiving text messages threatening to kill a passenger every 20 minutes unless a sizeable amount of money is transferred to a bank account, it is up to Bill to save the day.
Non-Stop does not give the audience too many clues to work with. There are about a dozen recognizable supporting characters given screen time including the pilots, flight attendants, and passengers that our suspicions fall on just about everyone at one point or another. A unique twist orchestrated by the screenwriters is that Bill is being framed. The scheme’s mastermind convinces practically the entire world that a Federal Air Marshal has hijacked the very plane he is sworn to protect. This dilemma will make it no easier for Bill to locate and neutralize the bad guy.
What was shaping up to be a head-scratching mystery unfortunately derails and heads toward fiasco status when the movie is forced to pick who is behind it all. There are motivations and messages that may garner some sympathy and credence, but they are far too complex to be involved in a tale like Non-Stop. Any overarching reason is quickly lost in the shuffle of firearms, explosives, and close quarter knife fights.
Liam Neeson as Bill is just as good as he has been for the past few years as Hollywood’s leading action hero. Reunited with director Jaume Collet-Serra and producer Joel Silver (all three worked together on Unknown, 2011), Non-Stop would have succeeded if the mystery, which works, was respected as much as the action sequences, which do not work too well.
Thankfully, the supporting cast is very strong and makes solving the mystery just about impossible. Julianne Moore is Neeson’s flustered seat mate, Downton Abbey’s Michelle Dockery and Lupita NYong’o from 12 Years a Slave are the nervous flight attendants, Linus Roache as the pilot is recognizable from his days on Law & Order, and Corey Stoll from House of Cards stands out as a passenger who wants to know what the heck is going on.
In the realm of aircraft hijacking films, Non-Stop is just as perplexing as Flightplan (2005) in the mystery/suspense sense and less of a thriller than Executive Decision (1996) and Air Force One (1997). While not as effective as Flightplan was which falls on a more psychological plane, Non-Stop’s mystery is just as engrossing but sometimes mistakenly plays second fiddle to the less intriguing plot point that many folks suspect Bill is an air marshal gone bad.
When the end credits start rolling, do yourself a favor and don’t pick the plot apart too harshly, you will find plot holes and a few unexplained loose ends. Just enjoy Non-Stop for what it is – another chance to watch Liam Neeson kick some butt and save the day.
Air Marshal Bill Marks (Liam Neeson) likes to drink and smoke, so much so that he requires a stiff beverage just before he reports for work on an international flight from New York to London. He hates flying and appears to hate the idea of possibly interacting with any of his fellow passengers. This is not the job for Bill, yet when he starts receiving text messages threatening to kill a passenger every 20 minutes unless a sizeable amount of money is transferred to a bank account, it is up to Bill to save the day.
Non-Stop does not give the audience too many clues to work with. There are about a dozen recognizable supporting characters given screen time including the pilots, flight attendants, and passengers that our suspicions fall on just about everyone at one point or another. A unique twist orchestrated by the screenwriters is that Bill is being framed. The scheme’s mastermind convinces practically the entire world that a Federal Air Marshal has hijacked the very plane he is sworn to protect. This dilemma will make it no easier for Bill to locate and neutralize the bad guy.
What was shaping up to be a head-scratching mystery unfortunately derails and heads toward fiasco status when the movie is forced to pick who is behind it all. There are motivations and messages that may garner some sympathy and credence, but they are far too complex to be involved in a tale like Non-Stop. Any overarching reason is quickly lost in the shuffle of firearms, explosives, and close quarter knife fights.
Liam Neeson as Bill is just as good as he has been for the past few years as Hollywood’s leading action hero. Reunited with director Jaume Collet-Serra and producer Joel Silver (all three worked together on Unknown, 2011), Non-Stop would have succeeded if the mystery, which works, was respected as much as the action sequences, which do not work too well.
Thankfully, the supporting cast is very strong and makes solving the mystery just about impossible. Julianne Moore is Neeson’s flustered seat mate, Downton Abbey’s Michelle Dockery and Lupita NYong’o from 12 Years a Slave are the nervous flight attendants, Linus Roache as the pilot is recognizable from his days on Law & Order, and Corey Stoll from House of Cards stands out as a passenger who wants to know what the heck is going on.
In the realm of aircraft hijacking films, Non-Stop is just as perplexing as Flightplan (2005) in the mystery/suspense sense and less of a thriller than Executive Decision (1996) and Air Force One (1997). While not as effective as Flightplan was which falls on a more psychological plane, Non-Stop’s mystery is just as engrossing but sometimes mistakenly plays second fiddle to the less intriguing plot point that many folks suspect Bill is an air marshal gone bad.
When the end credits start rolling, do yourself a favor and don’t pick the plot apart too harshly, you will find plot holes and a few unexplained loose ends. Just enjoy Non-Stop for what it is – another chance to watch Liam Neeson kick some butt and save the day.
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