Non-Stop - movie review

Non-Stop

is an interesting action thriller with a strong element of who-dunit on a plane. It stars Liam Neeson, who at 61 is the go to person for someone who can play a thinking man's action hero, taking up where Harrison Ford left years ago. He can think, and yet packs a mean punch despite his years, and carries a back story of loss and sadness which adds an element of sympathy.

This movie has a simple idea, an air marshal has to find who is demanding a ransom of 150 million to prevent someone dying every 20 mins. A little like Speed in the air.

With someone like Liam Neeson, who has proven he can act in heavy movies like Schindler’s list, and can pack a punch in the “Taken” series, he carries the movie well aided by other actors like Julianne Moore, who plays a co-passenger with a mysterious past that is never quite fully explained even until the end.

There is an obligatory Muslim man, and other stereotypes who provide red herrings whilst Liam tries to figure who is the real bad guy, and people keep dying at the 20 minute mark.

The tension and build up are good, but the third act is a bit of a letdown as the tension and timing built up rushes to the finale too quickly, almost as though they needed to finish the movie before the two hour mark.

That took away a bit of the suspense, and believability and made this a 3/5 instead of a 4. There were a few plot holes too …

SPOILER ALERT:

Why did a 20s Marine have difficulty overwhelming an alcoholic ex NYC Cop?

How did they the knife on board?

Why didn’t the plane explode on landing, you can’t dump fuel that quickly..

And as WEB mentioned, the 4 mins felt like ten times longer..

It was also the widest A 320 with acres of spaces..

I don’t think they will be showing this show on inflight systems anytime soon ;)

Action was tight, thankfully without the shaky cam. But there was not much bass or surround use, which is a pity.

No real chick factor here, but it wasn’t missed.

I consider this a rental, since it’s hard to withstand repeated viewings once you know who the villain is, but it was an entertaining 100 mins or so.

I have no financial interest or other interests in any of the items / events I write about.