Non-Stop

I saw an advanced screening of this movie yesterday, and I was absolutely blown away. I had hoped it would be a fun thrill-ride, but I did not expect it to be as exciting and involved as it was.

My favorite part of this movie, was the fact that it takes a plot that is implausible, and makes it as plausible as possible. You can definitely tell that the writers did their research on air marshals, airplane mechanics, etc. There was not one moment in this film that I was bored, and it was filled to the brim with twists, and turns.

There definitely is a lot that went into this movie, and even though it'll have you thinking more deeply about the security of airlines, most of all it's just a really, really fun ride.

NON-STOP is another movie featuring Liam Neeson in his newfound 'hard man' role following on from the success of TAKEN. This time around, he's a boozy Air Marshall working a routine flight who suddenly finds himself caught up in a murder mystery involving ransom demands and some high-octane action. Pretty soon it's a race against the clock to stop the murderer from committing any more crimes.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this film, given the middling reviews; after all, Neeson's last film UNKNOWN was a disappointment. The good news is that NON-STOP is a lot better, a film that holds it together for the most part. The main thing is that it keeps you watching throughout with nary a slow moment in sight. Neeson is on strong form as the grumpy antihero and I particularly liked his brutal treatment of the suspects - no nice-guy pussyfooting around here, just blunt force when needed. Inevitably the scriptwriters throw in a few fight scenes to keep action fans happy and they all work very well. The script is tight and focused and kept realistic as possible, only becoming over the top in a few moments.

The film isn't perfect, but the problems tend to be minor. I could have done without the SHERLOCK-copying on-screen texts, and I could have also done without the disappointing Julianne Moore once more forced down our throats in a role she really isn't suited for. In fact, not many of the supporting cast are that great, apart from maybe Linus Roache. Still, this is a film which is all about the plot and for the most part it works; I know I enjoyed it.

This is an action-thriller starring Liam Neeson as U.S. Air Marshal Bill Marks who, while boarding a flight to London, receives text messages from an unknown assailant, threatening that if he doesn't transfer $150 million to an account, a fatality will occur on the plane every 20 minutes unless Marks complies with the money request.

The film starts off with some intrigue, showing Marks depressed, consuming alcohol and having a couple of run-ins with some passengers before he boards the plane, already giving the audience the impression that Marks is a disturbed person and making us eager to know what his background story is. Jen Summers (Julianne Moore) sits next to Marks on the plane, whose background story is also a mystery until later on in the film, providing us with another interesting subplot.

However, the main plot and action come almost immediately after the plane takes to the air when Marks starts receiving the threatening text messages. What follows is a suspenseful game of cat and mouse as Marks attempt to find the perpetrator and, when the casualties start to mount, it becomes a thrilling roller-coaster ride.

The screenwriter team wrote an exhilarating story that really captures the audience attention from start to finish and Jaume Collet-Serra directed a solid plot that kept the movie's pace going strong, leaving no room with unnecessary fillers that tends to drag the story. There are a few camp and corny moments here and there, but the acting was realistic and believable enough to keep the movie dramatic and engaging.

Overall, it's a great action film that is full of twists and turns that will make you glued to the screen and have you guessing the unpredictable outcomes. Highly recommended.

Grade B+

Not a bad movie. I think I enjoyed this more as Liam is one of my favourite actors. Definitely not Taken standard but comes close.

Nail-biting and astounding thriller stunningly directed by the Spanish director Jaume Collet -Serra . Outstanding action movie plenty of thrills , suspense , intrigue , twists and turns . An excellent whodunit deals with an air marshal (Liam Neeson) springs into action during a transatlantic flight (the airplane used in the film is a Boeing 767-300) after receiving a series of text messages that put his fellow passengers at risk unless the airline transfers $150 million into an off-shore account . After several e-mails , only to discover that someone has taken on his account and that no one , not even the crew , believes him . With the help of a young flight attendant (Michelle Dockery) and a likable passenger (Julianne Moore) he sets out to prove who he is . He confronts enemies in order to find out the true killer , but someone is still after him and is forced to take up violent means to discover them . He takes the law on his own hands and acting as a desperate person . The hijacking was just the beginning .

This exciting film contains suspense , thrills , noisy action, shootouts , violent fights and plot twits . From start to final the frantic action and fast movement is unstopped . The motion picture is only set on two scenarios : the airport and mostly plane . However this doesn't make boring it , as the movie will appeal to suspense enthusiasts and thriller lovers . The aircraft is clearly fictional, a type is never referred to during the course of the film , whilst it appears to be the size of a Boeing 767-400, the cabin interior, door operation & arrangement and flight deck layout do not match this type of aircraft. The set for the plane was built very slightly larger than a standard commercial airliner to accommodate Neeson's 6'4" height for filming and roughly 200 extras were cast , all of them stayed throughout filming . The runtime movie is overlong : two hours and some but isn't slow-moving and is amount amusing for suspense and intrigue . Liam Neeson is top-notch as a drunken and discredited air marshal ; Liam Neeson has propelled many an action thriller to big box office numbers, as Unknown , Taken 2 and this Non-stop . Accompany efficiently to starring two nice actresses as Julianne Moore and Michelle Dockery . There are many suspects , all support cast formed by good secondaries such as Scoot McNairy , Corey Stoll , Jon Abrahams , Nate Parker , Jason Butler , Linus Roache , Shea Whigham , Anson Mount and Lupita Nyong'o who in her next film would win an Academy Award .

Colorful cinematography by cameraman Flavio Martinez Labiano using Steadicam and with majority locations from plane interior . The musician John Ottman creates a stirring , rousing soundtrack fitting to frenetic action . Lavishly produced including spectacular scenes by the successful American producer Joel Silver . The flick was compellingly directed by Jaume Collet-Serra . Collet is an expert director of terror movies as ¨Orphan¨, ¨House of wax¨ and for TV , ¨The river¨ , and of course his greatest hit was ¨Unknown¨ also with Liam Neeson and similar artistic team as cameraman Flavio Laviano , musician John Ottman and producer Joel Silver . Rating : Better than average, well worth seeing . The picture will appeal to explosive action fans .