The Liam Neeson featured in “Non-Stop” is a far departure from his award-winning portrayal of Oscar Schindler in Steven Spielberg’s “Schindler’s List.” Neeson’s performance is more of a continuation of his streak of action movies that started with “Taken.”
It seems like Neeson’s “action formula” should have gotten old by now, and there’s a possibility that it will. However, Neeson didn’t fall flat in “Non-Stop.” In fact, Neeson wowed audiences and salvaged what could have been a merely average film.
“Non-Stop” follows a flight of Bill Marks (Neeson), an American air marshal who fell into alcoholism after his 8-year-old daughter died of cancer. After boarding his flight, Marks receives texts from an unknown number threatening to kill someone on the plane every 20 minutes until $150 million dollars is transferred into their account. He is forced to face uncooperative federal officials and false accusations to foil the terrorist’s plot.
Perhaps the biggest reason why “Non-Stop” was so entertaining was its ability to keep viewers on the edge of their seat. Throughout the entire film, the plot built up suspense and opened up more questions about what was going on. Many films fall flat in this process, but “Non-Stop” was able to successfully keep the viewer engaged.
However, despite having such success building success, the script of “Non-Stop” was somewhat flawed. Several events in the movie could never have happened and there were some parts that were just ridiculous. For example, there is a scene where Marks beats a man in the airplane bathroom and nobody notices. These instances make the film seem less realistic.
Had Neeson’s execution not been nearly perfect, the film may have been very boring. His skill at combining action with emotional trauma creates great well-rounded characters. The insight into Marks’ personal life was one of the best parts of the movie.
While “Non-Stop” may not be an overwhelmingly great movie, it was an entertaining thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars