Non-Stop Review

Fun fact, I've never been on an airplane. Whenever I tell someone that, they act like I've never tied my own shoes or something. I've just never had to go on a flight before; I have been in airports though, and I despise them with all my heart and soul. If there is a hell, it looks like an airport. One thing I've noticed about the few times I've been in an airport is that they don't seem as safe as they say they are. The only real security is getting groped by the TSA before you board, other than that you're pretty free. If you really want to, I imagine it wouldn't be so difficult to sneak any sort of contraband onto a plane. This has been a hot topic over the past couple years, with the government desperately looking for a solution. But in case something does get onto the plane, the last true line of defense is the on board air marshal. So if any future criminals really want to try something, just hope Liam Neeson isn't on the same flight. 

"Non-Stop" follows an alcoholic, washed up air marshal named Bill Marks. It's just like any day; Bill is to board a flight from the States to England. A couple hours into the flight, Bill starts to receive some very troubling text messages. Someone claims that they will kill a passenger on the flight every twenty minutes unless 150 million dollars are transferred into a bank account. At first Bill doesn't know what to make of it, is this a real threat or is someone just messing with him. He alerts a few members of the crew as well as the TSA. The clock starts counting down and Bill gets rather intense, and quickly tries to figure out who is behind this. But as soon as the twenty minutes are up, someone does die; and Bill realizes how serious this threat is. He now has to figure out who is behind this plot, while at the same time trying to save as many lives as possible.

If you decide to see this movie, here is what I want you to do; go in with the lowest expectations possible. Realize you aren't seeing an Oscar winner or even an action movie alongside movies like "Taken" or "The Raid: Redemption." Now I'm not calling "Non-Stop" a bad movie but the lower your expectations are, the more you will like it; you also need to know that it's probably not what you're expecting it to be. This was advertised as an action film, while there are a few action sequences I would actually consider it more along the lines of a mystery movie. The main tension and conflict come from not knowing who the bad guy is, which I will admit keeps you interested throughout. The plot gets rather implausible at times, in a way where everything would have had to have been absolutely perfect for it to happen the way it did. I think that will be a lot of people's biggest problem with the movie, it's too unbelievable at times; but if you can manage to put your disbelief aside, you might be able to walk out of the theater satisfied. The film stars Liam Neeson, who is an extremely talented dramatic actor but over the past couple years has been known more as an action star. He's the only actor that gave a worth wild performance, the acting from the cast wasn't bad but was mediocre at best. Probably my biggest problem with the movie would be some of the pacing issues. There are a couple intense, action packed scenes; but in between them is a lot of off time that goes by very slowly. You really want to see who the bad guy is, but it's a drag to get to that point. Also, the movie gets a little preachy towards the end when talking about national security; it really breaks the flow of the movie. "Non-Stop" isn't a bad movie, I actually enjoyed it to a certain extent; but at the end of the day, I walked out of it thinking it was nothing special. It's nothing more than a popcorn flick to be honest, and that's all right. It's a fun movie to see if you go with a couple of friends and don't take it too seriously. While there are still movies in the theater that I would recommend above this one, you can certainly do worse than "Non-Stop." 

Pros: Good performance by Liam Neeson, some cool action sequences, several intense moments, always keeps you guessing who the bad guy is. 

Cons: Rather implausible plot, mediocre acting from most of the cast, gets boring between action scenes, a little preachy towards the end. 

2.5/5 Stars