User Reviews

Absolutely ludicrous Liam Neeson thriller (which is a genre now), but, frankly, it's just a lot of fun. I found myself smiling and giggling at the silliness of it all, but damned if I wasn't enjoying myself the whole time. Neeson plays an air marshal who receives a text shortly after his flight commences that, if a load of money isn't deposited into an untraceable bank account, a passenger will be killed every 20 minutes. The film is clever enough to make it impossible to guess - or, alternatively, you pretty much suspect everyone and hope like Hell they don't pull out the old Liam-Neeson-has-multiple-personalities-and-is-doing-it-himself twist. The film is hilariously convoluted with plenty of plot holes. When the villain is revealed, they say "You'd never believe how easy it all was!" They are correct. I would never believe it. I still quite enjoyed watching it.

There is something rather compelling about action films set on aircraft. The claustrophobic confinement and obvious dangers of guns, decompressions and - erm - gravity naturally add to the sense of peril. Examples of the genre are Air Force One, Passenger 57, United 93, Airport 77/79/etc. and (at the ridiculous end of the spectrum) Snakes On A Plane. Some films in this category try to mix the action with a mystery plot (Jodie Foster's Flightpath was a case in point), although after the real-life mystery of the Malaysian Airline Flight 370 jet in recent weeks no film drama could hope to compete. Non-Stop tries to join both of these sub- genres by wrapping a mystery into an action film. It largely fails in the former and partially succeeds in the latter.

Plot-wise, Non-Stop is arrant nonsense. Liam Neeson - the go-to action hero of the hour - plays Air Marshall Bill Marks: a chain-smoking alcoholic, with a tragic family past, who is the last person you would trust to wave a gun around on a flight. Bill Marks boards a London-bound 'Aqualantic' flight (REALLY? Would you REALLY want to link a transatlantic airline brand with water?). Mid-Atlantic Marks is sent messages on his secure Air Marshall network (clearly not THAT secure) from someone on the plane threatening to kill someone every 20 minutes until they are paid 150 million dollars into an offshore account. It emerges that Marks is either the terrorist himself (the account is in his name) or is being set up by someone to appear to be the terrorist. A chief suspect would appear to be one of Mark's fellow passengers in business class, played by Julianne Moore: someone living life to the full with a big scar on her chest and with nothing to lose. As the body count rises, questions arise as to who the terrorist is, why they are they doing it, how they are doing it, who will be murdered next and - most importantly - does any of this make any sense at all? Liam Neeson is in "Taken" mode and as personable and effective as always. Michelle Dockery (of "Downton Abbey") plays air stewardess Nancy, and the film is also notable for featuring Lupita Nyong'o as another of the stewardesses, before her breakout recognition in "12 Years a Slave" (one assumes that the Oscar judges voted before seeing this).

Whilst the plot was nonsense - leaving more open questions than answers - it was quite enjoyable nonsense, and I should add that my wife absolutely loved it (although it should also be pointed out that Air Force One is her favourite film!). I have to confess that I found the ending uproariously funny. No spoilers, but in a number of scenes the classic lines from "Airplane!" leapt unhindered into my head: specifically "Auntie M - It's a Twister, It's a Twister"; "I just want to say Good Luck. We're all counting on you" and Robert Stack's post-crash speech to Ted Striker.

Popcorn fun - but not a classic.

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Some people might get confused, as there was a Lifetime TV movie made in 2013 name 'Non-Stop', with similar concept where a man put everyone in terrible danger on an airplane. This movie is a little bit better than that. So watch out when trying to find this film. In plane sight, this 2014 film by Jaume Collet-Serra, might fall into that type of stupid action film on a plane, but surprising, this movie had a lot of twist and turns that make up majority of the film. The film had little to no action to it. At age 62, at the time of filming this. Liam Neeson can still kick butt, but gees. I really doubt, he can for long period of time. There is very little room for Liam Neeson to engage a person if his character really wanted to. So, if you're looking for something like 2008's Taken, it's not that movie. It reminds me more of 1978's Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express or a Hitchcock's film, you really can't tell who the murderer is in this film as everybody is made out to be suspects. The movie is about an broken down alcoholic U.S air marshal Bill Marks (Liam Neeson) who on a non-stop flight from New York to London, receive a text message on his secure phone stating that someone on the plane will die every 20 minutes unless $150 million is transferred into a specific bank account. Soon enough, people start to die, and Bill is the only one who can stop it. Movie was a bit turbulence when it's come down being plausible because it all happen in a plane, but once you find out who the murderer is, the film kinda make it look like it's possible. I wouldn't say, all the plot holes were sealed. There were a few unrealistic things that go through the film, like how people can't hear anything or going on. Example is the fight in the bathroom. That was pretty loud. Honestly, if you dissect the film, you find others far-fetch things that might be bothersome like why the Air Marshal Service would hire a drunk Cop? For the most part, it's pretty entertaining that it keep your attention enough, so you don't question that. You will have to suspend a lot of disbelief. The film does make a good statement on our post 9/11 fear of air travel, as the movie digs deep into the discussion if Air Marshall are really needed or not. Some people might get offended by how the film portrays some of the 9/11 victims and a US soldier as terrorists, but I have to say. It could happen. The movie isn't being political correct here. Even the Islamic doctor, Fahim Nasir (Omar Metwally) could be the killer. The movie even have a disturbing scene that remind me of Sept. 11's Flight United 93 where the passenger fought back against the terrorist to regain the plane. The film also dig into how quickly the media is, to able to villainous a person without learning any solid facts about what is truly happening. The film makes us know, how depressed Marks is, hating his job and having a couple of run-ins with some passengers before he boards the plane. Liam Neeson really made this movie, good as you can see the stress in his film. The acting is alright from the supporting cast. They weren't so annoying like other films like this. Julianne Moore as Jen Summers who sat next to Marks on the plane was an interesting subplot, because she seem to display an inordinate amount of concern for him. I can do without the un-necessary romance in action film. Jen Summer is example of this. Then there was the air attendant Nancy (Michelle Dockery) who had access to every place on the airplane; could she be the killer? Could it be the non-existent Gwen (Lupita Nyong'o)? I almost forgot that Oscar Winner, Lupita was even in this movie. Could it, be the hot-headed New York cop Austin Reilly (Corey Stoll) as the killer? Corey Stoll is amazing actor. I love him in this movie. Maybe, it's the cell phone programmer, Zack White (Nate Parker) or the man, Bill Marks talk with before the flight, Tom Bowen (Scoot McNairy)? Maybe the killer is the other Air Marshall, not-trustworthy Jack Hammond (Anson Mount)? You just have to watch it to find out. The camera work was pretty good. It sophisticated in camera motion that get you in that claustrophobia feel. Still, I can do without the shaking cam. The CGI special effects are mediocre, at best. One thing, I did love is the floating cellphones text showing on the screen, whenever a character use a phone. I love how they even add broken cellphone text to show damage, and struggle. There are few elements that remind me of other flight disaster movies such as 1970's Airport series, 1990's Turbulence series or 1957's Zero Hour. Overall: I have taken everything you need to know about the movie coming in, without spoiling too much of it. In my opinion, it's worth watching. So go fly ahead and go see it.

What could have been a fun throwback to disaster movies from the 1970s, about a bomb on a plane and a terrorist threat, is over complicated with its political subtexts and wholly unbelievable contrivances.

Liam Neeson is good, as usual, as an Air Marshall who begins receiving text messages threatening to kill a passenger on board his midair flight (from NY to London) every 20 minutes, unless a huge ransom is paid to a bank account in Neeson's own character's name. The first death, at the hands of Neeson's character himself, was clever and well done, I thought. But the explanation later given for that death was ridiculous, and that's it for originality here, unless you call absurdly drilling a hole from the toilet to the cockpit originality.

One ludicrous twist after another follows, as nearly every stereotypical character in arm's length is turned into a red herring at some point. Julianne Moore is mostly there just to act suspiciously, and babble about her surgery, which is completely irrelevant to the plot.

The conclusion takes itself FAR too seriously, going from what should have been a fun action thriller off into a political message movie, by claiming the two men responsible for these actions were motivated by 9/11. But then the screenplay reverts to its illogical ways, as the two men responsible for this are going to ... wait for it, wait for it, parachute from the plane flying over the Atlantic Ocean. Then what? Will they swim to the UK?

Film tries to work as a mystery, but with so very many red herrings, startling coincidences, and plot holes, it falls flat.

Some may accuse Liam Neeson of being typecast, as YET AGAIN he stars in a violent action film... but this was quite different from the Taken movies. For a start, he has to save a whole plane full of people, rather than various family members. He doesn't take down foe after foe without respite either... he must play the sleuth a bit as well.... working his way down a list of suspects until he finds the one(s) responsible for the imminent threat.

The way the plot tosses up some hints, only to change direction at a moment's notice works well in keeping the nerves a-jangling. And the fact everyone thinks HE'S the terrorist adds a bit of extra spice, already adding to a thoroughly absorbing experience. When we eventually do find out who is behind the oh-so-intricate plan, it is very clever in the unveiling, and we don't feel a bit cheated.

My only real complaint is the brief fight scenes are so speedily edited that I found it hard to see what was going on, though the sound effects made it more than clear. Perhaps a bit more clarity next time...? That aside, it's nice to watch a thriller which keeps the brain occupied rather than just going for the testosterone factor, and as long as Liam Neeson keeps churning out genre films of this quality, who cares if he's become pigeonholed? 7/10

Continuing one of the most unlikely career reinventions in Hollywood, Liam Neeson is back in full-scale action hero mode reteaming with his 'Unknown' director Jaume Collet-Serra for a similar whodunit set on board an airplane. No matter that the Irish actor is now at a ripe old age of 61, he is perfectly cast as the grizzled United States air marshal Bill Marks, a recovering alcoholic grappling with some demons from his past that only become clearer much later into the film.

First-time screenwriters John W. Richardson, Chris Roach and Ryan Engle send Neeson's Federal agent on a transatlantic flight from New York to London, where a seemingly uneventful night on the job quickly becomes something else when he receives a series of text messages warning that a passenger will be killed every 20 mins unless he arranges for $150 million to be transferred to a bank account within that time. Needless to say, the first deadline does expire and then another and then another, but the clues all point back to Bill himself, casting suspicion on the very individual we so easily assume to be the one who saves the day.

For Bill (and the rest of us who continue to believe that he is just being set up), there are plenty of possible suspects on board. Could it be Bill's chatty seat mate Jen (Julianne Moore) who seems to display an inordinate amount of concern for him? Could it be either one of the air hostesses air hostesses Nancy (Michelle Dockery) and/or Gwen (Lupita Nyong'o)? Could it be the co-pilot (Jason Butler Harner) who's never really trusted Bill? Could it be a hot-headed New York cop (Corey Stoll)? Or how about the thirty-something bespectacled dude (Scoot McNairy) who had tried to make small talk with Bill prior to the flight?

But if there's one thing that we know, it's that it cannot be the most obvious one of them all, a Muslim doctor Fahim Nasir (Omar Metwally) whom Bill regularly relies on to check the pulses and confirm the deaths of his victims. Tapping on our post-9/11 paranoia of airplanes, Serra and his screenwriters concoct a revolving door of possible stereotypical culprits that the smart viewer hopes that the film is smarter than to eventually pin blame on (rest assured, the film does eventually offer this small reassurance). That said, you should probably be prepared to be less than blown away with the revelation at the end, which strains to find motive for the crime but comes out falling short.

Is it any surprise that credibility isn't exactly the movie's strong suite? Indeed, if you're going to be scrutinising the proceedings for implausibilities, you might as well not even board this flight. A slightly more than moderate suspension of disbelief is necessary to fully enjoy the disposable B-grade thrills here, which among other things, assumes that there is still live broadcast TV coverage while the plane is travelling over international air space. On his part, Serra rewards those willing to check their disbelief at the boarding gate with brisk pacing designed to keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.

And you know what? He does succeed, to a large extent, and may we add, to a far greater extent that we had expected. Encouraging its viewer to play detective alongside Bill with what limited clues presented on screen, Serra further tightens the noose by making full use of the enclosed environment to induce a sense of claustrophobic danger. Nowhere is this more apparent than a full-on mano-a-mano brawl that takes place within the tight confines of the bathroom, where Neeson once again showing off his prowess at close-quarters grappling that was a trademark of his 'Taken' movies.

Unfortunately, those expecting the same level of excitement from these fight scenes will probably be disappointed. No thanks to the setting, there is very little room for Neeson to engage in many of these, and whether by artistic choice or spatial limitations, the photography remains too much in close-up mode. And yet Neeson remains undoubtedly the tough-guy hero of the movie first by his imposing physicality, but also more importantly by his thespian muscles that lend his tortured character plenty of gravitas despite some brutally stiff dialogue at the more supposedly poignant moments.

It is also Neeson who keeps the movie from flying off the rails even though it does get increasingly ludicrous in the third act on its way to an explosive finale. No surprises that there is a bomb on board, it does detonate mid-flight, and it does end with an emergency landing made under the most dire of circumstances that pretty much obliterates the plane from ever flying again - truth be told, it's been a while since we've seen a similar high-altitude set thriller on the big screen that its clichés no longer feel so. It's no 'Taken' that's for sure, but it packs a fair share of solid gripping thrills in between an Agatha Christie mystery that makes it perfectly watchable for those in need of an action fix.

A former cop Bill Marks (Liam Neeson) who is now an air marshall is on a transatlantic flight from New York to London. This seemingly routine flight is interrupted when he gets a series of messages from an unknown person stating that he will kill one person every 20 minutes unless $150 million dollars is transferred into a specified account. However, with several hundred people on board the aircraft (nearly all of which have mobile phones), Marks finds himself in a race against time to try and find out who is sending these messages before this unknown assailant puts his plans into motion.

If you like films that are exciting, suspenseful and films that keep you guessing then this film will be right up your street. From the very first time Marks get a message from the assailant to the very end of the film, this film leaves the viewer in a constant state of suspense. The audience have no idea who is doing this to Marks, why they are doing it. Marks also has no idea who and why. He tries various methods to try and find the perpetrator - some methods are ethical, some not so. Whatever is happening, I, as a viewer, was constantly left guessing.

Neeson is solid in the role of Bill Marks and anyone who has seen the 2 Taken Films and Unknown will like his performance (some may argue that it is becoming overly familiar). Personally, I find myself in the former camp and happen to think that, not only is Neeson good in this type of role, but he's also well suited to this type of role. Julianne Moore was OK, although I know she is capable of much better. The rest of the supporting cast do OK.

Non Stop is not a perfect film and if you stop to think about it there are certain aspects that are hard to believe; this whole scenario existing post 9/11 is a tough sell. I think it depends how you look at it; if you look at it from a negative perspective you will dismiss it as a stupid implausible thriller with a ridiculous premise. However, if you look at it positively you will see a film which is potentially opening everyone's eyes to the potential dangers that can occur when a major breach of security occurs - therefore creating an utterly plausible scenario. From a personal perspective I can see both sides of the argument, but the way I look at it is that this film is billed on IMDb as 'Action' 'Mystery' and 'Thriller' and it blends all three elements superbly. In other words, I got exactly what I both wanted and expected so for that reason I enjoyed this film.

Bill Marks is a former cop is dealing with his daughter's death by drinking heavily, but is now an air Marshall.

While on a flight from London to New York, Marks gets a text telling him that unless 150 million dollars is deposited to an off shore account within 20 minutes someone will die.

He tries to tell the other air Marshall, but he doesn't believe him......

Since his career has found a new lease of life thanks to Taken, Neeson plays Bryan Mills in every film he's been in since, even The Lego Movie.

But that's not such a bad thing is suppose. The last Taken movie was a load of old rubbish, so I wasn't really looking forward to this, but there is never a dull moment, and Leeson is brilliant at doing broody and miserable.

The film consists of Neeson confronting someone every twenty minutes and beating them senseless when they won't listen to him, but he's always nice to the little girl, and Julianne Moore on the odd occasion.

Its an old fashioned whodunnit, with plenty of Red Herrings, and cigarette smoking in the toilets, all the while with an air of tension that is perfunctory in this sort of B movie.

If your a fan of Neeson, you'll lap this up, it's another showcase for him, but he's got a really strange smile at the end.

A fun popcorn movie, with a silly twist and decent CGI come the end.