As career paths go, Liam Neeson's one as an aging action star is one we couldn't have really seen coming. Taken initially felt like a one off, but with the likes of Unknown and Taken 2 (with Taken 3 looming on the horizon like a threatening Kaiju), it's obvious this is a trajectory the actor is sticking with, even if each subsequent film has been a serious step down in quality from the first time he stepped into the action ring. Which brings us nicely to Non-Stop. Is it another misstep for Neeson, or will it salvage his current career path?
The plot of Non-Stop is wonderfully high concept. Neeson plays Bill Marks, a tortured (of course) Air Marshall, with alcohol being his vice of choice. A routine flight turns into anything but when he starts receiving mysterious text messages saying a passenger will die every twenty minutes unless $150 million is deposited into the blackmailers bank account. What follows is a story full of complicated twists and turns, coming from a script that thinks it is far smarter than it actually is. It starts off well enough, the mystery is built nicely, and it does a very good job of ratcheting up the tension. This is helped immensely by the claustrophobic setting, but the movie soon begins to falter when it becomes apparent it depends on contrivances to move the narrative forward. Any number of plot points can be picked apart, with quite a few not making any sense at all. It spins its wheels for a while in the second act, before completely going off the wall for the third, with a cringe inducing "passengers rallying against the common threat" scene, with rivalries and major plot points swept under the rug. The villains motive for the blackmail is a completely unbelievable one, something that is completely out of left field, only so that you will never see it coming. But this is where the movie drops the ball, because if you are paying attention in the opening scene, you can make a pretty good stab at what it is.
But it's clunky narrative aside, Non-Stop is quite a bit of fun. Director Jaume Collet-Serra (who has directed Neeson before in Unknown, and will do so again in next years Run All Night) livens proceedings up with some very neat stylistic flourishes, especially when it comes to representing text messages on screen. He makes good use of his setting, framing many shots as close ups to capitalise on the claustrophobia. For all the dumb moments in the movie, there are scenes that are very fun and interesting, pointing to Collet-Serra delivering a whole lot more with a better script.
Neeson doesn't really break a sweat here, his tough man act perfected to a tee. So much so that I wouldn't mind seeing more of it if is kept to this level. He does seem to be enjoying himself, but he does get complacent and bored as the movie goes on. Same can be said for Julianne Moore, as the one passenger he can trust. In fact all the cast seem to be going through the motions here, but that is not to say the performances are bad.
A pretty fun action thriller, Non-Stop won't redefine the genre, but is still an entertaining ride, despite the very bumpy story telling.
