Non-Stop

It has been a rough start to the New Year in regard to movies. When I, Frankenstein ranks as one of the better films that has been released in the past few months, you know that it’s time for Hollywood to either step up their game or for you to sift through your old porn collection for entertainment. In either case, I went into Non-Stop with the hopes that Liam Neeson, who has found his wheelhouse as the father figure action hero of late, would help bridge the gap between the post-Oscar run and the major summer releases. With any luck, this could turn out to be the next favorite movie of mine that will eventually wind up in the convenient store Treasure Hunt bin for $4.99, much like Children of Men did. Really America??? The mind numbing Armageddon is still worth $15 a DVD but a thoughtful sci-fi thriller by Alfonso Cuaron is sitting next to Arachnophobia? I might join Kanye in moving to Europe.

So the movie starts off by showing you a clearly troubled U.S. Air Marshall in Liam Neeson, as he has to have his morning spiked drink before arguing with his wife and dealing with whatever issue he is going through with his daughter. This is all right before he gets on a flight and actually does his job. It’s like the rebirth of John McClain but without the dingy wife beater undershirt. With everything that is going on however, he still is always on the job; seemingly using his Air Marshall vision to assess every possible threat as he goes through security.

Once he boards the plane, the director shows you a number of shady looking people that could possible pose a threat. And it’s not long into the flight when Neeson gets an anonymous text from someone on the plane threatening to kill a passenger every twenty minutes until they get $150 million deposited into their account. Neeson, like most normal people would, wonders how he can openly kill someone on a plane and not instantly get caught. But the hijacker finds creative ways to do it and the body count continues to rise as Neeson is in a time crunch to find them before the next person is executed. Along the way you start to question any and everyone on the plane as the hijacker is giving away zero clues as to who his or her identity is. And just when you think you have it figured it out, something else out of the ordinary happens and you’re starting from square one, just like Neeson.

As people continue to die and Neeson takes them through security measure after security measure, the passengers begins to think that he is in fact the hijacker and they start plans to take him out.

So as you can see, things get really intense and I honestly have to say that this movie does keep you guessing all the way to the climax of the story. And once you finally do get to the big reveal at the end, its satisfying enough even with the plot holes that come up as a result of it. It helps that there’s a Matrix like gun fight that will have you laughing at the absurdity and awesomeness of it. I just wish that Liam Neeson would incorporate one liners after each execution or personal kill. Something along the lines of “Instead of the in flight dinner, it looks like he was the one to get served!” This might elevate him to Arnold status and if we’re being honest with ourselves, isn’t everyone secretly trying to reach that point in their lives?

I rate this movie as FRESH and suggest that you check it out.