Non-Stop [Blu-ray] [2014]

Non-Stop may not be as relentless as its title suggests, but it is undeniably entertaining. I despise the title of this film. Automatically brings out connotations of blandness and genericness, kind of like a Straight-To-DVD low budget action film starring Bruce Willis or Nicholas Cage. However, the Neeson and Collet-Serra combination is a winning formula as this is yet another fun ride. A damaged Air Marshal is trapped in a murderous mystery where he must transfer $150 million to a bank account. If he doesn't, a passenger will meet their demise every 20 minutes until he does so. All of this happens on board a long plane journey. It works, it works so well. Very reminiscent to 'Flightplan', but far more focussed on the characters. Like with any mystery, the list of suspects need to be developed to a point where the final reveal shocks you. Given the small runtime, I believe the character developments were adequate. Their backstories and motives are naturally revealed. It's not a case of our protagonist interviewing each one in turn, he instead provokes them and addresses the passengers as one entity. Sure there are times where he questions individuals, which is necessary to identify possible suspects, but that cannot be avoided. I appreciate the small details in these characters. Moore's vulnerability is shown as she explains why she sits on the window seat, our Air Marshal's troubled past is revealed which questions the authenticity of his actions. It's very twisty, full of turns and a meticulously thought out narrative. The final reveal and motives are slightly blurred and unmemorable, although I was still on the edge of my seat...even after my fifth viewing! The claustrophobic environment adds to the suspense and tension. Liam Neeson still thrives on his rejuvenated action career. I did roll my eyes at the end where he was saving the little girl, makes his character arc far too predictable. Non-Stop is not going to fly away as a classic thriller, but it lands with such confidence that it's hard not to enjoy this.

This 106 min REGION B/2 DVD is excellent. It appears to have everything, a good story, good acting, shoot outs, punch-ups, dedication, deception, suspense, an unknown caller, no bad language or nudity.When I read that the DVD was 95% filmed on board a plane it did not appeal to me but I changed my mind when I saw the film rating by the public, I was very pleased I did as Liam Neeson was excellent and the film was beyond expectations.

Liam Neeson plays an ex alcoholic, Bill Marks, now an Air Marshall on a non stop flight to the USA. He seems lucky enough to be travelling Business class and ends up sitting next to Julianne Moore who starts to chat him up.Bill Marks gets a text on his phone to say that the sender will kill one person on the plane every twenty minutes unless the airline transfers $150 million into an off-shore account. Upon investigation the account is in Mark’s name and then they look into his dodgy history and put two and two together to make six and think it is Marks holding the airline to ransom. Meanwhile Marks has to try and stop the real killer and blackmailer from killing people on the plane with no help from outside.~~~~~~ MY VIEWS ~~~~~~The plot is quite good and although an unlikely scenario it had us gripped from early on in the film. The acting of Neeson and Julianne Moore as well as others I thought was pretty good and believable. It is tense and there are several false culprits like any detective mystery has although I did find it frustrating at times with some of the suspects as I had my suspect from quite early one and was correct.The plane inside looked pretty authentic and I would imagine they might have used a real plane on the ground of course for the filming but I might be wrong I suppose. The setting is pretty much the plane and nowhere else. I have since discovered that in fact the plane was a set and it was built very slightly larger than a standard commercial airliner to allow for Neeson's 6'4" height for filming.The music score by John Ottman really added to the tension. It was orchestral and the sort that makes background to a film rather than being really memorable tunes. It went well with the film’s action and tension and helped to build the atmosphere.Things like the fact that there was much talk about not being able to throw the bomb out of the plane because the pressure would make it explode and then a bit later gun shots were fired and this caused the cabin to become depressurised at 28,000 feet, so why did the bomb not explode then?“Non-Stop” didn’t win any prizes as it is not really that original nor did it do anything very deep or different from the run of the mill escapist thriller mystery. It was easy watching and a fun film that did keep us hooked till the end despite having flaws. It was far from perfect but a bit like an Agatha Christie detective mystery novel it had all the elements of an action adventure mystery film and was well acted and even though there were times when you had to suspend belief , as my husband says “It’s a movie ….” We did enjoy 106 minutes of tense watching and neither of us suggested switching it off as we have dome with some recently. It was rather like reading a holiday type beach read book, it required little brain power and kept us entertained for the entire film.

I was debating whether to give this film 3 or 4 stars and decided to be generous as it is difficult to come up with an original plot nowadays.And despite the fact that Liam Neeson has basically played the same part in every film he's done lately,he still does it well and is probably the only action hero I can take seriously in this new age of tongue-in-cheek action flicks starring muscle bound 70 year olds and washed up actors who seem impervious to bullets and can still crack bad one-liners after being blown up fourteen times! The reason for my indecision - for a film called 'Non-stop' it starts off quite slow and a bit seen it all before,but is saved as the situation becomes quite tense and genuinely unpredictable,before the quality dips again with a slightly over the top climax.But it did keep me entertained and I didn't figure out whodunnit,which is a rare thing, so it gets 4 stars accordingly.Thriller fans will find something to enjoy and Liam Neeson fans will love it.

The description of this film might seem a bit limited, ie action on a plane and the usual Liam Neeson action, but given the confines of a plane this is a convoluted plot and really keeps you captivated. Julianne Moore also lends weight to the film and its well worth a watch. It's a Liam Neeson film, on a plane, with a plot that keeps you guessing, with plenty of action and the usual layer of heartfelt moments associated with Neeson movies.