Review of Non-Stop (2014) by Calum B — 17 Jul 2014

Much of the tension in Non-Stop trades off the likability of its star, Liam Neeson. It's a conceit frequently used by Alfred Hitchcock, from Henry Fonda to Anthony Perkins. Jaume Collet-Serra's film doesn't mine the dark psychological depths of Hitch's best output, but it's a lean and sometimes amusingly mean thriller.

What starts as a high concept mid-90s straight-to-video plot - a passenger will be bumped off every 20 minutes unless Air Marshall Bill Marks (Neeson) arranges for $150m to be transferred to the perp's account - soon becomes a nail-biting, disbelief-suspending whodunit (or who's-doing-it). The film is elevated above the ordinary by Neeson's depiction of the boozy, grief-stricken Marks: there are moments when we truly share the passengers' distrust of the man apparently going mad in their midst.

Marks communicates with the hijacker via text message. Here, Collet-Serra comes up with a nifty way of presenting these conversations through graphics overlaid on the screen, negating the usual tension-killing cut to a tiny cellphone screen. Incidentally, the bad guy/gal must win the award for fastest thumbs in the English-speaking world.

Superior character actors like Linus Roache and Scoot McNairy provide decent support, although recent Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o is wasted as a gasping air stewardess. And is there any reason for Julianne Moore to be in this movie? Well, there's always a reason for Julianne Moore to be on the screen. But her character isn't really any more than an extra suspect and an excuse for some agonisingly cheesy and unconvincing flirtation. I guess one could argue she adds "heart" to the movie - except this is a movie which is most fun when it's at its most heartless.

The dialogue is lousy; the look is advert glossy; the CGI is poor; the performances are hugely variable; the action is brief and messy; the plot is preposterous (especially the final third). All in all, like Collet-Serra's and Neeson's previous outing, the Frantic-esque Unknown, this is an efficient and enjoyable thriller which will never be lauded as a classic, and never really attempts to make any sense, but further cements its star as the go-to guy for solid, ruffled, old school rough 'n' tumble.