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Non-Stop - Movie Review

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3 stars

Proving that he’s not going down without a fight, 61-year-old Liam Neeson returns for another early year no-brainer action flick (something like six films in as many years) in Non-Stop. This time he’s an alcoholic air marshal receiving threatening texts while on board a passenger jet. Everyone is a suspect. And, in tight quarters, there’s no place to run.

The film and its plot-hole riddled script are preposterous.   The film asks you to overlook a lot of the absurdity that it introduces in its small-scale setting and, as it successfully introduces our Belgium-born troubled hero, it earns bonus points in never taking itself seriously. From beginning to end, the film is entertaining in that cheer-worthy B-movie whodunit way. Neeson does what he currently does best and beats the living crap out of a lot of people, all while on board an ordinary flight from New York to London.

Veteran action producer Joel Silver, director Jaume Collet-Serra and screenwriters John W Richardson and Chris Roach successfully get this thriller off the ground and then, rather surprisingly, also raise the tension level in the audience as Non-Stop comes in for its landing. I was prepared to be disappointed ala Taken 2 – with the cheesiest restaurant scene ever – but I wasn’t. Even Julianna Moore knows what type of movie she’s in. This is a good old fashioned pop-corn thriller that, if you go in with the right mindset, won’t leave you disappointed.

The threatening texts promise that, for every 20 minutes that passes, a passenger on the plane is going to be killed, unless $150 is paid into a numbered account. Neeson goes into suspicious commando mode. Who is sending the texts to his special air marshal air-device? Is it the flirty passenger in the seat next to him? Is it one of the crew members? It could be anyone and, at 30,000 feet off the ground, you can only imagine the desperation he faces as the people on the plane begin to suspect he is the terrorist.

The B-movie tropes are firmly in place. You get the ticking bomb LCD display; the alcoholic who puts the bottle away; the passenger with the quick-fingered YouTube video uploading problem; and the speech through the PA system. You also get the vengeance only the giant frame of Neeson’s can deliver. It’s silly fun and shouldn’t be taken seriously as the many plot holes are too littered to safely swerve but, as a throwback to the meat-headed flicks of the 1990’s, Non-Stop survives.  

It’s not Shakespeare. It’s not Hitchcock. But Non-Stop is effective at showing just how threatening confined spaces can be when there’s nowhere to go and no one coming to save the day.

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Non-Stop - Movie Review

 MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, some language, sensuality and drug references.
Runtime:
106 mins
Director
: Jaume Collet-Serra
Writer:
John W. Richardson, Christopher Roach
Cast:
Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore, Scoot McNairy
Genre
: Action | Thriller
Tagline:
Non-stop
Memorable Movie Quote: "I'm not hijacking this plane. I'm trying to save it!"
Distributor:
Universal Pictures
Official Site: http://www.nonstopthefilm.com/
Release Date: March 7, 2014
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
No details available.
Synopsis: Global action star Liam Neeson stars in Non-Stop, a suspense thriller played out at 40,000 feet in the air. During a transatlantic flight from New York City to London, U.S. Air Marshal Bill Marks (Neeson) receives a series of cryptic text messages demanding that he instruct the government to transfer $150 million into an off-shore account. Until he secures the money, a passenger on his flight will be killed every 20 minutes..

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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]

Non-Stop - Movie Review

Blu-ray

Blu-ray Details:

Available on Blu-ray - June 10, 2014Screen Formats: 2.40:1
Subtitles
: English SDH, French, Spanish
Audio:
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; French: DTS 5.1; Spanish: DTS 5.1
Discs: 50GB Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD); UV digital copy; Digital copy; DVD copy; BD-Live
Region Encoding: A

The 1080p AVC picture was photographed in 35 mm and exhibits an effective cinematic presence, with a fine veneer of grain throughout.  The color palette is strongly saturated, though, teal and blue hues are prominent within the confines of the aircraft.  Fleshtones are decently hued within the overall dim interior lighting.  Resolution is excellent, with fine detail evident in facial features, hair, clothing, and the airplane's interior surfaces.  Contrast is well balanced with deep blacks and revealing shadow delineation.  The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1-channel soundtrack delivers a confined soundscape within the interior of a transatlantic flight.

Supplements:

Commentary:

  • None

Special Features:

The slim special features include a whopping two featurettes "Non-Stop Action" and "Suspense At 40,000 Feet" that total about 13 minutes of information, talking heads, and interviews about the movie.  An UltraViolet digital copy is also included.

  • Non-Stop Action (5 min)
  • Suspense At 40,000 Feet (8 min)

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