HOME |  CULT MOVIES | COMPETITIONS | ADVERTISE |  CONTACT US |  ABOUT US
 
 
 
Newest Reviews
American Fiction
Poor Things
Thunderclap
Zeiram
Legend of the Bat
Party Line
Night Fright
Pacha, Le
Kimi
Assemble Insert
Venus Tear Diamond, The
Promare
Beauty's Evil Roses, The
Free Guy
Huck and Tom's Mississippi Adventure
Rejuvenator, The
Who Fears the Devil?
Guignolo, Le
Batman, The
Land of Many Perfumes
Cat vs. Rat
Tom & Jerry: The Movie
Naked Violence
Joyeuses Pacques
Strangeness, The
How I Became a Superhero
Golden Nun
Incident at Phantom Hill
Winterhawk
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City
Maigret Sets a Trap
B.N.A.
Hell's Wind Staff, The
Topo Gigio and the Missile War
Battant, Le
Penguin Highway
Cazadore de Demonios
Snatchers
Imperial Swordsman
Foxtrap
   
 
Newest Articles
3 From Arrow Player: Sweet Sugar, Girls Nite Out and Manhattan Baby
Little Cat Feat: Stephen King's Cat's Eye on 4K UHD
La Violence: Dobermann at 25
Serious Comedy: The Wrong Arm of the Law on Blu-ray
DC Showcase: Constantine - The House of Mystery and More on Blu-ray
Monster Fun: Three Monster Tales of Sci-Fi Terror on Blu-ray
State of the 70s: Play for Today Volume 3 on Blu-ray
The Movie Damned: Cursed Films II on Shudder
The Dead of Night: In Cold Blood on Blu-ray
Suave and Sophisticated: The Persuaders! Take 50 on Blu-ray
Your Rules are Really Beginning to Annoy Me: Escape from L.A. on 4K UHD
A Woman's Viewfinder: The Camera is Ours on DVD
Chaplin's Silent Pursuit: Modern Times on Blu-ray
The Ecstasy of Cosmic Boredom: Dark Star on Arrow
A Frosty Reception: South and The Great White Silence on Blu-ray
You'll Never Guess Which is Sammo: Skinny Tiger and Fatty Dragon on Blu-ray
Two Christopher Miles Shorts: The Six-Sided Triangle/Rhythm 'n' Greens on Blu-ray
Not So Permissive: The Lovers! on Blu-ray
Uncomfortable Truths: Three Shorts by Andrea Arnold on MUBI
The Call of Nostalgia: Ghostbusters Afterlife on Blu-ray
Moon Night - Space 1999: Super Space Theater on Blu-ray
Super Sammo: Warriors Two and The Prodigal Son on Blu-ray
Sex vs Violence: In the Realm of the Senses on Blu-ray
What's So Funny About Brit Horror? Vampira and Bloodbath at the House of Death on Arrow
Keeping the Beatles Alive: Get Back
   
 
  Non-Stop In-flight Extortion
Year: 2014
Director: Jaume Collet-Sera
Stars: Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore, Scoot McNairy, Michelle Dockery, Nate Parker, Corey Stoll, Lupita Nyong'o, Omar Metwally, Jason Butler Harner, Shea Whigham, Anson Mount, Quinn McColgan, Corey Hawkins, Frank Deal, Bar Paly, Edoardo Costa, Jon Abrahams
Genre: ThrillerBuy from Amazon
Rating:  6 (from 2 votes)
Review: Mourning a personal tragedy, embittered, alcoholic air marshal Bill Marks (Liam Neeson) is on an assignment, safeguarding a transatlantic flight from New York to London. He finds himself in a tense situation when an unknown passenger sends him a text message threatening to kill someone on board unless the airline pays $150 million dollars into a secure bank account. Aided by plucky passenger Jen Summers (Julianne Moore), Marks goes to increasingly desperate lengths to uncover the blackmailer's identity. As the stakes are raised, people start dying and Marks grows increasingly paranoid as it starts to look like he is being set up.

Thirty years after the ludicrous Airport series finally crashed and burned the genre underwent an unexpected reinvention with airborne thrillers like Flightplan (2005) and Red Eye (2005) that were more sober in tone, armed with committed, non-campy performances albeit on close inspection just as melodramatic in terms of plot. Non-Stop continues this new trend only with Liam Neeson on familiar craggy action hero form in place of the brittle, more vulnerable heroines essayed by Jodie Foster and Rachel McAdams in previous films. As a consequence the film does perhaps leave less room for doubt as to whether the ever-formidable, unflappable Neeson will get to the bottom of the mystery which leaves this less taut than it ought to be. Even so, the script co-authored by John W. Richardson, Christopher Roach and Ryan Engle invests Marks with his own vulnerabilities and as usual, Neeson inhabits the role with such conviction, no matter how implausible things get, we are with him every step of the way.

Following a mildly successful collaboration on Unknown (2011) veteran action movie mogul Joel Silver re-teams Neeson with director Jaume Collet-Sera who once again mounts this as an intricate murder-mystery-suspense piece rather than adhere to the visceral action formula of Taken (2008). Fans of Liam Neeson brutalizing bad guys can revel in a claustrophobic, limb-twisting tussle inside a toilet liable to make people wince and the ridiculous though undeniably exhilarating all-action-zero-gravity climax. Yet overall the plot admirably relies on Marks piecing things together one clue at a time whilst enduring the suspicion of not only fellow passengers but his superiors back on terra firma. As his own suspicions shift from one dodgy-looking character to another the film unveils an interestingly eclectic supporting cast comprised of established stars (the ever-endearing Julianne Moore), up-and-coming talent (Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o from 12 Years a Slave (2013), super sexy Bar Paly from Pain & Gain (2013)), TV favourites (Downton Abbey star Michelle Dockery) and quirky character actors (Scoot McNairy, Corey Stoll, Anson Mount, Shea Whigham).

Sadly, the film squanders its fine cast. Most of the characters are stock Seventies disaster movie types with Dockery a gutsy air hostess who regrettably does not end up flying the plane (they missed a trick there) and youngster Quinn McColgan as a nervous little girl who draws out the sensitive side in the otherwise terse and taciturn Marks. To the screenwriters' credit the film does weave a suspenseful layer of ambiguity about its supporting players whose conflicting and often changeable reactions to various events do have a vague ring of truth. Late into the third act the film takes a wild stab at social commentary linking paranoid fears about airline security with the Iraq war and inevitably raises the ghost of September 11th, 2001. This is possibly in bad taste given the filmmakers have set out to craft an entertainment rather than an ambitious factual drama along the lines of United 93 (2006). On the other hand, given Seventies exploitation movies were the first to deal with issues that arose from the Vietnam war, why shouldn't the glossy trash of today set out to exorcise the ghosts of 9/11? Additionally, Non-Stop distinguishes itself with a neat line in wry humour that coupled with Neeson's commitment and the odd suspenseful moment leaves it easy to enjoy.

Reviewer: Andrew Pragasam

 

This review has been viewed 4697 time(s).

As a member you could Rate this film

 
Review Comments (1)


Untitled 1

Login
  Username:
 
  Password:
 
   
 
Forgotten your details? Enter email address in Username box and click Reminder. Your details will be emailed to you.
   

Latest Poll
Which star probably has psychic powers?
Laurence Fishburne
Nicolas Cage
Anya Taylor-Joy
Patrick Stewart
Sissy Spacek
Michelle Yeoh
Aubrey Plaza
Tom Cruise
Beatrice Dalle
Michael Ironside
   
 
   

Recent Visitors
Mary Sibley
Enoch Sneed
Darren Jones
Mark Le Surf-hall
  Louise Hackett
Andrew Pragasam
Graeme Clark
  Desbris M
   

 

Last Updated: