Movie Review by Ade Braithwaite
Stars: Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore, Scoot McNairy, Michelle Dockery
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
A film’s title usually tells you a bit about it. At a guess NON-STOP had to be an action movie! Mind you non-stop action seemed like a big ask. Possibly the marketing department had not stopped with their hype? Could there be a mix-up of the film makers’ ambition with their ability? It was going to be a non-stop walk-out for me, if what crossed the screen was anything but what the title promised me, non-stop action. I’m glad to say I stayed firmly on the edge of my seat.
The film starts with the brooding Liam Nelson a controlled drunkard sat in his airport parked car. He polishes off a large measure of whiskey stirred with toothbrush and washed down with a breath freshener and all this in slow-motion for the most part. His mobile shatters the silence and he pleads into it not to go but to no effect. He rudely ignores a stranger’s polite question of where Liam is headed.
So his journey begins through the airport to his eventual seat. The irony was not lost on me as I gathered my belongings together and planned my exit from seat.
He eventually gets to his seat having growled, snared, ignored and bumped others along the way. Oh and having helped an unaccompanied little girl overcome her fear and board the plane. He’s not all bad then I guess. Or could he be one of those nasty men called P…. I’ll reserve judgement for now.
I started getting restless and groped for my bag in preparation for my anticipated non-stop flight from this darken boredom. I mean nothing really happened except Liam swapped one seat with another and I was about to leave mine in silent protest.
You will be glad to know that this film was as gripping as Liam gripped his arm rests during take-off.
There are more twists and turns than a bag full of snakes covered in coke. The director cranked it up every step of the way. I do not want to spoil the film but suffice to say that Liam is an air marshall that gets caught up in a terrorist plot, people getting killed at set intervals. He has to unravel who the culprit is before everyone dies. Simple enough where could he or she hide since he was getting periodic instructions by phone?
The usual stereotypical suspects abound and all the action takes place on the plane. There are some great shots one of the magnitude of how did they do that from a continuous shot from within the plane and out of a window back into the plane via another window in full flight to pick up the story within its stride. Nice.
Apart from some great camera shots the landscape of the plane flying across an expanse of puffy cloud seemed like a view from a modern day colourist’s master-piece. It truly looked like a spectacular view from the heavens that had been blown together by a kiss from God.
We gather our hero Liam is scared of flying, well the taking off and landing as he put it. Fortunately a nice red headed woman negotiated the window seat next to him and comforts him by distracting him in conversation.
Once the plane gets into the air, the action and tension does not stop. You have to go and see this film – if you can get a seat.
