Non-Stop

Ploughing steadily on through the realms of tough, gritty, hard-talking action roles, Liam Neeson takes to the skies in Non-Stop; another gritty tough action film - this time taking place on a plane.
Neeson plays alcoholic ex-cop turned air marshal Bill Marks who finds himself mixed up in an unfolding hijacking whereby his fellow passengers begin to be killed off one by one.
Things soon start to escalate, and whilst all the tension and action is there, the lunacy of the plot overtakes any sense of realism at some point along the way - resulting in you having to just go with the flow of the film or cast it aside as a bad job.

I've sort of gone for the middle ground. Make no mistake - I feel Liam Neeson is a tremendous actor and his performances in various films over the years have been first rate. By far and away his tone and quality is what saves this film. Although clichéd and predictable writing results in a stodgy, superficial and as said at times quite unbelievable narrative, Neeson still has enough grit and gravitas to just about see audiences through. His fellow cast seem to get caught up in the triviality of the intended effect some what, resulting in not many other stand out performances. Even the likes of Michelle Dockery and Lupita Nyong'o get lost in proceedings. If anyone manages to fight through the mire to stand alongside Liam Neeson above the chaos it is Julianne Moore. Her role seems to be quite shrunken down and diminutive for an actress of her quality, but she still manages to tease out something of a human and likable character.

There are many lapses of "authenticity" and logic in Non-Stop, and as I said there is always such a whirlwind of hyped up emotion and action that one rarely gets time to stop and think. Yet there is entertainment to be had when watching this one. It wont blow your mind, nor will it make you think that much about bigger issues and things beyond the 106 minutes of 30,000 feet madness, but if you trust in the lunacy of it all, and let the likes of Neeson and Moore lead you through it, then this isn't that bad of an action romp to watch.