Ever since 2008's Taken, Liam Neeson has made an incredible comeback as a shoot first and ask questions later action star. I have absolutely no problem with this because I have always found Neeson to be a terrific, charismatic, versatile actor. The newest action flick starring Neeson and directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, who also directed Neeson in 2011's Unknown is a Ten Little Indians-style, airplane set mystery called Non Stop. This is more of the same thing that Neeson has being doing for the past six years and that's nothing to complain about.
The film stars Neeson as US air marshall Bill Marks, a man with an alcohol problem and more than a few other demons. While doing his job on a flight to London, Bill gets mysterious text messages from an unknown person who threatens to kill someone on the plane every 20 minutes unless 150 million dollars gets delivered to an off shore account. However, the account number is in Bill's name and thus makes everyone on the plan turn against him.
This is not a great film and it is quite possibly the most implausible action film ever made but it's also an incredible blast and a refreshing change of pace from the garbage that 2014 has brought thus far (barring The Lego Movie.) Neeson is once again extremely charming as the man who must prove to the passengers he's been framed and brings a level of believability to the performance that only he could. The film is campy and stupid but is also consistently entertaining even as it flies off the rails in a muddled final act. The strong point of this film is that director Collet-Serra and screenwriters John W. Richardson, Chris Roach and Ryan Engle are completely aware that the film is making everyone in the audience question who the killer is and how they're possibly getting away with it.
Supporting performances from Julianne Moore, Corey Stoll, Scoot McNairy and Nate Parker spice up the film and make it seem not as completely ludicrous as it actually is. However, the reveal of who did it and their motivation is not only laughable but feels too forced for the film's good. It's as if Richardson, Roach and Engle couldn't think up an adequate explanation so they just decided to throw in the dumbest, most unintentionally funny reason possible.
The reveal, however, is not enough to prevent me from somewhat endorsing Non-Stop, especially in the doldrums of film that 2014 has brought so far. I can't say this is a great or even very good film but I can say that thanks to Neeson and crew, the film works on its own stupid, unbelievable merits.
(2 and 1/2 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, some language, sensuality and drug references)
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