“Non-Stop,” a plane murder mystery starring stalwart action hero Liam Neeson, delivers all that is expected from a modern-day thriller. Is it tense? Unbelievably so. Is it entertaining? Yes. Is it smart? Not so much.
The premise is promising enough — an anonymous assassin will kill someone on this trans-Atlantic flight every 20 minutes unless they are given $150 million. Where the movie falls apart is its flat script, uneven pacing and several huge plot holes that kept this viewer dissatisfied as the credits rolled.
The film starts out with us being introduced to Neeson’s character, Flight Marshal Bill Marks, as he guzzles alcohol before a flight. It is apparent that Marks is haunted by demons of his past, and we expect to see those manifest later in the movie.
Marks isn’t a fleshed-out character, and some sloppy late-movie attempts at making him one fall flat. Perhaps Marks’ only sympathetically human moment comes early on when speaking of his daughter to a fellow passenger. The rest of his time seems to be spent roughing up random passengers and waving a gun around while stalking down the aisles.
If Marks was a better character — and Neeson less plastic in the role — the audience might be persuaded to overlook some of the film’s more glaring flaws and plot holes. This, sadly, isn’t the case and is the real reason why the movie doesn’t work.
As long as you can suspend your expectations of quality characters and a plausible plot, however, “Non-Stop” is actually quite a good escapist film. The supporting cast members — most of whom seem overqualified for a movie like this — deliver excellent performances, including a very strong turn from Michelle Dockery (who plays Lady Mary Crawley on “Downton Abbey”).
It was fun to see familiar faces in the crowded plane. Look — there’s Corey Stoll (Peter Russo from “House of Cards”), four-time Oscar nominee Julianne Moore and Scoot McNairy from “Argo.” You’ll even catch a glimpse of recent Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o, though blink and you’ll miss her .
Walking out of the theater, I thought “Non-Stop” had completely met my expectations — no more and no less. The film was thrilling and entertaining with several strong performances, and for the average moviegoer that will be enough. I give it 2 out of 5 stars.
[A version of this story ran on page 11 on 3/20/2014 under the headline "Plane murder mystery thrills, entertains"]
