THE FRIENDLY SKIES // A FILM REVIEW OF "NONSTOP"

BY MATEO MORENO

Liam Neeson, as many have said as of late, has completely transformed himself in the past few years.  Few saw it coming, but Mr. Neeson jumped into a film that he thought might just be a fun project to do (2008’s Taken) and with its success came an all new career move for him: the unlikely action star.  Towering above his co-stars and his slightly undistinguishable accent, Neeson is the everyday bad ass.  And so he is again in the ludicrous but still thrilling NON STOP.  Neeson plays Bill Marks, an air marshall who has quite a few things on his plate: he’s an alcoholic, he hates flying (at least the take offs), and is grieving his daughter.  Most don’t trust him but for some reason they still assign him onto a plane (I guess John McClane never applied for the job).  Before boarding he gets into a fight about being stuck in London for four days and says to his superior, “Then I’ll do what I have to do.”  That of course is gonna come back and bite him on the ass.  Once on the plane he receives a text on his secure line.  The person texting knows exactly who he is and says they’re going to kill someone every 20 minutes until they get $150 million dollars deposited into an account of their choosing.  Time for some Neeson bad assery.

Sure, every check point of this kind of film is, well checked: The alcoholic wounded hero, the trusty sidekick (in this case he’s got two), obvious suspects… And the plot ends up exploding into lunacy by the end.  However, that doesn’t stop it from being tense the entire ride and keeps you guessing on who the actual killer is.  Neeson could have phoned it in but doesn’t, instead adds his usual gravitas to the role and keeps you entertained the entire time.  Julianne Moore, Downton Abbey’s Michelle Dockery, and 12  Years a Slave’s Lupita Nyong’o all show up as a off put passenger and two flight attendants.  Their roles don’t require much, but Moore and Dockery do add charm to their typical roles (Nyong’o doesn’t have that luxury as there is zero “character” written in her character).  Director Jaume Collet-Serra (Unknown, Orphan) keeps the tension high and the pacing quick.  And the wrap up even rings familiar tones of classic 80’s action films.  No it’s nothing new, but it is a bit of ridiculous fun, and it’s a hell of a lot better than Taken 2.  Which, may not say much, but NonStop will keep your attention airborne, even if you do roll your eyes a few times.

MATEO’S GRADE: B

Directed by: Jaume Collet-Serra Written By: John W. Richardson, Christopher Roach, & Ryan Engle  Starring: Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore, Michelle Dockery, Lupita Nyong’o, Scott McNairy, Nate Parker, Corey Stoll

Rated PG-13: Language and Violence

BOTTOM LINE:  If you like your action light, preposterous, but consistently entertaining, NonStop is for you.