Non-Stop
Now playing at Scotiabank Theater
As if the record number of canceled flights this winter isn’t enough to put you off air travel, how about a trip filled with poison, bombs and gunplay?
Tackling all of the above in the close confines (and cheap set!) of an airplane is Liam Neeson, late-in-life action hero of such films as Taken, The Grey, The A-Team and Unknown. Still masking as a late-40-something in his 60s, Neeson’s very particular set of skills come in handy in Non-Stop, as he sniffs out an anonymous hijacker aboard a trans-Atlantic flight.
His ID and his intent may be a mystery for the first few minutes but if you’ve seen the trailer you know that Bill Marks is a U.S. air marshal tasked with maintaining safety on the plane. As soon as they’re airborne Bill’s Blackberry buzzes and he receives an anonymous threat: someone on board will be killed every 20 minutes unless Bill instructs the airline to deposit $150 million into a numbered account.
There is plenty of communication via text messaging early on, and director Jaume Collet-Serra struggles with a novel way to convey information to the audience, at one point trapping Neeson in a carousel of onscreen messages.
We go down the list of suspects that Bill idly scanned in the airport: the nervous guy in glasses, the giggling blonde, the man wearing a tagiyah. Bill’s seatmate Jen (Julianne Moore) may be the only one he can trust; she helps him through the shaky takeoff and proves essential later on.
As Bill communicates with the cockpit and the TSA rep on the ground it becomes clear that he is now the suspect, and that it’s not just about money. Now Bill has a well-meaning posse of good guys to fight off as well as the real terrorists to deal with. Let the interrogating begin!
You’ve seen airport bathroom nooky on film and even a lavatory snake attack (and if you saw Snakes On A Plane, you watched both occur in the same scene) but you’ve never seen a smackdown like this, as Bill and a bad guy tussle in the toilet for minute or two. Now, anyone who’s ever been sardined in an airport lavatory helping a child go potty knows there’s no room to raise your arms, much less deliver a death blow. (I’m speaking of the facilities in coach, of course; perhaps the first-class bathrooms have little attendants with hot towels?)
Downton Abbey’s Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) slips out of her tiara to play flight attendant Nancy; Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o also has a minor role. Actors Scoot McNairy (Argo), Corey Stoll (House of Cards) and Omar Metwally are among the suspects.
There’s also the requisite cute little girl to up the emotional stakes, and to remind Bill of all that he has lost. Underlying the action is Bill’s need for redemption after years of boozing and taking the people in his care for granted.
Yes, the spacious bathrooms are silly. So is the fact that the victims die on cue and Bill can catch his gun in mid air. The script may be elemental but the film succeeds because of Neeson’s flawed-hero likability and the decent tension that the film delivers.
For extra fun, watch Non-Stop’s official trailer and then google the Lego version: the entire 2:30 minute trailer has been remade by the clever Lego movie folks, who don’t want you to forget that their little film is still in theatres.
