Film Review: "Non-Stop" (2014).

"The hijacking was just the beginning" in Non-Stop. This action thriller film directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and written by John W. Richardson, Chris Roach and Ryan Engle. A US air marshal receives threatening messages demanding that his airline transfer a hundred and fifty million dollars to an offshore account, in the absence of which the passengers of his flight will be killed.

By early November 2012, Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore, Scoot McNairy, Michelle Dockery, Nate Parker, Corey Stoll, Lupita Nyong'o and Shea Whigham were cast in an action thriller with Collet-Serra as director and written by Richardson, Roach and Engle. At the same time, principal photography commenced and took place at York Studios in Maspeth, Queens, New York City; JFK Airport in Queens, New York, and Long Island MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma, New York. The set for the plane was built at York Studios and was built slightly larger than a standard commercial airliner, to accommodate Neeson's 6'4" height for filming. The film was the first from Silver Pictures to be distributed by Universal Pictures since the end of Silver's deal with Warner Bros

The film stars Neeson, Moore, McNairy, Dockery, Parker, Stoll, Nyong'o and Whigham. The film was well-performed thanks to the strong cast. Neeson is such a solid screen presence that he's able to anchor this outlandish Bourne-style conspiracy thriller. It's all tosh, of course, but great fun if you can suspend your disbelief. Even when the film doesn't quite work in the small details, we have Neeson as our point of identification, his inherent gravitas giving weight to that which otherwise might be quickly forgettable

While this wants to be much more important and deep than it is, it's ultimatley a mediocre suspense film that morphs into an action vehicle along the way. As anonymous as its title suggests, just another thriller in a sea of similar thrillers that, at their core, all seem basically the same. With little going for it and a laughable script, the film coasts along at a fast enough pace to justify the hundred and six minute runtime. As the film progresses, it becomes incomprehensible. The twists are too preposterous and the plot holes are too plentiful, making Unknown an absolute mess. The film, directed by Spanish genre hack Jaume Collet-Serra, seems to have confused itself with a sedate character piece when the premise demands relentless brain-off fun. However, the thriller is fun and action-packed but a few major plot holes and a few lazy twists definitely weigh it down. An exciting film that moviegoers will enjoy - even if they leave with a somewhat ambiguous understanding of the story that was unfolding outside of Neeson's character. With its intriguing story and thrilling action sequences, the film is worth checking out for those who are into action films as well as those who like a good mystery that needs solving. May eventually surrender to convention and implausibility in equal measure, but until then, Collet-Serra grounds the conspiracy with a proper sense of mystery and mood.

Simon says Non-Stop receives: