Liam Neeson teaming up once again with Unknown director, Jaume Collet-Serra, might not appear to be such a swell idea (because Unknown was bloody terrible), but with Julianne Moore along for the ride, and the actor and his co-star sharing a sparky chemistry, Non-Stop earns its stripes as a fun night at the movies.
Bill Marks (Neeson) is your standard-issue cop/maverick cliché: He’s a washed up, bleary-eyed mess of a man whose hard-faced stoicism masks a troubled soul. He likes a wee dram or two on the job (he’s an Air Marshal) and, in general, he’s defined as that other hoary old stock type: ‘a man on the edge’. On a flight from NYC to London, somebody starts playing ‘funny games’ with the security specialist via a series of threatening text messages.
Non-Stop is, of course, ludicrous – but enjoyably so. Millions of dollars have been ploughed into a picture whose sole remit is to, well, deliver thrill after thrill, high tension and close-ups of Neeson furrowing his brow as he mulls over who to punch next. By and large, it succeeds in its limited remit. Sure, the actors no doubt all believe in the thin subtext about the fraud of ‘homeland security’ and the paranoia of the authorities in our post-9/11 western world, but the majority of viewers demand little more than seeing Neeson hitting people. Cartoon violence is one of cinema’s simpler pleasures.
Ten years ago, it would have been Harrison Ford playing the everyman in an extraordinary situation, but today we have Neeson. That the actor chose to play his character as an American originally from Northern Ireland fits in with his own life’s journey. But it also allowed for the scriptwriter to pen this gem: “He’s not even American, he’s from Northern Ireland. He could be IRA!”
Non-Stop was made for Friday and Saturday nights. We love maverick cops doing their thing and we seemingly can’t get enough of Liam Neeson smacking bad guys down. Watch it with your honey or with a few brewskis and your mates. The effect is the same: cinema as cheeseburger. Enjoyable in the moment, but soon enough forgotten.
Martyn has awarded Non-Stop three Torches of Truth
