Straight-up thriller with flourish, writes Christine Powley.
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Cast: Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore, Scott McNairy, Michelle Dockery, Nate Parker, Corey Stoll, Omar Metwally, Jason Butler Harner, Linus Roache, Corey Hawkins, Frank Deal
Rating: (M)
3 stars (out of 5)
Now that he has a taste for it, Liam Neeson just cannot stop saving people. In Non-Stop (Rialto) he is Bill Marks, an air marshal who hates flying.
Of course, everybody hates flying nowadays and watching this is not going to do much to put your mind at rest. Bill's day starts out rough.
He has a bit of a drinking problem and has to take his last drink before boarding laced with mouthwash.
Going through the tedious boarding procedures he is alert to dangers, but his fellow passengers seem your typical travellers.
At least he is in business class and gets to sit next to Jen (Julianne Moore), who seems like nice company, although alarm bells should begin to ring when she volunteers that she actually likes flying.
But what begins as just another dreary day pounding the beat goes out of control when Bill starts getting threatening texts.
Every 20 minutes a passenger is going to die if Bill does not organise the transfer of $150 billion to a nominated account.
At first Bill thinks it is some sort of prank but bodies start to pile up and Bill is implicated as the one behind it all.
Soon he is a man alone arguing with his colleagues on the ground who think he has gone rogue and battling the increasingly restless passengers who all seem to have seen United 93 and are determined not to let the terrorists win.
Best thing: For a straight-up thriller there are some nice visual flourishes.
Worst thing: Finding out who did it and why is a bit of a let-down, but up until that point it is a fun flight.
See it with . . . out having to fly the next day.
