I kept watching this film, thinking to myself, this is as slow as Liam Neeson’s thriller from a few years ago, “Unknown.” Surprise!!! Unbeknownst to me, it’s the same director: Jaume Collet-Serra.
Ironically, “Non-Stop” is anything but what the title infers. It should have been called “Automatic Pilot” or “All-a-Bored” instead. (Yes, I intentionally misspelled that for the sake of comedy.) Basically it just follows exactly the same pattern as any other plane thriller. There is a terrorist of sorts on the plane, and the hero is the only one who can stop him.
I kept thinking to myself, “Flightplan.” That’s an excellent mystery on a plane movie. But back to this picture. These typical danger-in-the-skies films always end with an antagonist you don’t suspect. To be honest, by the end, you don’t usually care who it is, either.
This is not an overly foolish film, just a non-inventive and poorly-paced one. My greatest annoyance was, what was Julienne Moore doing in this? Her part could have been played by anybody. It also never turns into a role of any importance. Either she just wanted to work with Neeson, or maybe she needed the work?
Oddly enough, Serra has made two very decent horror films: the most recent remake of “House Of Wax,” and the underrated “Orphan.” Maybe he should just stick to that genre. All and all, stay home and keep your money, or wait until Neeson makes a “Taken 3,” because if you’re looking for that type of thrill ride, “Non-Stop” isn’t your “A” ticket.
An avid film buff, artist and aspiring filmmaker since childhood, Michael moved to the area in 2004 from Bakersfield, CA.