Book the flight. Enjoy the ride. (mild spoilers)

Rating: 6/10 (26 May 2014)

I've never played poker but I'd assume a good tell (or bad one...depending on whose perspective) is when a player grips his cards a little too close to his chest. We know that when a director flashes a character on a screen for a nanosecond (/clear throat\) that's probably going to be someone we want to remember later on. Although Non-Stop gives it's tell very early in the game, it is still worth the fantastic ride.
The cast is solid. Liam Neeson gives us more of what we've come to expect in his latest winning streak resurgence of action hero roles and he doesn't disappoint. Julianne Moore, although wonderful in coloring grey in her character's allegiances to Neeson, seems to have been added to the project from a producer's desire rather than from a story's necessity. Not to mention Lupita Nyong'o and Michelle Dockery who acted as beautiful mannequins on vacation from their more demanding roles from which they're popularly known.
Although the plot holes abound which leave you smirking in action thriller cynicism, the pacing of the ever-increasing threats more than makes up for it. The director did not waste a second in getting right to the point: a hero is framed for a hostage crisis. We are reminded of this fact every 20 minutes (story time, not real time) and the action heats up to a boiling (or blowing) point which finishes with a chilling message about America's post-9/11 years that should satisfy even the most jaded movie-goer (/clear throat again\).
You may not remember Non-Stop months afterward but years from now you certainly will remember how good you felt. I couldn't tell you what happened exactly in Flightplan (2005), Executive Decision (1996), or Air Force One (1997) but I sure know they were entertaining films despite their faults.
Book the flight. Enjoy the ride.