Starts off promisingly, but loses its way and let down completely by a mess of a last third

Rating: 5/10 (16 June 2016)

'Non-Stop' did have potential. With an intriguing premise, and great actors like Liam Neeson and Julianne Moore, what could go wrong? Sadly, while 'Non-Stop' did do some things right it also did a lot of things wrong as well. One of those films where a good but not great film turned into a mediocre and disappointingly uneven one in the last third.
The film does look great, the cinematography is slick and often adds to the atmosphere created, the lighting is moody and neither garish or drab, the special effects are good and don't overload the film in quantity and the confined location is well-chosen and creates a genuine sense of claustrophobia, a feeling maintained for two thirds of the film. The score is also suitably moody, not sounding too obvious or manipulative.
Neeson is a very strong, commanding and appropriately stoic presence, and doesn't lag too much at all in the more action-oriented parts. 'Non-Stop' is atmospherically directed too, and the film is quite good and watchable for two thirds of the duration, the pace takes its time but didn't feel too draggy and there was plenty of suspense and tension with great use of misdirection.
However, the rest of the cast don't make much of an impression. Moore does do her best and she isn't bad but her character didn't feel needed to the story and added little. Chemistry with Neeson was bland. Of the supporting cast, the best performance came from Linus Roache, but his role is not big enough to shine properly. The rest consist of either talented actors who have nothing to do (Michelle Dockery and especially the completely wasted Lupita Nyong'o) or those who overplay or underplay (didn't buy the villains' performances for a second).
'Non-Stop' is most let down by a mess of a last third. Not that the film was perfect up to then, because it wasn't, with a less than stellar supporting cast, the film lacking some momentum in the second half onwards and a patchy script. The last third really underwhelms in nearly every way, it is here where the film particularly loses momentum, the dialogue is particularly hammy (that speech in particular) and it goes overboard in implausibility and lack of credibility, while the final solution is underdeveloped, overplayed and incoherently convoluted.
All in all, promising start and not bad for two thirds of it but the last third really let things down. 5/10 Bethany Cox