Non-Stop: A preposterous 90s throwback that offers thrills aplenty.

Rating: 8/10 (5 March 2014)

People seem to have forgotten how to review films like these nowadays and whereas many would chastise this film for being a big dumb action movie, Non-Stop is a throwback to the 90s thriller. Liam Neeson's nearly unthinkable career transformation into a major action star (the most surprising since Leslie Nielsen turned Comedy icon with Airplane!) continues and the results are silly but vastly enjoyable. For a good majority of the duration, this hijack Thriller plays out like a Marple whodunnit meets Air Force One, before descending into chaos (albeit not jarringly so).
If you come in craving a realistic story of hijacking, you will leave frowning but the fact is that Non-Stop fulfils its requirements as a genre movie. Neeson once more anchors the film, handling the tidbits of action (a well staged toilet cubicle scrap in particular) and suspense with professional verve. The supporting cast, though some are wasted, also lend their full commitment and it all concludes to a ridiculously good night at the movies. Even when the mystery is revealed and logic has gone out the window, you are not dispirited because the entertainment value persists.
This is not classic cinema but it is well made, gripping, fun, boasting a selection of standout moments. It lacks the ruthlessness of Taken and the ideological underpinnings of The Grey but it matches Collet-Serra's last film Unknown and outdoes the (at times) haphazard Taken 2. You'll leave entertained and remembering that zero-G gunshot- which has internet meme written all over it, ironic really as this is a 90s flick through and through.