Tense and involving, but full of problems.

Rating: 5/10 (3 May 2020)

This action film is based on a threat against an airplane where an air marshall, in charge of protecting it, is traveling. It is very similar to many other terrorist and hijacker films, but it still does reasonably well.
Liam Neeson is an excellent actor and has a knack for action or thriller films. It is his strength as an actor and he makes this film with ease. The character did not bring any kind of challenge to the actor, and he supports the entire film on his back very well. Julianne Moore also appears, but has had very little to do other than get on the plane and have some more tense dialogues with Neeson. The same can be said of Linus Roache, Michelle Dockery and especially Lupita Nyong'o, who is demoted to a cameo.
Tense and involving, the film still manages to create an environment and build around it. Cinematography is very good and collaborates very well for this purpose, as do the rare but effective special and sound effects. The soundtrack is effective, but I confess that it was not in my ear. The end of the film was criticized at times, but I think it was not possible to do it any other way. However, it could have been rethought in several places where it sounds quite bad, such as dialogues and some situations: for example, how would it be possible for an airplane in such a situation to land at an airport that not even foam placed on the runway?
Despite having several flaws and losing qualities as it unfolds, it is a film that still proved capable of entertaining and involving most of the time.