An unpretentious, fast paced, suspense ridden thrill ride that keeps you guessing

Rating: 7/10 (6 August 2014)

A former cop Bill Marks (Liam Neeson) who is now an air marshall is on a transatlantic flight from New York to London. This seemingly routine flight is interrupted when he gets a series of messages from an unknown person stating that he will kill one person every 20 minutes unless $150 million dollars is transferred into a specified account. However, with several hundred people on board the aircraft (nearly all of which have mobile phones), Marks finds himself in a race against time to try and find out who is sending these messages before this unknown assailant puts his plans into motion.
If you like films that are exciting, suspenseful and films that keep you guessing then this film will be right up your street. From the very first time Marks get a message from the assailant to the very end of the film, this film leaves the viewer in a constant state of suspense. The audience have no idea who is doing this to Marks, why they are doing it. Marks also has no idea who and why. He tries various methods to try and find the perpetrator - some methods are ethical, some not so. Whatever is happening, I, as a viewer, was constantly left guessing.
Neeson is solid in the role of Bill Marks and anyone who has seen the 2 Taken Films and Unknown will like his performance (some may argue that it is becoming overly familiar). Personally, I find myself in the former camp and happen to think that, not only is Neeson good in this type of role, but he's also well suited to this type of role. Julianne Moore was OK, although I know she is capable of much better. The rest of the supporting cast do OK.
Non Stop is not a perfect film and if you stop to think about it there are certain aspects that are hard to believe; this whole scenario existing post 9/11 is a tough sell. I think it depends how you look at it; if you look at it from a negative perspective you will dismiss it as a stupid implausible thriller with a ridiculous premise. However, if you look at it positively you will see a film which is potentially opening everyone's eyes to the potential dangers that can occur when a major breach of security occurs - therefore creating an utterly plausible scenario. From a personal perspective I can see both sides of the argument, but the way I look at it is that this film is billed on IMDb as 'Action' 'Mystery' and 'Thriller' and it blends all three elements superbly. In other words, I got exactly what I both wanted and expected so for that reason I enjoyed this film.