Liam Neeson captured my movie-going heart with his gut-wrenching films Taken and Taken 2.  These films exposed the realities of the sex trafficking market through a horrific international kidnapping. It was because of these films that my desire to travel has decreased greatly. Neeson’s most recently debuted action-packed film, Non-Stop, released Friday, Feb. 28. Though following a completely different plot line, this film only increased to my fear of venturing away from the safe abode of my home and onto a plane.
The entirety of this movie takes place 30,000 feet in the air, in the quarters of a plane traveling transatlantic. Neeson fills the role of Bill Marks, the flight’s air marshal, whose job is to protect the passengers from hostile acts of terrorism. However, Marks is suffering from some severe personal problems of his own; a deteriorated marriage, alcoholism and a guilt-ridden heart attached to his role in parenting has made him bitter.
It is because of this bitterness that Marks is suspected as a terrorist on his own plane. It all starts when Marks receives a text message from a stranger alerting him that if he doesn’t cough up $150 million in 20 minutes someone will die. 20 minutes go by… the perpetrator wasn’t lying, one man goes down. However, this isn’t the end of it. Marks receives another text notifying him that at every 20-minute interval from that point on, the plane will lose another passenger. And being in the middle of a flight across the ocean, an early landing is not an option. This situation alone would be difficult for an air marshal to handle, but there’s more to the story. The passengers of the plane, as well as people on the ground watching via video (including Marks’ supervisor), begin to point the blame on the alcoholic air marshal.
My only criticism would be that the set was small considering everything took place inside the plane. I wished to see a little bit of the back story. Though we find out the reason for the alcoholism later on in the movie, I wished to dive deeper into Marks’ story. We spend only 10 minutes max off of the plane.
Needless to say, this is a thriller. I am a sucker for a good intense movie, and this film had me jumping out of my seat at several moments of suspense. Also, trying to figure out who the real perpetrator is was a challenge. The man I believed to be guilty turned out to be a hero alongside Marks in the end. After twists and turns, Neeson’s raw acting talent stands out and truly makes the film great. His straight-face, calm in the midst of danger-persona continues to grasp my attention.
“Non-Stop” is a definitely worth seeing if you enjoy thrilling films. But if you have already it, fear not. According to IMDb, Taken 3 has been announced…
By Brittany Cornelison
Will you or have you seen “Non-stop”? What did you think of it?