Non-Stop Action

Have you ever wanted to acquire a fear of flying in planes recently? The new thriller, “Non-Stop” might be for you!
The movie begins with Liam Neeson’s character, Bill Marks, at JFK airport, preparing to board a flight to London. Bill Marks is a federal air marshal who ironically doesn’t like to fly on planes… at all. After boarding on the plane, he befriends another frequent-flyer named Jenn (portrayed by Julianne Moore) who acts as his trusty side-kick for the rest of the film. Once the aircraft reaches altitude, Marks receives an anonymous text threatening to kill a passenger or crew member on the plane every twenty minutes, unless $150 million dollars is transferred to an account number. It is Bill Marks’ duty to diffuse the situation. Trying to keep the passengers safe, Marshal Marks takes necessary protocol to identify the terrorist. When he is trying to contact the TSA to warn them of this threat, they assume he is the hijacker because he fits the profile- an alcoholic who lost his family and acts withdrawn and mysterious. He has to find and stop the hijacker while trying to prove to the crew and TSA that he is not a terrorist. The audience thinks that anyone is a suspect. Even the little girl flying alone for the first time could be the bomber. After all, the same man who directed the horror movie, Orphan, directed this movie.
While watching the movie, I was on the edge of my seat, thrilled by all the twists in the plot. However, walking out of the moving I realized that there were so many ludicrous flaws in plot that didn’t add up. As the plane flew further across the Atlantic, the events became more far-fetched. Questions popped up in my head like, how did no one on the plane notice this or that? Or how could someone be able to text 40,000 feet in the air. And at the end of the movie, after all of the trauma the passengers had been through, they seemed extremely composed. Trying to figure out the guilty party was not a possible task, in my opinion. In the end, I asked myself if there was even enough information given to the audience to play detective and figure out the outcome. It got to the point where I stopped trying to figure out how anything makes sense, and just began to revel in the ridiculous of it all. The twists and turns are so ludicrous and the ending barely makes sense.
It was good that the visuals were impeccable to temporarily distract me from the discrepancies in the logic of the plot. There were very interesting cameras angles and techniques used. The jarring close-ups and eerie score made me feel claustrophobic, and it really captured the flying experience. One of the most captivating cinematographic scenes of the movie was before Bill Marks boarded the flight. It was a series of point of views that captured the essence of being in a crowded airport. There were special effects used to show the text messages, which made it more unique than just showing the cell phone.
The response to the movie from others was mixed. Freshman, Alison Millman claimed it was, ”Fast-paced, high-action, and the most intense thriller I’ve ever seen.” Others, such as 9th grader, Sophie Piller, walked out startled saying,”I would recommend not watching it before traveling by plane.” On Rotten Tomatoes it was rated a 5.8 out of ten by critics. One top critic said, “What it lacks in believability it makes up for in strong performances”(Claudia Puig, USA Today). The general audience rated it a 7.4 out of ten. I, myself, wouldn’t go as far as to put it below a 6, like most of the critics. I would generally agree with the latter. The movie was a solid seven out of ten stars in my book. It was a captivating and an exciting movie, despite the lack of rationale. If you have a fear of flying I would strongly recommend you wait until the next movie Liam Neeson stars in. However, if you are a fan of high-paced thrillers, I would suggest you give this movie a chance.