I was not interested in Non-Stop at all. It was from the team that made Unknown, producer Joel Silver, director Jaume Collet-Serra and star Liam Neeson. I hated Unknown so much. You know my rule is: the only explanation a movie ever needs is “because it’s awesome.” Well, Unknown is what happens when explanations go wrong. It worked so hard to justify itself that it was aggressively stupid, and it didn’t even need a reason. But, it was not awesome. Non-Stop actually unfolds a clever story, and it is awesome.
It begins with a shorthand introduction to sad Bill Marks (Neeson) looking out a rainy windshield, picture of his dead daughter on the windshield and a bottle of whiskey he pours into his coffee. He checks in for his flight to London, meeting a bunch of supporting characters who will be important later, and a scared little girl who will redeem him. I’m actually totally okay with this. Use the shorthand. The movie is making a promise to us to pay off, and this time it honors its commitment.
Turns out Marks is an air marshal and a hijacker texts him some pretty wild orders. They conveyed this pretty well in the previews, but he’s got to have $150 million transferred to an account or a passenger will die every 20 minutes. The hijacker has thought pretty well ahead to make Marks look like the suspicious one too.
Considering the airplane thriller and the paranoia conspiracy have been pretty well played out, I was really impressed how Non-Stop kept things moving and inventive. The screenplay by John W. Richardson, Chris Roach and Ryan Engle is impressive for a first feature credit for the trio. They incorporate modern technology (i.e. cell phones) and modern air safety procedures into a fun hypothetical about what if every single thing went wrong and was turned against us? Probably not an accurate hypothetical, but a fun one. It has a good sense of humor too. No matter how serious it gets, the script gives the passengers enough credit to push back. Marks’ lie to calm them down is funny, and true.
My favorite thing about Non-Stop is how it portrays our cell phone usage. Movies have really come a long way since the ‘90s when anyone using a computer spoke any words they were typing. Collett-Serra makes the text messages a visual part of the scene, as it is second nature to everyone in the audience. Predictive text keeps sentences flowing in a timely fashion. You don’t want to wait for the terrorist to spell a big word. Man, I should have written down one of the words that gets auto-filled. That’s on me. Collett-Serra even uses cracked screens to protect the PG-13 rating, which is clever on so many levels. Well, several levels: story, marketing and meta commentary on MPAA ratings.
Collett-Serra gets a lot of movement around the plane as well. Overhead views and outdoor shots of the plane are obviously CGI assisted, but what an engaging way to use CGI to track a shot from the front of the plane, outside, and back in again in the rear. He’s able to spin the camera around Neeson, although has to keep the angle low to avoid showing the camera gear. My favorite was a tracking shot where as it moves along, each passenger opens their window to see what awaits them outside. Basic cinematography I suppose, but actually using the space dynamically.
While the strength of Non-Stop is the mystery plot, and all the misdirects it throws at Marks, there is an impressive amount of action for a confined space too. I mean, not just one token fight for Taken fans, but Marks fights a number of threats using different components of the plane. I even noticed a good reason for there to be shaky cam in some scenes. As I mentioned, there is some elegant camerawork, so when the camera starts to shake it actually does make the sequence feel a bit more confined. That’s how it’s used at least. Maybe it’s just a coincidence and Neeson has it in his contract that any fight scene be shot like Taken.
I do appreciate the difference between Neeson’s Taken persona and his Unknown/Non-Stop persona. In Taken he knows everything. You can kidnap him, drop him in the middle of nowhere and he’ll still find you. In the Joel Silver movies, he’s confused, trying to figure out what’s happening to him, but it’s much more effective in Non-Stop.
There are a few big asks in Non-Stop, the biggest being that an alcoholic is allowed to be an air marshal. I hope TSA does sobriety checks in real life. There’s also a protocol in the finale that I looked up to see if it was real. It is not, and that’s fine, because it is awesome.
All credit to Julianne Moore, Michelle Dockery, Anson Mount and other character actors playing passengers. I don’t want to say too much about them because part of the fun is suspecting anybody and everybody. They all did a great job playing it so it could go either way.
I guess I’m a sucker for movies on planes. The Airport movies already escalated things and since Passenger 57, it’s been fair game for action movies. Non-Stop joins the good ones, Executive Decision, Con Air and, yes, Snakes on a Plane. So basically, Non-Stop is better than Air Force One, Turbulence and Flightplan so that’s a win!
Fred Topel is a staff writer at CraveOnline and the man behind Best Episode Ever and The Shelf Space Awards. Follow him on Twitter at @FredTopel.
