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"Non-Stop": In the Jet Scream
By Michael S. Goldberger, iBerkshires Film Critic
02:18PM / Tuesday, March 11, 2014
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Popcorn Column
by Michael S. Goldberger  

Universal Pictures
Liam Neeson is a beleaguered air marshal stuck on a non-stop flight full of action-movie cliches.

Just in case coffee, assorted world crises and the increasingly callous behavior of obnoxious fellow motorists aren't making you nervous enough, director Jaume Collet-Sera has concocted "Non-Stop." Fraught with tension and some of your worst apprehensions realized, it offers folks an entertaining rationale not to relinquish their fear of flying.

Starring at the center of this taut high-wire act, Liam Neeson is Bill Marks, a beleaguered air marshal whose personal baggage has been weighing him down of late. So when an extortion scheme at 30,000 feet makes for lots of emotional turbulence, his ability to handle matters becomes questionable. The usual cast of sundry disaster participants are aboard to judge, aid, abet, rile and generally freak out when push comes to shove.

out of 4

But gosh, we sure hope Julianne Moore's Jen Summers, a seemingly sweet gal, has nothing to do with the text Marks receives shortly after takeoff. Come up with $150 million to be deposited in an offshore account or someone will be killed every 20 minutes. I mean, she practically begged for the window seat right next to our troubled lawman.

But then there's also the abrasive New York cop, a couple-three nerds, the doctor in Arab garb, a computer guru, and just about every clichéd passenger who's been traveling this timeworn route since even before the first Orient Express chugged out of Constantinople.

Of course, lest the routine executions don't adequately drive home the perpetrator's resolve, there's also a Damocles sword in the form of the ticking bomb that's discovered in a briefcase. Oh my … what's an alcoholic, divorced and forlorn peace officer to do?

Well, he anguishes a lot, and quite convincingly, too, though he's never really Bill Marks, but rather Liam Neeson demonstrating how a seasoned pro can rise above even the most convoluted and stereotypical scenarios and win our empathy in the bargain. Gee … it better not be him that's behind it all. Well, that's what the authorities back on terra firma soon surmise, which, predictably enough, is why they won't help him.

Alas, as deserted as Gary Cooper in "High Noon" (1952), whatever heroic instincts we hope might lie beneath his pervading self-doubt must come to the fore or surely it's oxygen masks, horrific plummeting, ghastly screaming and well, you know.

Director Collet-Sera tightens the knot of suspense until we can practically hear the rope fibers crackling. Neeson reflects the impending calamity via a spectrum of worry wrinkles and grimaces usually reserved for shocked parents of teenagers whilst bleating, "You did what?!"

Various cinematic ploys up the nerve-wracking ante by reminding that the cast and we vicariously involved spectators are defying gravity in what is essentially a large sardine can.

Adding a skosh of quirkiness, suspicion, encouragement and attractive window dressing, Moore's Jen Summers is that lady with an uncertain past, intriguingly philosophical by virtue of those bumps and bruises we speculate she's endured. Worth noting, Moore has gracefully managed to remain a formidable siren to her aging peer group while successfully transitioning to character roles that nicely illustrate her range.

Now, about the game that is afoot. While such suspense yarns aren't my favorite cup of adrenalin, "Non-Stop" is a relatively durable example of the genre. However, please know that, because I rarely guess whatever it is you're supposed to guess, and can't fathom ever penning a sleuther myself, I tend to be impressed with the craftiness of the better thrill purveyors. Do they write the ending first?

In any case, one caveat I insist on when judging the pedigree of such fare must satisfy what I've termed Goldberger's Hansel & Gretel Barometer of Cliffhanger Evaluation. In essence, has the screenwriter scattered enough plot crumbs so that those so inclined can solve the mystery? Even "The Usual Suspects" (1995), the iconic granddaddy of modern puzzlers, supplies a proper smattering of clues … although I had about as much luck spotting them as I did passing organic chemistry. Here, "Non-Stop" is disingenuous.

Unless you consider shady behavior hint enough, which would mean almost everyone in politics and law would ostensibly be a suspect, as well as make for a rather overbooked flight, this picture fails the Hansel & Gretel. The climax appears as if it were hurried in from left field and plopped in place the last minute.

Still, our better instincts make us fans of redemption. So while the movie does afford one the opportunity of calling out the culprit's identity with the conceited joy of a "Jeopardy" viewer, there are finer notions neatly enmeshed within the albeit imperfect fabric of the highly pressurized screenplay. Thus, even filmgoers with an express interest in "Non-Stop's" action are bound to make a sympathetic connection with its put-upon protagonist.

"Non-Stop," rated PG-13, is a Universal Pictures release directed by Jaume Collet-Sera and stars Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore and Michelle Dockery. Running time: 106 minutes

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