Dr. K's Waiting Room

Released: 27 January 2014
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Distributor: Universal Pictures / StudioCanal
Budget: $28 to 50 million
Stars: Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore, Scoot McNairy, Corey Stoll, Nate Parker, and Jason Butler Harner

The Plot:
United States Air Marshal Bill Marks (Neeson) must set aside his personal demons to save a transatlantic hijacked by vengeful terrorists seeking recompense for the September 11 attacks.

The Background:
Taken (Morel, 2008) was a surprising critical and financial success that was not only followed by two largely substandard sequels and a short-lived prequel television series, but also reinvigorated Liam Neeson’s career by recasting him as an aging action hero. As if inspiring a slew of similarly-themed movies wasn’t enough, Taken also saw Neeson star in a bunch of similarly low-budget ventures in a bid to recapture the magic of that movie. One of these was the action/thriller Unknown (Collet-Serra, 2011), which teamed Neeson with Spanish-American horror director Jaume Collet-Serra for the first time and which also resulted in notable success. Thus, Neeson was eager to reprise their working relationship with Non-Stop, a thriller that tied into very real fear about flying and acts of terrorism against the United States after the tragic and horrendous events of 9/11. Working closely with the same Special Forces trainers who work with real Air Marshals, Neeson sought to make the action as gritty and realistic as possible, resulting in some minor injuries for the eager actor. Meanwhile, Collet-Serra relished the challenge of filming on a single, enclosed set, though the script was heavily reworked to capture the vibe of fear and mistrust he wished to evoke. Despite garnering a mixed reaction from critics, Non-Stop proved a decent box office success and Neeson’s performance was praised, despite the film’s more ridiculous moments. Although there was talk of a sequel, nothing has materialised yet. Still, since today is Liam Neeson’s birthday, this seems like a good excuse to revisit it.

The Review:
Non-Stop follows a routine day in the life of morose Air Marshal Bill Marks, a man haunted by his past and who has isolated himself from his peers, friends, and family, preferring a good smoke and a glass or two of whiskey over socialising or confronting his issues. As if still grieving for his young daughter, who tragically died of leukaemia when she was five, and the break-up of his marriage wasn’t bad enough, Marks is irritated that he must board a transatlantic flight to London and stay in the United Kingdom for three days. This leads to a heated call to his supervisor and Marks being especially grouchy and dismissive of his fellow passengers, such as computer whiz Zack White (Parker), the overly chatty Tom Bowen (McNairy), and even his fellow Air Marshal, the condescending Jack Hammond (Anson Mount). In fact, just about the only people Marks isn’t rude towards are Becca (Quinn McColgan), a young girl travelling alone to meet her father, Nancy (Michelle Dockery), a flight attended with whom Marks is already familiar (enough that she brings him a bottle of water when he orders a gin and tonic), and fellow passenger Jen Summers (Moore), who comforts Marks when he shows distress and displeasure as the plane takes off. I can relate to that; flying is an awful experience and it’s comforting knowing a guy as seasoned in air travel as Bill Marks still gets anxious during take-off. Marks eases his anxiety with a ribbon from his daughter, a keepsake from her vast collection of “magic” ribbons that he desperately clutches to remember her and to help with the transition. He also makes sure to regularly visit the toilet and have a cheeky smoke, blocking the vents with some duct tape, and stays in contact with the plane’s pilots, Captain David McMillan (Linus Roache) and co-pilot Kyle Rice (Harner), to ensure the flight is relaxed and smooth. Though he engages with Jen, Marks mostly just wants to be left alone and limits his interactions, though even he can’t help but be hyper aware of his surroundings and attentive to those around him, watching with envy as young couples smooch, brushing past Zack when he holds up the checking in line, and generally keeping a profile to blend in as an ordinary passenger.

Marks is therefore annoyed and disturbed when he suddenly receives a series of vague threats on his fancy little phone that demand a hefty ransom to be paid in exchange for the lives on the plane. Since Marks is working from a secure, Federal line, he initially suspects Hammond of playing a prank on him and angrily confronts him, only to be brushed off as paranoid and the victim of an elaborate hoax. However, Marks takes the threat very seriously and, with just twenty minutes to identify who’s behind the texts before a passenger is killed, recruits Nancy and Jen to watch the security monitors and identify potential suspects. As Marks texts the unknown number, with the messages cleverly popping up onscreen for our benefit, he’s shocked when Hammond appears to be a suspect and angrily confronts him in the cramped toilet. When the crooked Air Marshal first tries to bribe Marks and then frantically fights him, Marks has no choice but to break Hammond’s neck to keep the plane from being compromised by an errant gunshot. After finding a stash of cocaine in Hammond’s briefcase, Marks alerts the Transport Security Administration (TSA), only for Agent Marenick (Shea Whigham) to reveal that Marks is their chief suspect not only after his threatening call to his supervisor but by the hijacker’s account number being listed in Marks’ name. Thus, Marks receives no support from Marenick, who orders him to stand down and begins negotiating with him as though he’s a terrorist, even ordering Captain McMillan to relieve Marks of his badge and gun. Undeterred, Marks takes Hammond’s firearm and continues his surreptitious investigation, eventually fingering Bowen after he reveals he was paid to engage with Marks at the airport. Although Agent Marenick insists that Bowen is clean, Marks manhandles and detains him before the shocked passengers, raising the suspicions of New York cop Austin Reilly (Stoll) and even alienating Jen when she asks too many questions. When Captain McMillan is suddenly and fatally poisoned and Marks’ next suspect also suddenly dies from anaphylactic shock, the situation worsens when video footage from the passengers paints Marks as a paranoid, dangerous man with nothing to lose who’s accosting passengers, searching them at gunpoint and under the guise of some higher authority, while plotting to bring the plane down as some kind of statement.

Considering how paranoid and terrified September 11 left the United States, in particular, the passengers, led by Reilly, grow increasingly concerned and incensed, especially when Marks forces them into one cabin and searches his chief suspects, coming up empty handed each time. Thanks to Jen chatting to Zack, Marks finds a potential solution with a computer virus, only for it to lead to bankruptcy attorney Charles Wheeler (Frank Deal) who, as mentioned, is killed by a poisoned dart. Investigating this leads Marks to briefly suspect Jen, who convinces him of her innocence by sharing how she nearly died and is facing a sudden death from a heart condition, and Marks loses Kyle’s support when Royal Air Force (RAF) jets force the plane to redirect to Iceland due to the perceived threat. After discovering a time bomb in Hammond’s briefcase, Marks desperately prepares for the worst-case scenario and is suddenly jumped by the terrified passengers, who are determined to overwhelm their apparent hijacker and keep from being killed like the unfortunate souls in 9/11. However, an unexpected assist from the bound and scared Bowen sees Marks released and he delivers an emotional tirade to the plane, admitting his flaws and insisting that he’s trying to save them, regardless of the damage to his reputation, winning them over and seeing even Reilly and Zack help pack the briefcase bomb against the rear-end of the plane to reduce the damage from the inevitably explosion. Marks is equally aided by Doctor Fahim Nasir (Omar Metwally), who faces racial profiling from the other passengers, especially when he’s let into the cockpit to attend to Captain McMillan, and faces an uphill battle first keeping the situation quiet and under control and then dealing with the accusations about his chequered past.

The Nitty-Gritty:
This paranoia and fear is palpable in Non-Stop, one of many post-9/11 movies that dealt with the fallout from that horrific event and the way the world changed as a result. Following the hijacking of those planes, Air Marshals became more prominent and were charged with identifying and subduing potential risks, though the capability and suitability of such agents is specifically being questioned by the hijackers in this film. Marks is the perfect candidate to be put to the test given his violent past, unpredictable nature, and withdrawn personality, which paint him as an unstable individual, something not helped by his gruff attitude and demanding nature. Almost everything he says and does is easily taken out of context when filmed by the passengers and in his conversations with Agent Marenick, despite Marks insisting he’ll surrender himself once they land and demanding that the plane be lowered to even out the pressure once the bomb explodes. As someone who abhors air travel, I appreciated Non-Stop’s depiction of flying, especially the traumatising take-off, the buffeting of turbulence, and the concern whenever there’s a technical glitch. I loved that Marks hates flying and is deeply uncomfortable while taking off and when in the air, and the use of such claustrophobic and restrictive sets. Marks is a big dude and seems to struggle in such a confined space, which leads to some thrilling and impactful close quarters combat that’s very visceral and raw. It was very tense seeing everyone packed like sardines in a can, and watching Marks desperately try to spot the perpetrator and constantly being restricted by the environment. It also doesn’t help that the few allies he has grow frustrated with his stern demeanour and suspicious behaviour, with the pilots and cabin crew gradually losing faith in him until it’s revealed he really is on their side and that there’s a very real threat that requires everyone to chip in to defend against. This leads to an inspirational moment of co-operation as prejudices and paranoia are set aside and everyone works together to lower the risk faced to them all, even with the threat of being shot down looming from the jet fighters.

After learning that video footage of his wild actions has gone viral, Marks demands to review the video and sees that Bowen slipped an incriminating phone to Wheeler while being detained. This makes Marks realise all-too late that he had the right guy all along. This grievous error leads to Reilly being held hostage and then injured by a gunshot, and Marks attacked by Zack, who’s revealed to be Bowen’s partner. Bowen, who was left traumatised when the September 11 attacks not only revealed the failings of the air security system but also killed his father, signed up to fight against those who perpetrated the attacks, only to return home and find things were no different and had actually gotten worse since Air Marshals are so unpredictable. Bowen aimed to frame Marks and force the United States to tighten their air security laws, thus preventing further attacks and ensuring the safety of innocents, and convinced Zack to help him with the promise of a big payoff for them and other veterans, though Bowen is fully prepared to go down with the plane. This gives Marks the chance to try and convince Zack to help by disarming the bomb, leading Bowen to wound his partner with a gunshot, though a sudden descent from Rice allows Marks to overpower and dramatically kill the misguided Bowen. When Zack attacks with a knife, Marks delivers an awesome retort and fights him with nothing but his grizzled bare hands and an oxygen mask, a conflict that ends when Marks shoves Zack into the path of the bomb’s explosion. With the plane being torn apart from g-force, Rice struggles to maintain control and execute a messy landing, one that sees part of the plane torn off and Marks and Jen desperately dragging Becca to safety. In the end, the plane grinds to a halt and the shellshocked passengers quickly disembark, with the media now labelled Marks a hero and even Agent Marenick giving him his props. Marks also earns the gratitude of the injured Reilly and emotional Becca, before presumably leaving to spark up a relationship with Jen and keep hold of the hansom money now sitting in that bank account.

The Summary:
Given how poorly received the Taken sequels were, I’ve long said that I wished Liam Neeson’s character, Bryan Mills, had been placed in other thrilling scenarios, with each film in the franchise having a different title and a handful of shared characters, not unlike the Dirty Harry series (Various, 1971 to 1988). Therefore, I’ve always felt one of the biggest disappointments about Non-Stop is that it wasn’t a substitute for Taken 2 (Megaton, 2012), with the premise being rewritten to place Mills in this situation. As much as I enjoy the movie, I feel this would’ve made it a lot more interesting and engaging, though the role of Bill Marks does give Neeson a chance to showcase his range. Unlike Mills, Marks is a dejected and haunted man, a self-confessed alcoholic who’s isolated himself since he was (understandably) too afraid to watch his little girl suffer and die. He’s a gruff, grizzled man who makes demands without thinking and is so determined to safeguard lives that he doesn’t care if he gets branded as a terrorist and a hijacker. This costs him valuable time and the trust of the passengers and crew, making his uphill battle even harder since he bullies his way through the situation, desperate to resolve it as quickly as possible, and ends up having to win over the justifiably unnerved passengers to make progress. Non-Stop does a great job of capturing the nervousness of air travel following 9/11 and the fear of those around us. This leads to racial prejudice as even Marks is suspected because he’s of Irish descent, and plays right into Bowen’s hands since he believes the system is fundamentally flawed and requires a dramatic example to change it. Non-Stop is much more of a thriller than an action piece, with Marks constantly against the clock and desperately trying to find his man, though the brief spurts of action are very engaging thanks to the claustrophobic sets and the setting limiting gun fire. Liam Neeson carried the film with his intense, cantankerous performance but he’s supported by some decent character actors, such as Corey Stoll and Nate Parker. I can’t say that Non-Stop is a film I put on all the time and I wouldn’t necessarily rank it that highly in Liam Neeson’s filmography, but it’s an under-rated action/thriller that definitely holds its own, and I imagine it especially hits the mark for those affected by 9/11 or who are still afraid to fly!

My Rating:

Pretty Good

Did you enjoy Non-Stop? What did you think to Liam Neeson’s performance as a more tortured soul? Would you have preferred to see it reworked into a Taken sequel or do you think it works as a standalone piece? What did you think to tense game of cat and mouse and Marks’ struggle to find his man? Did you find the close-quarters setting suitably unnerving? How did 9/11 impact you and what are your thoughts on Air Marshals? How are you celebrating Liam Neeson’s birthday and what is your favourite Liam Neeson film? Whatever your thoughts, feel free to leave them below, support me on Ko-Fi, and check out my reviews of other Liam Neeson films on the site.