The Liam Neeson Mystery Thriller On Netflix That’s Better Than You Think
Sure, we know and love Liam Neeson for his roles in thrillers including the Taken franchise, Retribution, Memory, and oh, so many more but one of the star’s most undersung films is now streaming on Netflix. Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra (House of Wax, Orphan), the pulse-pounding 2014 action feature, Non-Stop has hit the streamer and is ready for Neeson fans everywhere to get their fix of the star.
In Non-Stop, Liam Neeson plays Bill Marks, a Federal Air Marshal who rebuilt his life after ruining his career in the NYPD due to alcoholism. Marks meets his biggest mission yet when he’s tasked with tracking down and unveiling a killer who’s aboard his flight from New York to London.
Releasing in theaters in 2014, the film was up against fellow box office heavy hitters The Lego Movie and Son of God.
Threatening to kill someone on board every 20 minutes until their financial demands are met, the killer sends messages directly to Marks’s phone, making him the only man able to stop the madman before it’s too late.
Along with Liam Neeson, Non-Stop also stars Julianne Moore (Kingsman: The Golden Circle) as fellow plane passenger Jen Summers.
Filling out the cast is Scoot McNairy (Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice), Nate Parker (Birth of a Nation), Corey Stoll (Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania), Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave), Omar Metwally (The Affair), Linus Roache (Law & Order), Anson Mount (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness), Shea Whigham (Boardwalk Empire), Jason Butler Harner (Kill the Irishman), Frank Deal (The Amazing Spiderman 2), Corey Hawkins (The Walking Dead), Quinn McColgan (Mildred Pierce), and Bar Paly (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow).
Although some may believe that Liam Neeson’s action thrillers are run-of-the-mill films, Non-Stop proved otherwise, raking in $222.8 million at the global box office against its production cost of $28-50 million. Releasing in theaters in 2014, the film was up against fellow box office heavy hitters The Lego Movie and Son of God. Ironically, it was a double-win weekend for Neeson as the actor also held a role in Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s The Lego Movie.
While it may have earned a pretty penny at the box office, Non-Stop was a hit or miss among critics. Some loved the Liam Neeson-led thriller while others found the plot to be tiring and over-the-top, asking the audience to hold onto their suspension of disbelief far beyond the bounds of what a typical action movie would. On Rotten Tomatoes, the title sits with a 61 percent approval rating.
Will We Get A Sequel To Non-Stop?
For some fans, the idea of a Non-Stop sequel is just what the doctor ordered with a clamoring for Liam Neeson to return to his role as the take-no-prisoners Air Marshal in a follow-up film. While there were whispers that a second installment could see Bill Marks take on some baddies off of a plane, no further information has rolled out in almost a decade, meaning that a sequel is highly unlikely.
For leading man Liam Neeson and director Jaume Collet-Serra, Non-Stop marked a reunion following their team-up in 2011’s Unknown. The pair enjoy working together so much that they would return to set once again in 2015’s Run All Night and 2018’s The Commuter.
Essentially, when Collet-Serra needs a solid lead in a thrilling action project, Neeson is the man he turns to, knowing that not only will the actor get the job done but he’ll also put butts in the seats with his major following.
Beyond his work in Non-Stop and the rest of his projects with Liam Neeson, Jaume Collet-Serra is best known for his vision behind popular horror features including 2005’s House of Wax (which also served as his feature-length directorial debut), 2009’s Orphan, and 2016’s The Shallows.
Taking a turn toward action-comedy, Collet-Serra is also the helmer behind Jungle Cruise and even took a shot at superhero IP in DC’s unfortunate flop, Black Adam. Up next, the director’s work will be seen on Netflix in a Jason Bateman and Taron Egerton-led action thriller titled Carry-On.
Other Liam Neeson Movies On Netflix
Along with Non-Stop, fans can also check out a handful of other Liam Neeson-led titles on Netflix including Chloe and Ice Road. A great destination to find your next favorite thriller, other titles including Last Seen Alive, The Gray Man, The Pale Blue Eye, Heart of Stone, and more are also streaming on the platform.
