OVERVIEW: Global action star Liam Neeson (the Taken series, Unknown) is a U.S. air marshal fighting to save a plane full of passengers trapped aboard a plane 40,000 feet in the air in the explosive, high-octane action adventure Non-Stop. Available on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack including Blu-ray™, DVD, Digital HD with UltraViolet™ and On Demand June 10, 2014 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment, the exclusive Blu-ray™ bonus features include an insider’s look at the making of the film and the challenges in staging the intense action sequences. Non-Stop will also be released on DIGITAL HD two weeks earlier on May 27, 2014. 

SYNOPSIS: During a transatlantic flight, U.S. Air Marshal Bill Marks (Liam Neeson) receives a series of cryptic text messages threatening that a passenger will die every 20 minutes unless $150 million is transferred into an off-shore account. With the lives of hundreds of passengers hanging in the balance, Marks must draw on all of his training and skill to uncover the killer traveling on the aircraft. Non-Stop co-stars four-time Academy Award® nominee Julianne Moore, Michelle Dockery (“Downton Abbey”) and Academy Award®-winner® Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave).

FILM REVIEW:  A nicely done, whodunit! Thanks to talented Spanish director Jaume Collet-Serra (Unknown, 2011), this film is well-made, action-packed and an extremely tense action flick. Can anyone say “Air Force One, part 2?” If you have seen the aforementioned “Air Force One” or “Clear and Present Danger,” at any point in time, then these would be a good measure as to whether or not one would enjoy this latest Liam Neeson outing. Yes, that’s my simple take on it even though it’s a bit unfair to compare the three flicks…mostly because those two Harrison Ford flicks are arguably some of the best airplane hijacking movies of all time.

So what we have here is basically every trick in the “handbook of plane-hijacking” is thrown at audiences, along with some additional interesting twists and turns. There are several notable scenes: One being the hand-to-hand combat sequence in one of the airplane lavatories, which is shot from multiple angles and the other being the contrasts in between scenes of passengers calmly sleeping, while the camera periodically alternates between crazy behind-the-scenes scuffles. What’s more is that the narrative successfully keeps audiences guessing about who the perpetrator really is. Could it be a certain bald passenger in Economy Class (Corey Stroll - House of Cards TV series) who keeps thumbing his phone suspiciously? Or the cute flight attendant Nancy (Michelle Dockery - Anna Karenina, 2012) or the passenger with the bushy beard, religious skull-cap and shifty eyes? At one point we even begin to wonder if Neeson’s character, “Marks” himself is unhinged. Those are some of the questions we ponder throughout the hundred and six minute runtime. On the other hand and unfortunately, we witness Oscar nominee and “12 Years A Slave's” Lupita Nyong'o role in this flick as simply restricted to a sideshow of minimal proportions. For such a huge talent, her character seems relegated to simply having one-liners periodically with no real substance. As a matter of fact, any Hollywood stand-in could have played her part without having any previous acting experience. It would have been nice to have seen her role expanded in to the front and center of the action thrills.

Nevertheless, this is a journey of pure intensity and this is Neeson's vehicle - or shall we say plane ride - all the way. If there's a film that is pretty much true to its name, then this one is it. Simply being another variation on the classic theme of a plane hijacking, this flick is relentless with not a wasted second. Four and a half stars would be a fair assessment here and I certainly do recommend it for theater viewing. Dvd rental or pay-per-view will certainly not do this thrill ride any justice.

BLU-RAY: The film is presented in widescreen in a 2.40:1 aspect ration preserving its theatrical format. The picture is just flawless. Not only the picture looks great in this release, also the sound it is good, a 5.1 Dolby Digital in English that provides a good complement to the picture. It also includes  English, French  and Spanish subtitles.

VIDEO:
Widescreen (2.40:1) 16x9

AUDIO:
English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1/DVS2 2.0 and Dolby Digital 2.0, Spanish and French DTS Digital Surround 5.1

Subtitles - English Spanish French

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Blu-ray™ unleashes the power of your HDTV and is the best way to watch movies at home; featuring 6X the picture resolution of DVD, exclusive extras and theater-quality surround sound.

DVD offers the flexibility and convenience of playing movies in more places, both at home and away.

DIGITAL HD with Ultraviolet™ lets fans watch movies anywhere on their favorite devices. Users can instantly stream or download movies to watch on iPad®, iPhone®, Android™, smart TVs, connected Blu-ray players, game consoles, and more.

Will Non-Stop Action - How do you create exciting and original action on a 20’ by 30’ set the shape of a tube? Director Jaume Collet-Serra, stunt co-coordinator Mark Vanselow, producer Joel Silver, and star Liam Neeson discuss the film’s visceral action sequences.

Suspense at 40,000 Feet - Journey behind the scenes with Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore, director Jaume Collet-Serra and producer Joel Silver as they discuss the making of Non-Stop and the film’s suspenseful story.