Starting with his role as Ra’s al Ghul in Batman Begins, Liam Neeson has transformed from a strong actor with a formidable screen presence into the current definitive movie badass, following his turns in films like Seraphim Falls, Taken, Unknown, and The Grey (among others). That Neeson is also about two months’ shy of his 60th birthday just makes that accomplishment all the more impressive.
Hence, Neeson fans should be pleased to hear that the Irish thespian is circling yet another action project, titled Non-Stop: a film which (should he sign on) would feature the man as “a worn-out air marshal who faces a threat while traveling on an international flight.â€
Non-Stop is based on a screenplay penned by (relative) newbie writers John Richardson and Chris Roach, with Jeff Wadlow (Cry_Wolf, Never Back Down) attached to direct. Admittedly, based on those credentials alone, this flick reads as more potential direct-to-DVD B-movie fare, rather than a starring vehicle for a high-profile leading man of Neeson’s stature.
However, Variety has confirmed that the project already has some big names backing it – including, Joel Silver and his Dark Castle Entertainment banner, along with Andrew Rona (who produced Unknown) and Alex Heineman, who co-executive produced this year’s lucrative found-footage flick Project X with Silver. Warner Bros. is also already onboard to distribute the film in theaters.
The personnel involved with Non-Stop still don’t really compare to the folk who worked on previous memorable Neeson-starring thrillers, be they screenwriter/producer Luc Besson (Taken and this year’s Taken sequel) or The Grey writer/director Joe Carnahan. Not to mention, the film’s single-setting setup could be very hit and miss, depending on how it’s executed (see Retreat for a recent example of the latter… or, rather, don’t see it).
All that said: Non-Stop still has the makings of a terse thrill ride featuring one of the more enjoyable onscreen action stars in the biz right now. Regardless of how good (or not good) the film ultimately turns out, there will definitely be an audience ready to watch Neeson battle mysterious baddies thousands of feet up in the air… on a plane, that is.
Expect to learn more about Non-Stop as the story develops. In the meantime, you can see Neeson on the big screen in either the currently-playing Wrath of the Titans, this summer’s Battleship board game move adaptation, the aforementioned second installment in the Taken franchise this fall – or (POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT) a certain upcoming, hotly-anticipated blockbuster that the actor was recently officially confirmed to appear in.
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