The formula is familiar: a broken hero with a mysterious past, an alcohol problem that is about as subtle as a punch to the nose and a mysterious villain who has chosen the hero because of these things thinking they can use them to win. (Spoiler: they can’t. In any movie.) Despite having seen movies like this a hundred times before, Academy Award winner turned action-star Liam Neeson makes it nearly impossible for you to not care.

“Non-Stop” reteams “Unknown” director Jaume Collet-Serra with the 61-year-old Neeson, who is joined by four-time Academy Award nominee Julianne Moore and “House of Cards” alumn Corey Stoll. Neeson plays William Meeks, an air marshal working a flight to London who starts receiving texts from an unknown source threatening to kill a passenger every 20 minutes. As you could expect, not everything is as it seems and the film keeps everyone a suspect.

“Non-Stop” wastes no time utilizing its assets as Neeson commences scenery chewing in the very first scene. In fact, the film is at its best when it quiets the action and allows Neeson and Moore to temper the movie with emotional moments that almost make you wish you could just watch them interact for two hours.

At its worst, however, “Non-Stop” appears to be trying so hard to trick the audience and keep them on edge with constant twists that you almost expect them to reveal that it was the plane causing the raucus the entire time.

With any other actor in the title role, “Non-Stop” doesn’t work nearly as well. Neeson has the distinct ability to elevate trivial dialogue and absurd premises into movies that, if done right, work to raise the pulp action genre to the level of considerate filmmaking that prioritizes lead characters who the audience can not only relate to, but genuinely feel for.

“Non-Stop” does exactly what it aims to do in providing a suspenseful story that packs enough twists and turns with the action clichés to keep it afloat for it’s 110-minute run time. If you’re expecting a film that stacks up with the ones currently garnering Oscar buzz, then you probably shouldn’t be seeing a film in post-Oscar February called “Non-Stop” in the first place.

★★★½

jdredmon@mavs.coloradomesa.edu