Non-Stop Suspense...for 100 minutes

Okay.  Let’s set the record straight.

Liam Neeson has trained both famed Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and Batman...he’s taken on God-like powers multiple times: once as Aslan and again as Zeus...and yet people are STILL giving him a hard time because of a loaf of bread he stole decades ago.  Seriously: they tried to take his kid. And in one of his more recent endeavors, he’s caught between a rock and a hard place with a mysterious terrorist in the suspense-thriller Non-Stop.

When troubled, alcoholic air marshal Bill Marks (guess who) boards a flight in New York bound for London, he soon discovers that one of the passengers has vile intentions for the others on board. Unless someone hands the mysterious terrorist $150 million, someone’s going to die in 20 minutes. Marks begins to hunt for this mystery would-be killer, but he can’t find them within 20 minutes.  The cycle repeats itself until the killer just says “screw it” and activates a bomb set to go off in 30 minutes.

But there’s a serious twist in this plot.  As Marks tries to stop this madness, the situation comes to light...and everything makes it seem like the one causing this madness is him.  When an hour has passed, there is enough evidence to give just about everyone reason to believe that he is hijacking the plane.

Guys, seriously...it was a mouthful of bread.

In all seriousness, Non-Stop is one of those movies that only manages to succeed because it’s got a name on it.  In this case, the name is Liam Neeson.  Of course, that’s not to say this movie isn’t good.  In fact, I had a good time watching this movie.  It’s engaging.  Like Salt, this movie has you on the edge of your seat, guessing as to who our villain is, although the action doesn’t drive you nuts with insane plot twists.  Even so, it’s not all straightforward, either.  The suspense also progresses nicely, growing more intense until it peaks at the climax, which is exactly how it should be.  The aftermath leaves no strings untied, though the ending isn’t definitive either.

Unfortunately, the way this movie is made makes it good for watching it once and staying engaged the whole time.  The next time around, you know who the bad guy is, and it’s not as engaging.  That being said, I would recommend this movie, but only as a rental...unless you’re a Liam Neeson fan and simply must have every single movie he’s in.

Do those even exist? *Sigh*

Score: ⅗

Winter is coming...and so is the Soldier: Captain America 2

Ever since the record-smashing success of 2012’s The Avengers, Marvel Studio’s action flicks, while decent enough, haven’t quite measured up to what we’re used to watching.  Iron Man 3 was all right, but it botched an idea with amazing potential: an Iron Man army...whose individual members would shatter at the touch of a fist.  I liked Thor: The Dark World for being more action-packed than its predecessor, but I can’t help but notice, as others have pointed out, the lack of character development that made the first Thor a worthwhile watch.  Can’t we have the best of both worlds in one movie?

Yes.  Yes we can.  Enter Captain America: The Winter Soldier.  Where Iron Man 3 and Thor 2 were decent, The Winter Soldier is just what you’d hope for from a Marvel Studios film, and maybe even then some.  This latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe takes some of the world’s favorite plots in the film industry and rolls them into two epic hours of Marvel goodness.  Think Mission Impossible meets Salt meets Captain America.  The main plot is reminiscent of the original Mission Impossible, while the twists remind me of Salt, though unlike that film we’re not guessing to the very last second of the climax.  And who is at the center of all this action?  SHIELD member and World War II hero Captain America, a.k.a, Steve Rogers (excellently performed by Chris Evans).

One of the film’s main premises is the super soldier’s struggle with what appears to be a lack of integrity in this strange world around him.  Director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson; who else?) seems to be lying to him habitually, keeping secrets and putting the soldier on edge.  Tension increases, but only minimally, when Fury shows Rogers a new operation where three new helicarriers like the one in Avengers will launch into the sky and work to eliminate threats before they can happen.  Rogers response is simple but true: “We [fought] so that people could be free.  This isn’t freedom.  This is fear.”  These carriers initially seem only to serve as a foil for Rogers’ character, but they take on critical importance in the climax.

This struggle with the morality of SHIELD is not limited to the between-action scenes either, not like how character development was in Thor.  No, the development has clear implications in the action as it is revealed that the terrorist organization HYDRA, returning from the first film, has infiltrated SHIELD.  This infiltration is not recent, either.  It’s been happening since SHIELD began.  This isn’t an infection.  This is weeds growing among the wheat.  And Captain America intends to weed them out, even if he has to wreck the wheat in the process.

The sub-title character, the Winter Soldier, is the strong, silent type: donning a mask for most of the movie.  His identity is revealed shortly before the climax, and the twist is surprising.  Although the captain takes on a few stronger foes throughout the film, he ultimately manages to whip them all into shape.  But when he whiffs his iconic shield at the soldier in their first encounter, the impossible happens: in an iconic scene from the trailers, the mysterious soldier catches the shield with his metal arm and throws it back.  He’s the only character who stands a solid chance against Rogers.

Other characters include Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a. Black Widow (Scarlett Johanssen), returning from The Avengers to once again play a major role, along with SHIELD agent Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders).  Newcomer Sam Wilson, a.k.a. Falcon (Anthony Mackie), proves to be the antithesis of SHIELD’s ambiguous morality, thereby landing him the role of Captain America’s new sidekick.  Although we see little of him in action, his contribution to the film as basically everything SHIELD is not is invaluable, and the film’s end hints that this isn’t the last time we’ll see him.

The Captain and the Falcon, hm?  That sounds like a good idea for a video game character.  Oh, wait...

Then there’s Sharon Carter, a.k.a. Agent 13 of SHIELD, secretly assigned to protect Rogers.  She seems to be on his side throughout the film, being the first general SHIELD agent to actively rebel against HYDRA’s regime.  Rumor has it she’ll have a bigger role in the future.  I wouldn’t mind this so much...if the actress playing her wasn’t Emily VanCamp from ABC’s TV drama Revenge.

I don’t know what her role will be in the future, but if I had to take a guess, I think she’s gonna kill ‘em all.

Okay, enough of that.

Speaking of rebelling against HYDRA, there’s one scene in the climax in which one of HYDRA’s members threatens a SHIELD agent at gunpoint.  Staring death in the face (not literally), the agent refuses to comply with the terrorist’s demands, prompting Carter and every other SHIELD agent’s active rebellion.  It may not seem like much, but like the elderly gentleman who refused to kneel before Loki in The Avengers, it’s a small gem of great value.

Well-crafted action sequences, a strong atmosphere of conflict within and without, and a film that takes the best of action flicks and rolls them into one makes Captain America: The Winter Soldier more than worth your time.  If you were disappointed with Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World because you thought they were lackluster compared to their predecessors, then I’m certain you’ll enjoy this film much more.  On the other hand, I’ve heard people say that this film is better than The Avengers.

Do I agree?  Well, I don’t disagree...or agree.  Oh, never mind.

See you in the Age of Ultron.

Score: 4/5

"God's Not Dead," but what about this movie?

Feature-length Christian films have a reputation when it comes to the big screen.  I would say it isn’t positive, but then I’d be dishonest.  The reality is that Christian films, more than other films, focus more on delivering a message than on making good quality movies.  Consequently, the films generally appeal more to the Christian audience than any other audience.

Being a Christian-Catholic myself, I usually enjoy these films.  I’d say that the best ones out there that anyone will enjoy are Soul Surfer (2011) and Facing the Giants (2006).

The latest addition to the roster is Pure Flix’s God’s Not Dead.  When I first saw the preview, it looked promising: a story about a Christian college freshman, Josh Wheaton (Shane Harper), confronted by an atheist philosophy professor (Kevin Sorbo) regarding his beliefs.  There seems to be appropriate tension, and it’s enough to pique your interest.

But when you get around to actually watching it, your expectations are not met.  I was hoping that this film would be different from its predecessors and that there would actually be some quality so that non-believers wouldn’t roll their eyes and snore because of all the preachiness.  Seriously, who wants to be preached to like that?

To be fair, God’s Not Dead doesn’t do as much preaching as some films.  Unfortunately, the film still doesn’t measure up, proving to be yet another addition to the stack of low-quality, high-spirituality films in the movie cupboard.  But before you tune out, let me explain…

If you only look skin-deep (which is usually how deep critics go with these movies), the movie’s most glaringly obvious flaw is the sheer number of subplots and supposedly important characters. 

While these may go on to reinforce Christian belief and perseverance, they make the movie drag, even more so than those of The Desolation of Smaug.  And like that movie, these will make the non-believer shift in their seat and wonder when they’ll get back to the main plot.  And it doesn’t help that some of these get left unresolved.

The other serious flaw is the two-dimensional nature of the characters.  Unlike most Christian movies, which at least feature some character/faith development, this one has practically none.  The film’s message here is simple: if you’re a believer, you’ve got nothing to worry about; God is good, and so life must be good as well (only a few characters get excepted from this).  Even when things are tough, you’ll be fine.  Non-believers, on the other hand, are portrayed in a more negative light: they are cold, calculating, and out to get the believers.

The strongest example of the first half of this is Josh’s girlfriend Kara.  While she and her man go to get some lunch after he is accosted by his professor, she doesn’t just discourage him: that would be too nice.  No, she tells him, and I quote, “I forbid you [to take on this challenge].”

I forbid you.  Really?!  And she’s a head shorter than him!  I’m not saying people can’t tell other people what to do just because they’re shorter, but in this context, it just doesn’t seem right.

Well, ultimately, she breaks up with him, and we never see her again.  How does this affect him?  It doesn’t.  He’s hardly even fazed.  Oh sure, he tried to convince her to stay, but she didn’t, and he just rolled with it.  Granted, he made the right choice by simply saying “okay,” but you’d think that after that he’d struggle a little and wonder if it really is worth it.  After all, they were dating for six years. But no...life just goes on like normal.  Besides, if you have God, what have you got to be down about?  No need to worry!

Um...I’m sorry, but if I dated a girl for six years – heck, if I dated her for six months – then broke up with her because she couldn’t support something I believed was important, I think I’d struggle a little bit, possibly need to talk to someone.  There would just be no way to feel okay after that without counselling.

To be fair, Josh does talk to a pastor...but that happens before the breakup.  And he only sees him once: the spark to get him going, and that’s all he needs.  No need to fill up because the gas tank is limitless!

A much more realistic portrayal of what happens when you choose your faith over your loved ones happens in one of the many subplots: a convert from Islam must keep her faith a secret from her family or suffer consequences.  But her father finds out and tells her to renounce it.  She refuses, and he is about to strangle her...before he remembers that this movie is rated PG and that this would push it over the edge.  So he merely disowns her instead, cutting her off from the family, a decision that takes a toll on both of them.  The last time we see him, he’s crying on the stairway because he thinks he’s lost his daughter, while she sinks sobbing to the ground right next to the door he shut on her.

Even here, however, one can’t help but note the negative light that Islam is portrayed in.  While it’s true that Muslim extremists have a knack for this kind of treatment, would the average Muslim really go that far?

At this point, we’ve gone deeper than skin-deep, and when you dig that far, you’re sure to find an upside amidst so many flaws...and subplots.  The professor, while he’s portrayed for the most part in 2D like the rest of the cast, does get a bit more depth to his character.  This might not seem like much, but Kevin Sorbo delivers a strong performance, easily scoring the best acting job in the movie.  In addition to that, Willie and Korrie Robertson of Duck Dynasty make an amusing and inspiring cameo.

Perhaps the strongest moment in the movie comes at the climax, when everything is put on the line and the question of whether or not God is dead is answered.  On that same note, while it’s a much more subtle message, Josh’s actions make a real impact on both his classmates and his professor, inspiring anyone who may feel as though they want to stand up for something important yet feel alone.  The message is subtle and clear: one person can make all the difference.

So what’s the verdict?  Is God’s Not Dead a worthwhile watch?  If you’re a Christian, it could be, but only the most stubborn of Christians (stubborn in the bad sense, as opposed to standing firm on their faith) will find no flaw with this movie.  Flawed or not, though, any Christian will come away from watching this inspired.

As for the non-believers, I believe that this movie’s title is truth: God’s not dead.  This movie, however, is another story.