Solid ground doesn’t exist in the cinema of Jaume Collet-Serra and Liam Neeson. Theirs is an action cinema of distress where the mental instability of each protagonist blurs the boundaries of seemingly tight spatial parameters. Conflict unfolds violently and manipulatively within manmade (and psychological) bubbles, as vast as the multiple boroughs of New York City or as small as the cramped fuselage of a passenger jet. There is no escape, only the desperate and unflinching pursuit of truth, moral direction, and family safety. The bad guys often win, but the good guys always gain closure.Angular compositions and desperate tracking shots populate 2011’s Unknown, 2014’s Non-Stop, and 2015’s Run All Night. Images overlap, tip, ascend and dive to visualize the world as one big box of quick sand. The camera propels through space like a boomerang, challenging logic and defying gravity with reckless abandon. Every step forward brings us...