Fight or Flight (2025)

“Fight or Flight” stars Josh Hartnett, Charithra Chandran, Julian Kostov, Marko Zaror, and Katee Sackhoff.  Released in the United Kingdom on February 28, 2025, followed by a U.S. release on May 9, 2025, the film has a mercenary surviving an airplane full of assassins.
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The film was directed by James Madigan in his feature directorial debut. Madigan is a visual effects supervisor and second unit director known for directing episodes of “Medal of Honor” and “Marvel’s Runaways”.  When people travel by airplane, they expect it to be a relaxing experience, equipped with a breathtaking view and free peanuts.  If that’s what they desire, it’s probably best not to ride on this particular plane, because this flight is anything but relaxing.  In fact, it’s the flight that’s literally to die for.  If you think fighting a band of special forces agents is intense, try being on an airplane full of deadly assassins striving to make your trip a living hell.  This weekend brings us another piece of action-packed, blood-splattering mayhem that’s looking to heat up the summer movie season for adult audiences.  You know, in case they’re already burned out from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  Was this dangerous, cinematic flight worth taking, or are we better off driving to our destination?  Let’s find out. 

The story centers on Lucas Reyes (Hartnett), a retired mercenary on the run from a top-secret organization led by Katherine Brunt (Sackhoff) due to an incident.  Lucas is brought out of retirement when Brunt reluctantly tasks him with tracking down a wanted criminal known as “Ghost,” who’s located on a departing airplane full of seemingly innocent passengers.  While searching for “Ghost", he eventually discovers that the “passengers” onboard are actually assassins intent on killing both Lucas and the target.  Now trapped more than a thousand feet in the air with no backup, Lucas must rely on his limited options, including a flight attendant named Isha (Chandran), to survive this deadly flight and uncover the criminal’s true intentions.

After watching its trailer for the first time, I knew “Fight or Flight” would be higher on my list of films to see this month.  In addition to the returning Josh Hartnett following “Trap”, the movie is among many others involving a one-person army surviving against a bunch of nefarious killers, which is usually my guilty pleasure regarding the action genre.  While a regular “army vs. army” storyline isn’t without its moments, having only one guy facing impossible odds and coming out on top is not only satisfying but also fun and intense in its stakes.  It may not always work, but it’s one of the elements I can easily get behind whenever I’m in the mood for some bloody carnage.  Why else would I enjoy the John Wick movies?  “Fight or Flight” looks to be an occasion where the execution of its B-movie-esque, one-person army concept usually compensates for its narrative shortcomings, at least based on the trailer.  After watching it for myself, do I think this flight lived up to its expectations?  Well, yes and no.

With its relentless action and far-fetched comical nature, “Fight or Flight” offers exactly what people want from an ultra-violent plane ride through hell.  It’s claustrophobic, white-knuckled, and borderline wild, all of which are essential for an enjoyable good time at the movies.  However, it didn't quite soar as high as it hoped, mainly due to its story.  I wasn’t expecting this film to be the next “Mission: Impossible” in terms of its character depth and groundbreaking action.  It’s just a straightforward, nonstop B-movie thriller involving a mercenary getting caught in the middle of a plane full of assassins.  But that doesn’t mean the writers, Brooks McLaren and D. J. Cotrona, can let this ridiculous concept do all the heavy lifting, as they had plenty of genre traits to work with to make its story competent for takeoff.  The result is a pleasant yet understandably formulaic mishmash of haphazard ideas that don’t always stick the landing.

Some of its narrative elements can be quite enjoyable with the right mindset, including its protagonist, Lucas Reyes.  On paper, Lucas seemed like a typical action hero who gets caught in the right place at the wrong time.  Instead, he’s actually an alcoholic and careless mercenary with a troubled past who’s reluctantly forced into a mission he can’t refuse.  Among the action thrillers featuring a seriously skilled protagonist, “Fight or Flight” stands out by presenting a seemingly unlikable mercenary who’s amateurish and reluctant to partake in the assignment.  This bodes well for Hartnett’s capabilities as an actor, but it also played a role in the film’s comedy, which was about as deranged as its protagonist, with some leaning into the B-movie parodic side of things.  While not as smartly written as it seemed, the humor shared no expense in expressing the film’s ridiculously dumb aesthetic, leading to a suitable amount of laughs and even some shocks.

However, even with the movie’s gleeful mixture of comedy and violence, its screenplay wasn’t up to code with how it handles the characters and plot.  “Fight or Flight” is more like a B-movie version of “Bullet Train” on an airplane, but without the intelligence, surprises, and heart of some of the action-packed classics of years past.  It followed the basic guidelines of making an action thriller, including a hardened mercenary gradually opening up and a mission to protect a specific McGuffin from criminals, leading to a few predictable moments.  There was one surprise introduced earlier involving the “Ghost” character that could’ve made the film better if it had been reserved for the climax.  That way, it’ll build up the mystery behind the target’s true identity instead of relying on the by-the-numbers “protect the target” plot device.  The film also spent too much time with its few exposition scenes in between the action due to its runtime.  It’s only 97 minutes long, which doesn’t seem too bad regarding its simplistic concept, but the time it took to explain what’s happening can be a bit of a drag when Hartnett’s not throwing fists.  There’s also the ending that needlessly sets up a sequel that may not happen.

Despite its flaws, I had an enjoyable time watching the film, notably because it set out to be a white-knuckled, gonzo roller coaster and nothing else.  Regardless of the quality or what people thought of it, “Fight or Flight” maintained its intended tone by having fun with its crazy ideas, even if some didn’t work well in the filmmakers’ favor.  One reason was Josh Hartnett, who began his career comeback two years ago with his role as Ernest Lawrence in “Oppenheimer”.  Admittedly, it wasn’t until his commendable leading role in M. Night Shyamalan’s “Trap” that I started to recognize Hartnett, so I apologize to the actor’s fans for being late to the party.  Seeing him in that film made me confident that Hartnett would repeat that success as an action star in “Fight or Flight”, and after watching him do his thing, I was not disappointed.  Hartnett embraced Lucas' lunacy and instability due to his character’s alcoholism and reluctance, resulting in a performance that further emphasizes the actor’s ability to embody these characters with charm and insanity.  Charithra Chandran also did pretty well in keeping up with Hartnett with her satisfying portrayal of Isha, which makes me interested in her take on Miss Wednesday in the upcoming second season of Netflix’s live-action “One Piece” series.  

Another reason was, of course, the action sequences, the film’s main attraction.  James Madigan was tasked with ensuring the violence is just as insane and over-the-top as its surreal humor, which seemed challenging given his experience directing television episodes.  While his direction may not be refreshing enough to stand alongside other worthy action directors, Madigan was able to complete this mission most of the time.  With the film’s combination of its claustrophobic setting and dark comedy, Madigan showcased the brutal and far-fetched kills in all of their glory.  Although the shaky cam maneuver can be constantly annoying sometimes, the absurdity of its B-movie violence, and Hartnett going full-on “Evil Dead” with a chainsaw, was enough to maintain its gleefully savage appeal and amusement.
 
Overall, “Fight or Flight” offers enough absurdity and mayhem to provide an enjoyably blood-filled flight despite its shortcomings weighing the experience down.  This is the type of movie that aims to delight audiences with an undemanding yet enjoyable roller coaster of violent carnage and merciless chaos instead of being the next “John Wick”.  Regarding its humdrum plot and runtime, this strategy may not be the perfect in-flight movie for everybody, including me.  However, with the right mindset, it’s best seen as a watchable mid-afternoon streaming movie that benefits from Hartnett’s performance as the crazed, unconventional protagonist, the claustrophobic action scenes, and amusing humor.  If a film that embraces its flawed and violently silly concept is what you seek, then “Fight or Flight” may be the trip worth taking.  Everyone else may be better off riding a different plane to their destination.  

C+