Flight Risk (2025)

“Flight Risk” stars Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Dockery, and Topher Grace.  Released on January 24, 2025, the film has a U.S. Marshal confronting a hitman while transporting an informant via plane.

The film is directed by Mel Gibson, who also directed films such as “Braveheart”, “The Passion of the Christ”, “Apocalypto”, and “Hacksaw Ridge”.  Traveling on an airplane has its benefits, such as getting to another state in a short amount of time.  However, it’s also not without some cons that would affect the trip, including the phobia of heights and the possibility of a plane malfunctioning during mid-flight.  But those things are nothing when compared to your life being threatened by a deranged hitman, particularly in this case.  Following his redemption with the Oscar-nominated war masterpiece “Hacksaw Ridge”, Mel Gibson returns to the director’s chair after almost a decade to helm an action thriller that looked more contained and claustrophobic than his previous works.  The film also sees Mark Wahlberg taking on a villainous role that requires him to ditch his hair for a balding one, in addition to his piloting skills.  Is this actor/filmmaker duo enough to deliver another worthwhile piece of January entertainment, or are we better off on the no-fly list?  Let’s find out.

The story centers on Deputy U.S. Marshal Madelyn Harris (Dockery).  She’s tasked with escorting a government witness named Winston (Grace) to a trial after he is accused of getting involved with a mob boss.  Their source of transportation is a small airplane flown by a pilot named Daryl Booth (Wahlberg).  However, they eventually discover that Daryl is actually a hitman hired to assassinate Winston before they reach their destination.  After subduing Daryl, Madelyn later finds that other people are looking to foil Madelyn’s mission.  Left with no other option, the three passengers are forced to fly together through an Alaskan wilderness to escape this dangerous predicament.

“Flight Risk” was one of the films I looked forward to seeing last year.  Yes, I did say “last year” because this movie was initially going to come out last October, which could’ve put it against the likes of “Joker”, “Smile 2”, and “Venom”.  But it looked like the Halloween competition seemed too much for the claustrophobic thriller, as it got delayed to the dumping grounds of January.  This strategy made sense, considering there’s usually less competition in the first month of the new year, giving it a much bigger chance to attract more attention.  On the other hand, January is also known for churning out some forgettable content before we get to the big films later.  However, there have been a few January movies that exceeded our low expectations, including the recently released “One of Them Days”.  With Mark Wahlberg, Mel Gibson, and a seemingly fun and thrilling concept on the helm, “Flight Risk” seemed like it had the opportunity to fly above those ranks.  Unfortunately, it wound up soaring below those ranks instead.  Like, farther below than it should have gone.

“Flight Risk” had plenty of potential inside its cargo to make this flight enjoyable or, at the very least, tolerably competent.  This could’ve been the next “Plane” or “Con Air” in terms of its airplane-related thrills, but it surprisingly wasted that promise in favor of a trip that’s as painfully depressing as an eight-hour flight full of unruly passengers.  Even if it had a few subtle merits to keep me engaged throughout its 90-minute runtime, the film still lacked the thrills and heart-stopping suspense many movies involving single settings are known for.  Except for “The Man Without a Face”, Mel Gibson is usually known for helming epic historical films on a grander yet limited scale, resulting in him creating some of his finest works like “Braveheart” and “Hacksaw Ridge”.  The latter was, of course, my first exposure to Gibson as a director.  Controversies aside, “Hacksaw Ridge” made me appreciate Gibson’s miraculous approach to the epic genre.  So, it caught me off guard seeing Mel Gibson direct “Flight Risk”, a low-budget, single-setting thriller that’s nowhere near his usual capabilities.

Don’t get me wrong.  I respect the filmmakers for stepping outside their comfort zones every once in a while.  It’s just that when it comes to the execution, their testing new grounds could signify their future as directors and their trust in their fans.  In Mel Gibson’s case, this change didn’t suit his directorial talents well.  There were a few moments when he tried to make the concept’s claustrophobic suspense work, but he constantly struggled to balance its dialogue-driven sequences with tension and emotion.  Even the action scenes between the character-driven scenes were disappointingly tame and restrained despite its R rating, although the one in the finale was admittedly decent.  I can understand that the film didn’t want to become too far-fetched with its stunts and violence, but that doesn’t excuse it for being too afraid to get a little nuts with its concept.  After returning strong with “Hacksaw Ridge”, it’s a shame to see Mel Gibson immediately fall from grace with the worst directorial effort in his career.  As for Jared Rosenberg’s screenplay, it’s as barebones and dumb as it can get, but not in a fun way, especially regarding its protagonist, Madelyn, and some of her actions.  While they may make sense to drive the plot’s tension, some didn’t stop me from being annoyed by them.

As mentioned earlier, “Flight Risk” had a couple of merits to keep this flight tolerable, including its okay cast.  Mark Wahlberg usually takes the helm of a good-natured protagonist in most of his films, especially ones involving action and comedy, and the results were charismatic at best. “Flight Risk” had Wahlberg flip the script by portraying Daryl Booth, a psychotic hitman and pilot tasked with shutting Topher Grace up for good.  Considering my humble respect for Wahlberg as an actor, it was a suitable change of pace for him to provide some variety in his performances aside from his accustomed routines, and I thought it paid off well.  While not as memorable as some of his worthy earlier performances, Mark Wahlberg still retained his charismatic essence while putting on a diverting show as the deranged Daryl.  Michelle Dockery from Downton Abbey fame also delivered a respectable performance as Madelyn regarding the actress’s approach to displaying the character’s stern yet fearful personality.  As for Topher Grace, he did all right as Winston, but his approach to humor didn’t work for me, mainly in the first act.  Winston got a bit more tolerable as the film progressed, but I had a feeling that those who don’t like his sense of humor might not get close to that point.  The visuals were also mostly okay, mainly the flight sequences, although the ones at the beginning of the movie looked off-putting compared to the rest of it.

Overall, “Flight Risk” is a surprisingly underwhelming and inept plane thriller that lacks the piloting skills to ensure an easygoing cinematic flight.  When you have a talented group of people involved in a film like this, like Mel Gibson, this should’ve been another tolerable action thriller involving an airplane.  Sadly, after watching this film, I can only say that Gerard Butler still reigns supreme in the “airplane thrills” category regarding the flawed yet enjoyable “Plane”.  Mark Wahlberg’s villainous performance and hit-and-miss visuals managed to keep this airplane soaring above the ground, but they were not enough for it to stick its rocky landing after flying too close to the danger zone.  Regarding Mel Gibson’s tedious direction, weak screenplay and characters, and forgettable action, the film marks another victim of the dreaded January movie curse.  I would say it’s worth watching only for Wahlberg’s performance, but not in the theater.  Instead, save this flight for a rental release.

D+