Carl Roberts 
“Flight Risk flies high and easily glides us into a good time. Book your seat, strap in, make sure your table is in the upturned position and get ready for take-off.”
I do enjoy a good aircraft action movie. A good old-fashioned suspense thriller that has me on the edge of my seat throughout. One of my favourites is the superb Harrison Ford terrorist thriller Air Force One. Now, it’s time for Mel Gibson to throw his hat into the ring. Gibson directs Fight Risk, a suspense thriller set almost entirely onboard a small plane. Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Dockery, and Topher Grace star in Gibson’s new directorial effort. Wahlberg plays a pilot transporting an Air Marshal (Dockery) and a fugitive (Grace) across the Alaskan wilderness, where the identities and intentions of those onboard come into question. The question is, can the film take to the skies and soar above the clouds? Or does it crash and burn from the start?
PREMISE
A U.S. Marshal escorts a government witness to trial after he is accused of getting involved with a mob boss, only to discover that the pilot who is transporting them is also a hitman who has been sent to assassinate the informant. After they subdue him, they’re forced to fly together after discovering that there are others attempting to eliminate them.
THOUGHTS
If you’re looking for an all-action blockbuster that features high-octane action sequences, look somewhere else. This isn’t that kind of movie. Instead, this is an intense cat-and-mouse thriller set mainly inside a small aircraft. And this aids the film as, like Die Hard before it, the claustrophobia elevates the quality (no pun intended.) Is it in the same league as Die Hard or Air Force One? You must be joking. This isn’t in the same class as those classics. But it gives enough suspense, second-guessing and violence that more than entertains the audience. With the three actors taking virtually all of the screen time with the exception of the opening and closing of the film, the audience must settle in for the ride alongside them.
MARK WAHLBERG
Anyone who has seen the trailers knows that Mark Wahlberg is the bad guy here. But that is only half the story. Wahlberg is in brilliant villainous form as the unhinged Daryl. If you didn’t already know that he was the villain, you’d probably guess after the first five minutes of his first appearance on screen. Wahlberg plays the assassin superbly, trying everything he can to accomplish his mission, using foul language, knowledge of both of his passengers that he uses to his advantage and displaying a psychotic edge that keeps us on tenterhooks. He also uses sexual innuendo on both his passengers once his true identity has been revealed, making us extremely uneasy throughout. For what could so easily have been a one-dimensional villain, Wahlberg breathes more life into Daryl than he probably deserves.
MICHELLE DOCKERY
Michelle Dockery surprises us all with her portrayal of Madolyn. This is as far from her role as Lady Mary Crawley as can be. The actress shows us a hard edge to her acting portfolio, giving Madolyn some good emotional depth to go alongside the steel she contains beneath the surface. As we could predict, Madolyn has a tragic backstory that Daryl knows about and uses to his advantage. This kind of thing is all too commonplace in films like this. But it doesn’t get in the way of the actress embracing her role, bringing a more human aspect to what could have been a token female role. Her willingness to use her fists as well as her brain make the character one that we can get invested in. Throw in her suspicions of a mole within the Marshall’s department, bringing mystery to proceedings and we are all behind her.
TOPHER GRACE
Topher Grace portrays Winston, the informant Madolyn must bring back to testify against his boss. Now, here is a conundrum for the audience. Some will hate his character and the way he acts during the film while others will sympathise with him. How you feel depends on your feelings about the character. But the actor plays the frightened witness well. While we feel that he could turn on Madolyn at any time, we also see his fear. When he discovers a shocking secret Daryl is holding onto, we begin to see the character in a new light, making us like him just a little bit more. However, his role is the token one we expect, robbing the actor of some emotional attachment to the audience. This isn’t Topher Grace’s fault, this is a symptom of the script. By the climax, we know how we feel about the character, despite him being a third wheel which doesn’t always fit.
MEL GIBSON
Mel Gibson directs the movie. Now, being 91 minutes long, we would be mistaken in thinking that the actor is out to make a quick payday. Usually, Gibson-directed movies run for a minimum of two hours and sometimes almost three. You’d be wrong. Gibson brings a sense of style to proceedings that maybe the film doesn’t deserve or you’d expect. Working from Jared Rosenberg’s script, Gibson delivers an enjoyable, if cliched movie that, at times, feels like an 80s movie throwback. Not that that’s a bad thing (at least not for me, a huge 80s movies fan.) Some things let Gibson down but that isn’t his fault. That lies in other areas which are glaring.
VERDICT
Flight Plan is more fun than it really deserves. We wouldn’t expect it from the opening scene which contains some of the worst and most obvious CGI we’ve seen for a long time. To put it into context, I was expecting to find out that it was a badly created Christmas card used as a joke. I was wrong. At times, some of the CGI leaves a lot to be desired. But thankfully, it doesn’t distract from the human drama that follows it. The film also contains a lot of humour which we don’t expect, some of which has us laughing out loud. Some of it makes us uneasy at times with its dark undertones and hints but it doesn’t stray into offensive territory, although it could quite easily do so.
While the film won’t win any awards for originality or be regarded as one of the best films of the year, it does more than enough to hold our attention, have us gripping the cinema seat until our knuckles turn white and give us a fun time. Cliched it may be but that doesn’t mean that the film is substandard in any way. It is an enjoyable way to lose 90 minutes and does enough to warrant a return viewing or two. Flight Risk flies high, doesn’t crash and burn and easily glides us into a good time. Book your seat, strap in, make sure your table is in the upturned position and get ready for take-off.
Flight Risk will be in cinemas on Friday from Lionsgate.
Introducing Carl! As the News Editor at Future of the Force, Carl has been an invaluable member of our team since early 2016. His expertise and dedication have made him an integral part of our editorial staff. Beyond his professional role, Carl is a fervent supporter of Liverpool F.C. and an avid follower of pop culture. He has a deep passion for Halloween, Friday the 13th, and the iconic movie franchises Star Wars and Star Trek.
He can be found either at his neighborhood cinema, enjoying the latest releases on the big screen, or at home streaming the newest blockbuster movies.
