A Ridiculous Bald Cap Can’t Keep Flight Risk From Crashing and Burning
Mel Gibson’s Flight Risk is a movie that crashes and burns in spectacular fashion, earning its place as one of the year’s most disappointing early efforts. Billed as a high-octane action-thriller, the film instead nosedives into mediocrity, weighed down by a clunky script, uneven direction, and an identity crisis that leaves the audience questioning what, if anything, this movie set out to accomplish.
At its core, Flight Risk boasts a premise with potential. The story follows a disgraced U.S. Marshal (Michelle Dockery) a slimy fugitive (Topher Grace) and a would-be assassin (Mark Wahlberg) as they navigate a hijacked plane at 30,000 feet. It’s a setup that practically screams for tight pacing and gripping action, but what unfolds is a bloated, sluggish slog that never manages to get off the ground. Gibson, known for his intense, visceral directorial style in films like Hacksaw Ridge, seems oddly restrained here, turning in a lackluster effort that feels both passionless and uninspired.
Mark Wahlberg, bless him, does his best to breathe life into the film. Playing an assassin who hijacks the plane to kill a mob witness (Grace), he throws himself into the role with reckless abandon, chewing the scenery at every opportunity. Unfortunately, his enthusiasm can’t mask the poor character development or the sheer absurdity of his appearance. It’s hard to take him seriously when he spends the entire film wearing an embarrassingly unconvincing bald cap, which serves as an unintentional metaphor for the movie’s overall cheapness. Wahlberg’s over-the-top performance might have been fun in a more self-aware film, but here it feels like he’s giving 110% to a project that barely warrants 50.
Michelle Dockery, as the disgraced Marshal reluctantly drawn into the chaos, fares slightly better. Dockery brings a certain steely resolve to her role, and her no-nonsense attitude is a refreshing contrast to Wahlberg’s hyperactive antics. However, even her capable performance can’t save the character from being underwritten. Her backstory hints at depth but is largely glossed over in favor of generic dialogue and clunky exposition. Dockery does what she can, but the material simply isn’t there to elevate her role beyond a stock action archetype.
Then there’s Topher Grace, who delivers perhaps the film’s most oddly compelling performance. Grace plays a slimy criminal who is being transported to testify against the mob, and he seems to relish every second of screen time. It’s clear he’s found his niche as a grimy character actor, and his performance adds a small spark of life to an otherwise lifeless movie. However, even Grace’s smarmy charisma isn’t enough to compensate for the narrative’s lack of cohesion or the baffling tonal shifts that plague the film.
The biggest problem with Flight Risk is its script, which feels like a hodgepodge of better movies mashed together without any understanding of what made those films work. The dialogue is painfully cliché, with characters spouting lines that feel ripped straight from an action movie parody. The pacing is equally uneven, lurching from one set piece to the next with little regard for logic or tension. By the time the film reaches its underwhelming climax, it’s hard to care about the fate of the characters, or the plane they’re on.
As for Gibson’s direction, it’s hard to reconcile this uninspired work with the man who once delivered films like Braveheart. The action sequences lack energy, the cinematography is flat, and the overall tone is so inconsistent that it’s impossible to tell whether the movie is meant to be taken seriously or as a tongue-in-cheek romp. In the end, it feels like Gibson phoned this one in, and the result is a film that fails to deliver on even the most basic promises of its genre.
In the wreckage of Flight Risk, there are faint glimmers of what could have been. The story’s core idea, a high-stakes thriller set aboard a hijacked plane, had the potential to be engaging, and there are moments when the cast manages to rise above the subpar material. But those moments are few and far between, buried under a pile of missed opportunities and baffling creative choices.
Ultimately, Flight Risk is a stinker of a movie, a misguided attempt at action cinema that leaves its talented cast stranded without a parachute. Despite Wahlberg’s valiant efforts, Dockery’s professionalism, and Grace’s grimy charm, the film never finds its footing. Instead, it plummets into the abyss, leaving audiences wishing they’d booked a different flight.
Jennifer’s Grade: D