It’s 2025 and so far this year the Cinematic season has started like a wet fart. 

There isn’t much out there for Cinema fans at the start of the year, unless you want to watch Gerard Butler and Ice Cube’s son fight over who gets the last box of donuts. Mel Gibson’s name still carries a lot of weight and it’s been quite a while since we’ve seen Mel in the director’s chair for a film.

The last time we saw Gibson direct was the 2016 film Hacksaw Ridge, which not only got Academy Award recognition but was also my top film of that year. Mel Gibson as a director has a lot of power in the pool, but the question is, will we still feel the same way about his latest film, Flight Risk?

Flight Risk is a film starring Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Dockery, and Topher Grace. When a shady accountant is arrested deep in the heart of Alaska. US Marshal Madeline Harris is responsible for bringing the fugitive back to the mainland States to testify against his employer.

The two decide to take an unmarked flight from Anchorage, Alaska to Seattle to stay under the radar from any potential threats. The two are joined by a pilot with a Southern drawl and a knack for making inappropriate jokes.

On their way to Seattle, however, they discover that the pilot is not who he seems to be. They realize that their flight has been compromised by an assassin who was trying to prevent the accountant from testifying to the federal government.

Flight Risk is the textbook definition of a bottle film,  the majority of the movie is set in one location and that is a plane the size of a small apartment.  All of the plot progression happens in one location which means that it is up to the actors and the characters to sell the film. 

Topher Grace is a neurotic small-time informant who has information that can bring down a much larger organization tied to the United States government and as a result, he is the person of interest for everyone in the film. Michelle Dockery plays a sole US agent who is responsible For retrieving the informant in hopes of working her way back up the ladder after an incident left a mark on her record. 

Then you have the pilot played by Mark Wahlberg who is a hitman using a stolen identity and is a complete psychopath. Adding a few voices of characters on the radio that aren’t seen on screen and you have all the Bare Bones pieces for this project.

Flight Risk is a film that doesn’t take itself too so there are some degrees of silliness in the film.  The premise does call the question of why a single  US Marshal would be assigned to a high-profile informant which would put the conflict in the movie in question. 

The film does try to answer some of these questions by having a subplot double cross-linked to the film not only is the threat inside of the cabin but outside as well as Madeline struggles to figure out who she can trust knowing her communication lines have been compromised. Grace’s character of Winston is so neurotic that they can border the line of annoyance but at the same time, he is the film’s only sense of some comic relief in a scenario that is high octane the second the plane hits. 

Mark Wahlberg does his best villain performance in the film allowing him to be a full-fledged bad guy which is something that he hasn’t gotten to do recently in his  career. Flight Risk is a very simple film and that’s why it works in so many ways.

You’re not getting Hacksaw Ridge or Apocalypto from Mel Gibson in the director chair this time around. What you end up with is a Tense action thriller that relies on character progression and twist for its entertainment.

It may not be a glowing endorsement but Flight Risk is the best movie that you’re going to see in the month of January.

3/5

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