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After watching Mel Gibson's latest movie, Flight Risk, which stars Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Dockery, and Topher Grace, it makes sense why Lionsgate moved it to a January 2025 release.
It's the kind of 90-minute romp with a fun premise that dominated the early 2000s. To his credit, Gibson makes the most of the premise and the setting, given that most of the movie takes place in a small airplane.
Wahlberg bravely takes on a role that he has avoided for years. Recently, Wahlberg has been taking on family-friendly roles, except for Father Stu. He takes the role surprisingly far, given its limitations, and he has a fun dynamic with Dockery and Grace.
However, despite a smooth takeoff for Flight Risk, it begins falling apart in the second half. Writer Jared Rosenberg knew how to get the story off the ground, but he failed to stick the landing.
That's due to how many twists and turns the movie takes. There are a few too many red herrings for a film with about five or six actors in the cast. If it stuck the landing, I think Flight Risk would have actually been the best of Wahlberg's recent movies.
Flight Risk review
The premise is simple. A U.S. Marshal, Madelyn Harris (Michelle Dockery), is back on the job after a leave of absence (this becomes crucial later with the various twists and turns).
She tracks down a government witness, Winston (Topher Grace), who is accused of getting involved with a mob boss. She has to escort him to trial, and they will have to fly across Alaska to do so.
Their flight is being piloted by Darryl Booth (Mark Wahlberg), a country bumpkin who appears to be someone you'd run into at a Buc-ee's.
However, they soon realize that Darryl is a hitman tasked with taking Winston out. After some back and forth, they temporarily take him down but still have to fly themselves to safety.
As you might imagine, about 90% of Flight Risk takes place on a small airplane. Gibson uses the space well, making it feel as claustrophobic as it likely did for the actors involved.
Combine movies with minimal settings like Room and 12 Angry Men with something like Air Force One, and you have Flight Risk. Not to say that Gibson's latest reaches the heights of any of those movies, but its style somewhat resembles them.
One mistake the filmmakers made was giving away the big reveal in the trailers. It's obvious that Darryl isn't 100% there, but going in knowing the big reveal that he's a hitman takes the wind out of the movie's sails. Granted, it comes about 30 minutes in, but it probably would have had more power if it wasn't known ahead of time.
Mark Wahlberg's devious turn
In recent years, Wahlberg has primarily acted in family-friendly movies. The results have been mixed. You get occasional good with Uncharted and Arthur the King, and then forgettable like Me Time and The Union. Perhaps that says more about the quality of straight-to-streaming movies than anything.
Nevertheless, his turn in Flight Risk is a breath of fresh air. Darryl seems like a sleazeball upon the big reveal. However, once he embraces being the villain, his performance escalates.
I can't remember the last time Wahlberg was this comfortable as a bad guy. He chews up the scenery much as Grace did years ago in Spider-Man 3. As a whole, Flight Risk may not live up to the hype. But it gives Wahlberg a different kind of role to sink his teeth into, which he embraces.
How are Michelle Dockery and Topher Grace in it?
Dockery gets to play the U.S. Marshal who is trying to prove herself. Most of her backstory is left to the imagination, which causes her performance to somewhat fall flat.
What you do know is that something happened that resulted in a leave of absence. This is Madelyn's first task since coming back to the job.
For Dockery, it's nice that she gets to have an involved role in an airplane thriller (she previously starred in the Liam Neeson-led Non-Stop).
While the substance of her role leaves some to be desired, at least she gets to show her badass side in The Gentlemen. She shares some intense encounters with Wahlberg throughout.
Seeing Grace in a movie feels like a rarity these days. He has been starring in Home Economics on the small screen, but before Heretic last year, he hadn't been in a feature film since 2020.
Nonetheless, Grace does great work as the neurotic informant, Winston. He isn't a badass like Madelyn, nor is he a cold-blooded killer like Darryl. He provides a different flavor from his two co-stars, and his performance is surprisingly heartwarming.
Should you watch Flight Risk?
If not for Mark Wahlberg's incredibly committed performance, Flight Risk would be another forgettable January release. Luckily, he gives viewers a reason to watch, even if the movie ultimately crumbles upon itself by the end.
Gibson and Wahlberg continue their collaborative relationship. Is Flight Risk really that much better than Daddy's Home 2? Sadly, the race is closer than either would likely care to admit.
But at least it exists. These days, a high-octane thriller with minimal settings and characters stuffed with A-list actors is few and far between.
At one point, Topher Grace tells Michelle Dockery that he'd rather fly Spirit Airlines than ride in the tiny airplane in Flight Risk. Ironically, Flight Risk resembles the experience of flying with Spirit Airlines — it starts out okay, but you'll inevitably have to prepare for a rocky ride.
Flight Risk will be released on January 24.
