Ahh shit, here we go again. Yes, it’s time for another mildly amusing action thriller with a cool twist. Can you guess what the twist is? Ahh shit, you good. So, Flight Risk is a disposable action thriller good for exactly one use. Yet again we find ourselves high up in the skies following a prisoner transport gone horribly wrong. If you’re thinking that this sounds a bit generic, wait till you hear the details. Madolyn Harris, a U.S. Marshall just boarded a small airplane with her witness Winston who must testify at his boss’s trial. You see, Winston was an accountant for a mobster who now wants him dead. And I swear I’m not making this up.
There’s not a single original thought in this movie and maybe that’s the thing that makes it so funny. Unintentionally funny, to be more precise. Well, it’s kind of funny in its own right but you get my point I believe. Flight Risk is directed by none other than Mel Gibson. Yeah, I was surprised too when I saw his name. Mostly because almost all of the movies he directed were excellent. Of course, Apocalypto is the best of the lot, with Braveheart and Hacksaw Ridge coming in at numbers two and three. The Passion of the Christ, no matter how you feel about it, is also a good movie. Flight Risk, on the other hand, is a barely watchable movie that feels like your generic streaming steaming pile release.
This brings us back to the subject of Mr. Mel Gibson. Our beloved 80s and 90s, well, 2000s and 2010s action hero has done and said some pretty nasty things, to say the least. Subversive Rabbit has a clear guideline for separating the art from the artist set by our founder Subversive Rabbit. Which is me, I am Subversive Rabbit. I will write a full-length blog post detailing why this is but for now, let’s focus on the movie at hand. Short, pacey but awfully predictable, Flight Risk is basically saved by the whole airplane thing and wild Mark Wahlberg. I’m not quite fond of Mr. Wahlberg but if the role is good, he will deliver a good performance. Here, we can laugh at him and his hilarious Southern accent almost all the time.
The same goes for Topher Grace, who, once again, plays the nerdy anxious guy who’s supposed to be funny. A sort of grown-up version of his character from That 70s Show. This is the first time I’m seeing Michelle Dockery in action and I have to say she gave the best performance out of all three. She reminds me of Maggie Grace (Taken) but maybe that’s just because I recently saw her in The Hurricane Heist. Now, I intentionally didn’t tell you much about the story because this movie needs all the help it can get. Just now that there will be twists and that’s it. The script is shallow and has this improv vibe. Well, Wahlberg did improvise most of his lines, so there’s that.
He also shaved his head, well, a portion of it for this movie. However, you can still see his remarkably strong hairline peaking out which adds another layer of hilarity to this movie. Wow, starting my fifth paragraph, I didn’t know I had it in me. Most of the time we will be flying over the frozen mountain peaks of Alaska. And I have to tell you I wouldn’t want to be stranded in a place like that. It sure does look beautiful from far above but your chances of surviving in that inhospitable environment are pretty slim. Or maybe I just took Society of the Snow too seriously.
In case you were wondering what airplane are they flying in the movie Flight Risk, the answer is the Cessna 208 Grand Caravan. I just recently bought Flight Simulator 2020 and I’m having a lot of fun with it. Your starting airplane in that video game is also a Cessna. If you’re looking for more movies like Flight Risk, I first suggest you check out Fight or Flight. Starring Josh Hartnett, it appears to be a better and cooler version of the movie we were talking about today. Finally, you can check out our Airplane Movies worth watching selection. Rabbit out.
Director: Mel Gibson
Writer: Jared Rosenberg
Cast: Michelle Dockery, Mark Wahlberg, Topher Grace, Leah Remini, Maaz Ali, Paul Ben-Victor
Fun Facts: Despite all the negative reviews and bad Mel Gibson vibes, Flight Risk was a successful release. Made on a budget of $25 million, the movie made more than $44 million during its initial theater run. It eventually ended up on the Amazon Prime making even more money.
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IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10078772/
