Mel Gibson has an impressive track record as a director, having delivered great cinematic films like Braveheart, Apocalypto, and Hacksaw Ridge. These film showcase the filmmakers incredible talent for storytelling.
However, his latest film, Flight Risk, is nowhere near the same league as those other films. Instead of offering a gripping, finely crafted thriller, Gibson delivers a laughably bad silly ride.
The film manages to be both entertaining and absolutely ridiculous—and I have to admit, I had a dun time watching it, though probably not for the reasons the filmmakers intended.
I saw Flight Risk with a group of friends, which is really the only way to watch this movie. From the very beginning, we couldn’t stop cracking jokes about what was happening on screen.
Flight Risk became an unintentional comedy for us, and it was all the better for it. The characters in the film just made one terrible decision after another.
One of the most ridiculous creative decisions they made was giving Mark Wahlberg’s character a balding head. I don’t know who thought that was a good idea, but it was so distracting that it became a running joke over the course of the film.
It looked so bad that it completely derailed any attempt at taking his performance seriously. Every time he was on screen, I couldn’t stop staring at his makeup-padded bald head.
They should’ve just let Wahlberg keep his hair! It would’ve made things less distracting.
The story is a fairly standard thriller setup: Wahlberg plays a pilot tasked with transporting an air marshal (Michelle Dockery) and a government witness (Topher Grace) across the Alaskan wilderness. Of course, things quickly spiral out of control as when we learn that Wahlberg is actually a hit man hired to take out the witness.
It sounds like it could be a tense, engaging movie, but in execution, the plot is filled with so many dumb, eye-rolling character decisions. The story asks you to suspend disbelief way too often, and you just can’t help but start laughing at the absurdity of it all.
What saved the movie from being a total disaster was Topher Grace. Out of the three leads, he was easily the most entertaining to watch.
While Wahlberg and Dockery seemed weighed down by the clunky script, Grace brought a level of energy and charm that made his character stand out. It felt like he was the only one in on the joke, leaning into the absurdity and having fun with it.
Grace leans into the chaos and brings a much-needed spark to the film. He’s clearly having fun with his role, and that fun translates to the audience. Every time he was on screen, the movie became just a little more bearable.
Flight Risk is not a good movie, but with the right group of friends, it becomes a fun shared experience.
If you’re looking for a movie to sit back and enjoy with some movie-loving friends, this is it.
Sometimes, that’s the best kind of movie night—where the jokes you make about the film are better than the film itself. And in that sense, Flight Risk delivers.
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