Title: Flight Risk
Director: Mel Gibson
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Dockery, Topher Grace
Where: In theatres near you
Rating: 2 Stars
Mel Gibson’s Flight Risk might promise a high-stakes aerial thriller, but this film never quite gains altitude. With a plot that aims to channel the claustrophobic suspense of classics like Non-Stop but veers into clunky execution, it instead offers a mishmash of misplaced humour, half-hearted twists, and questionable directorial choices. Gibson’s glory days as a filmmaker—Braveheart and Apocalypto—feel like distant memories here, replaced by an uninspired effort that struggles to take off.
Mark Wahlberg stars as Daryl Booth, a pilot-turned-hitman with a menacing, and frankly baffling hairline that might be scarier than his actual character. As a man tasked with eliminating Winston (Topher Grace), a wisecracking informant under the custody of U.S. Marshal Madolyn Harris (Michelle Dockery), Wahlberg chews through the sparse script with a scenery-devouring intensity. Unfortunately, the script by Jared Rosenberg leaves him floundering, unable to turn Booth into anything more than a caricature of a deranged antagonist.
Michelle Dockery, known for her nuanced performances, tries valiantly to inject credibility into the film as Madolyn. Dockery’s grounded portrayal provides a much-needed anchor, but her character is saddled with decisions that make her more of a plot device than a person. She finds herself grappling with piloting duties, a hostage situation, and double-crossing colleagues—all while the screenplay does her no favours with clunky dialogue and undercooked emotional stakes.
Topher Grace, meanwhile, offers a surprising dose of levity as Winston. His incessant quips and awkward charm liven up the otherwise claustrophobic cabin of this cinematic flight. While his comedic timing occasionally clashes with the film’s intended tension, Grace’s performance gives Flight Risk some much-needed buoyancy. It’s ironic, though, that the comic relief ends up being the most memorable aspect of a so-called thriller.
The film’s confined setting—a small plane traversing the Alaskan wilderness—had the potential to heighten tension and foster character-driven drama. Yet, Gibson and Rosenberg fail to capitalize on the claustrophobia, opting instead for predictable twists and shallow power plays. The action sequences, when they do arrive, feel perfunctory and lack the visceral edge Gibson once mastered. Even the Alaskan backdrop is reduced to a few choppy CGI shots, squandering the potential for visual grandeur.
One of the film’s more jarring elements is its tonal inconsistency. The film oscillates between moments of attempted suspense, dark humour, and outright absurdity, leaving the audience unsure of whether to laugh or cringe. For every adrenaline-fueled face-off, there’s a bizarre subplot—like a pilot giving instructions via radio—that deflates any tension the scene might have built.
Clocking in at just over 90 minutes, the film is mercifully short, but its brevity can’t mask the glaring gaps in its narrative. What could have been a taut, character-driven thriller devolves into a haphazardly assembled mess that feels more like an extended television episode than a feature film.
Ultimately, the film lives up to its name—not as a suspenseful ride, but as a gamble on whether audiences will stay invested. For those looking for edge-of-your-seat thrills, it’s better to skip this flight altogether.
