A One Mann’s Movies review of “Flight Risk” (2025).
Oh man! Where do I start with this one? “Flight Risk” is soooo bad, it’s almost good… almost. It’s one of those films that is supposed to be suspenseful, but is blatantly not. What goes up, must come down and I have to confess that the ‘tense’ finale of the landing had me in gales of uncontrollable laughter.
I think it’s fair to say that, although its only January 29th, we already have one of my five “Worst Film of the Year” slots already filled.
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
“Flight Risk” Plot Summary:
US Deputy Marshal Madolyn Harris (Michelle Dockery) has finally tracked down the fugitive Winston (Topher Grace) in the wilds of northern Alaska. Winston is an accountant for the mob and agrees to testify against a criminal kingpin in return for a lesser sentence. Now Madolyn has to get him back to civilisation in Anchorage and the only transport available is a light aircraft chartered from pilot Daryl Booth (Mark Wahlberg). What could possibly go wrong?
Certification:
UK: 15; US: R. (From the BBFC web site: “Strong language, violence, injury detail, threat”.)
Talent:
Starring: Michelle Dockery, Mark Wahlberg, Topher Grace, Monib Abhat.
Directed by: Mel Gibson.
Written by: Jared Rosenberg.
Running Time: 1h 31m.
“Flight Risk” Summary:
Positives:
- At 91 minutes it is mercifully short.
Negatives:
- All of the acting, including those actors you only hear audibly: Wahlberg and Dockery are particularly shocking.
- All of the script’s dialogue.
- All of the special effects.
Review of “Flight Risk”:
Unbelievably shoddy acting.
This is undoubtedly Mark Wahlberg’s worst film. This is undoubtedly Michelle Dockery’s worst film. Topher Grace barely escapes that tarring.
Mark Wahlberg portrays a bald, psychopathic pervert, intent on torturing and raping both Madolyn and Winston, with all the tact of a buffalo in a china shop. His baldness looks so incredibly fake. Apparantly, as I learn from Kermode and Mayo’s very funny review on “Take”, it IS actually his shaved head. Kermode comments that “…he literally looks like Bobo the clown. It could not look worse if they had slapped a big condom on his head and then painted it brown.” LOL, one of the better Kermodisms!
Michelle Dockery is constantly rolling her eyes as if she’s back in Downton and Dowager Crawley is constantly farting while the vicar’s there. It’s really, really poor.
Topher Grace is the best of the three, playing a wise-cracking accountant, but when he has to spout lines like “I don’t want to be raped by the bald guy” even I would struggle to keep a straight face.
Sadly, the performances don’t stop with the visuals of the three main characters. There is a whole other backstory (don’t get me started) of “deep state intrigue” that is enacted out on the other end of the phone line that I could have done better by dragging a couple of members of the public off the streets of Southampton. There is no feeling or emotion in any of it. And a ‘pilot’ (Monib Abhat), talking Madolyn to fly the plane, seems to think he’s stumbled into an episode of “Blind Date”.
Awful script.
Apparently (again from Kermode and Mayo’s “Take” review) this script by Jared Rosenberg was in the Hollywood ‘Black Book’ of ‘brilliant undeveloped scripts’. Really? I mean, perhaps there is a salvageable piece of work in this, but not without a complete and utter rewrite. The dialogue is atrocious (it’s tonally all over the place) and some of the action completely laughable.
- The plane obviously lands at one point and it’s a scene that had me in utter fits of derisive laughter. I had the wonderful Stephen Stucker from “Airplane!” in my head throughout screaming “Auntie Em, Uncle Henry, Toto, It’s a Twister, It’s a Twister!”. And the denouement for Marky Mark is just so, so, funny, even if unintentionally so.
- The next time I fly on a plane, I want to be in one made by the company who made this one. Since it can apparently bounce off and through a snow-covered peak with no damage whatsoever! I mean, the plane in “Society of the Snow” did a similar thing, but at least it had the good grace to crash afterwards!
- Marky Mark spends most of the film unconcious (after suffering so many multiple head concussions that he would surely be in a coma!) And yet he keeps on coming back again! FOR FUCK’S SAKE, JUST SHOOT HIM! Or open the plane door and throw him out! It’s all so utterly, utterly lame.
- The whole ‘who shall we trust in the US Marshals command chain’ is just so awful. It leads to a scene in an ambulance in the finale SO cringy that I wanted to weep.
Summary Thoughts on “Flight Risk”
The trailer really looked like this might be quite fun. A “Die Hard” in the sky. This is why the Illustrious Mrs Movie Man particularly wanted to go and see it. But she agreed with me… it is truly, truly dreadful. I’d suggest that this is a flight that you seriously want to miss.
Where to Watch it (Powered by Justwatch)
Trailer for “Flight Risk”:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cml3CFDBj2s.
Subscribe
Don’t forget, you can subscribe to One Mann’s Movies to receive future reviews by email right here. No salesman will call!
