FLIGHT RISK (2025) review

written by: Jared Rosenberg
produced by: John Davis, John Fox, Bruce Davey & Mel Gibson
directed by: Mel Gibson
rated: R (for violence and language)
runtime: 91 min.
U.S. release date: January 24, 2025

The tagline for the thriller “Flight Risk” reads, “Y’all Need a Pilot?” and after watching this, the answer to that question is, without a doubt, “Nope.” This is probably the most January of January releases in some time, and it’s also unintentionally the weirdest and funniest movie of the year so far. But, the confounding thing is figuring out what actor Mark Wahlberg and director Mel Gibson are doing here. That’s because “Flight Risk” consists of probably the biggest acting we’ve seen from Wahlberg, and this is definitely a far cry from the epic moviemaking Gibson is known for. They get credit for doing something different here, but that doesn’t mean it works.

A movie lives or dies off its screenplay, and “Flight Risk” doesn’t even leave the runway before we realize this one is a turd. The script by Jared Rosenberg is primarily uneventful, relying on attempts at psychological struggles and bursts of violence, none of which culminate in convincing tension. It’s hard to tell what anyone involved saw in this screenplay, let alone what made Gibson decide to make a B-movie with minimal creative effort.

The movie opens in a remote location in Alaska, where U.S. Marshall Madolyn Harris (Michelle Dockery) has tracked down Winston (Topher Grace), a nervous accountant who recently became an informant for the Moretti family in exchange for his safety. He’s made a deal with the government to provide vital information on his mafia employer, and Madelyn has arranged for a passenger plane to fly the both of them to Anchorage. Their pilot for this 90-minute flight is Daryl Booth (Mark Wahlberg), a local who usually rents out his crappy plane for fishermen or the occasional sightseeing trip for suits. He’s a talkative, good ol boy with a Southern drawl whose behavior provokes Madilyn’s suspicion once they’re in the air. Not long after, a cuffed Winston becomes very uneasy when he realizes this isn’t the pilot Madilyn hired and his life is in danger.

Sure enough, Daryl is revealed to be a mob enforcer (with a Boston accent) who is hired to take out Winston. Revealing himself as a mob enforcer, Daryl is looking to murder Winston. Inevitable scuffles and tazing occur, with Daryl getting knocked out. Madolyn using her satellite phone to reach out to her superior officer, Carolyn (voiced by Leah Remini), and the agent in charge of the operation, Director Coolridge (voiced by Paul Ben-Victor), to inform them of her desperate situation and is connected with a Hasan (voiced by Maaz Ali), a flirtatious pilot who hopefully guide her to a safe landing. Is it possible one out of the three cannot be trusted? Of course, Daryl is also a psychopath (and then some), and he’s either harder to exterminate than a cockroach, or Madolyn is terrible at her job. Actually, “Flight Risk” proves that both can be true.

The movie’s Alaskan opening on the ground feels like an afterthought inserted in post-production. It is as if they went back and realized they needed some established location to take off (both the story and the plane) from, yet the sketchy CGI used for the exterior motel and the moose head peering just outside Winston’s motel window is jarringly distracting. Character introductions lack any appeal, and it winds up being a lousy attempt at establishing something convincing, but then again, it doesn’t feel like that’s a concern of anyone involved.

Initially, there are jittery moments involving expected turbulence and a mid-air bird strike. However a large percentage of the movie has to maintain our attention within the plane’s interior. There are two headsets for communication, one for the pilot and the other for the passenger (Madolyn). This leads to isolation and a lack of communication for Winston, who’s cuffed to the seat behind the pilot. Tension is the intent here, but “Flight Risk” suffers from being strangely unexciting primarily due to poor pacing and behavior that is both frustrating and bizarre.

There are also at least two performances in such opposition from each other that it feels like they’re purposefully doing whatever they want while Gibson is stuck on autopilot. Wahlberg is indeed operating on another level, or maybe all levels, as a balding assassin (his decision to poorly shave his head to portray baldness is ridiculous) who could care less about dying. He’s playing Daryl unhinged and crazed, often bound or knocked out, yet when awake, he’s jeering Madolyn and Winston while attempting to get under their skin. He’s aware that this is Madolyn’s first assignment after her last operation, which got her informant killed, and he knows where Winston’s mother lives, which assumes she’s in danger as well.

Wahlberg is so over-the-top here that seeing him as a real threat is impossible. Instead of instilling fear or uneasiness, the audience becomes amused and befuddled with the actor’s choices. Meanwhile, Dockery’s delivery is puzzling partly due to the writing. Her character has a chance to kill Daryl early on, but instead, she just tazes and binds him in the back of the plane, with viewers knowing full well he’ll continue to be a threat.

Despite its attempts at aerial drama, “Flight Risk” is tedious and hilarious and will only be remembered by Wahlberg’s bugnuts performance. Gibson offers very little in the realm of style, nor does he go out of his way to heighten the fear or rage. The result is journeyman work from the Oscar winner.

That being said, watching “Flight Risk” in 4DX was an absolutely entertaining experience. I figured this would be the best way to see such silliness, and I was right. If you’re unaware, a theater showing a movie in 4DX is augmented with various practical effects, including motion seats, wind, strobe lights, simulated snow, and scents. There’s even a button on the armrest allowing you to choose whether or not to get sprayed with water. Every movement is emphasized by a movement that you can feel in your seat – from Topher Grace slamming the motel microwave to jostling turbulences and climaxing with seismic disturbances during the plane’s runway landing. With this format, most of the movie feels like you’re in an actual airplane simulation, and I can’t imagine seeing this in any other way. So, I guess I’m saying that if you have to see “Flight Risk,” see it in 4DX or don’t bother.

RATING: *1/2