Director: Mel Gibson
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Dockery, Topher Grace
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 91 mins

Flight Risk is the new Mel Gibson film, and his first since 2016’s Best Picture-nominated Hacksaw Ridge. Gibson’s proven a skilled hand behind the camera, with Braveheart, The Passion of the Christ and Apocalypto, all proving visceral experiences. It seems rather uncharacteristic for Gibson to pick a 90-minute action thriller chamber piece as his latest project. This film follows Madolyn Harris (Michelle Dockery), a U.S. Marshal who is transporting fugitive Winston (Topher Grace) from Alaska to testify against a crime family. The plane is piloted by Daryl Booth (Mark Wahlberg), who might not be as innocent as he seems with an ulterior motive.

Even if it’s his weakest effort to date in its slightness, Flight Risk delivers and is big, dumb fun. It’s always entertaining and there’s a palpable tension in how things are going to play out and Gibson gets more than enough mileage out of the largely single location. It’s satisfyingly bloody too, with some crunchy fight and smatterings of gory injuries. The film’s visually interesting too, bolstered by a fitting Antonio Pinto score.

Although there isn’t much meat to the bone, Dockery and Grace both turn in committed performances and share a decent chemistry. Wahlberg, on the other hand, is quite something – he really chews the scenery as the completely nuts pilot with an outrageous bald patch. The actor reportedly shaved his head every day during filming instead of wearing a bald cap, but the effort is so distracting that it looks more like a wig. He’s entrusted with some truly despicable dialogue and I hated the character but I suppose that means Wahlberg satisfies the brief. 

Flight Risk is undeniably trashy but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy it. Casting a wider context as a Mel Gibson film, it’s undoubtedly not up to the rest of his work and I’m not sure what he saw when decided to take on this project. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Flight Risk become a future so-bad-it’s-good classic for its outrageous Mark Wahlberg performance.