Econ Air

Single location thriller Flight Risk is the latest film to suffer from an "over eager" trailer. That is to say, the trailer covers pretty much everything that happens in the movie, more or less in the exact order it occurs. On the plus side, it isn't a film that was ever going to keep any secrets so it doesn't suffer as much as some others have.

FBI agent Madelyn Harris (Michelle Dockery) takes a flight with informant Winston (Topher Grace) but a short way into their journey they discover the pilot, played by Mark Wahlberg, is actually a mob hitman there to end them both before Winston can squeal. There is a brief opening at an Alaskan cabin and the finale is on a runway, but for the most part it's just the three of them in the cabin of a small plane. Events unfold almost like a theatrical play as the three talk and argue with intermittent attempts at murder.

The main thing to know about Flight Risk is that it is ridiculous. The decisions the characters make are ridiculous. The smooth voiced pilot who flirts with Madelyn over the radio as he is supposed to be talking her through flying the plain is ridiculous. Mark Wahlberg's bald cap is extremely ridiculous. Far from being derailed by all the ridiculousness though, the film leans into it to produce an entertaining old school thriller. It helps that Mel Gibson is on hand to direct. He may be a never ending well of stupidity in day to day life but stick a camera in his hand and he remains a savant, enhancing performances and always picking the right shot with film making instincts you kind of wish had been gifted to someone else so we could have seen more of them. The central trio all play their stock parts well. Dockery is the stern, no nonsense agent out to redeem a past mistake and Wahlberg is having a ball as a motormouth, weirdo psychopath. Grace is also good, although the "I make quips all the time because I'm nervous" act can be a little annoying.

With its simple premise and to the point action there isn't much to Flight Risk other than being an efficiently entertaining throwback thriller. It's the kind of thing that is more commonly sent straight to streaming these days and you can easily imagine the Netflix version of this material. It would be at least twenty minutes longer with much weaker dialogue constantly explaining what is going on to the viewer (got to keep the phone scrollers up to date) and visually blander. Put in that context, it's a film that unremarkable as it is, should probably be appreciated, and at a svelte ninety minutes it isn't too hard to fit into your schedule.

7 moles in the organisation out of 10.

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