Amenaza en el aire

Flight Risk is Mel Gibson's latest film (a thriller/action piece) and stars Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Dockery, and Topher Grace. It made my list of most anticipated for the year, and much like my experience with Wolf Man, I enjoyed this film for what it was. Simple plot, decent acting and action, and not anything that wears out its welcome. While there are some nitpicks I had about various moments that didn't feel quite so solid, the film as a whole was enjoyable enough that I wasn't pissed or disappointed. As I've mentioned before, I consider that a win these days. Video review is on my YouTube channel.

Flight Risk is the very definition of the term "Straight to DVD movie" from which I know it is a redundant statement in the modern era, but you get the point. The film is a low-budget thriller with a decent premise to kill an evening, and with Mel Gibson directing at the helm, I thought it might be worth checking out. Unfortunately, the film doesn't pay off as anything remarkable. Mark Wahlberg is introduced as a wise-cracking, charismatic pilot who holds the screen well initially, but the character fails to blossom throughout the film to anything interesting. My main confusion is the tone, the movie consistently juggles between a sort of intense thriller and an intentional comedy. However, I didn't find the jokes or light humor funny and considering the situation they are all placed in, it just perplexed me. I feel that if the film focused on being a straight up thriller, it could have been a pretty decent little flick. Not to mention a final shot that I found a rather bizarre choice to end on. Overall, Flight Risk contains strong performances, and is nicely directed, but narratively speaking it could have been a lot better.

Should have crashed and burned. This is a movie you'd watch if you want to make every other bad movie look good. If I were a pilot I'd be offended. If I were a traffic controller I'd be offended. If I were an Air Marshall I'd be offended. If I were a script writer, actor, producer, or had any dealings with this movie, I'd be offended. There was zero mystery among the dialog and story line on the phone and radios. The heroine sure knew how to fy a plane a 3,ooo feet in mountainous terrain in Alaska. There was more navigation and skills used on an amusment ride at Chuck E Cheese. Can't wait for the sequel!

With the boss of the "Moretti" crime family about to go on trial, his accountant "Winston" (Topher Grace) thought it better to skedaddle to the Alaskan wilderness. Unluckily for him, determined deputy marshal "Madolyn" (Michelle Dockery) tracks him down and engages the pilot of a single-prop aircraft to fly him back to New York to turn state's evidence. The pilot (Mark Wahlberg) is one of those annoyingly chirpy guys and off they set. It's gonna be a bumpy ride, but after she notices a few scars on this man, it proves to be a great deal bumpier as their tiny little cockpit becomes the scene for quite a power struggle. It's that claustrophobic environment and quite an engaging effort from Wahlberg that deliver here as this airborne game of cat and mouse hots up. Sure, it does repeat itself once too often and the story is really all quite predictably weak, but the scenario does work well enough and with Grace's wise-cracking and a competent performance from Dockery it's actually not a bad watch for ninety minutes.

I wasn't even going to go see this film after seeing the preview. It just looked so standard in the ad, and I felt it gave away too much of the story. Then I noticed it was directed by Mel. So, I thought why not, I've seen everything else he's directed. So I used my points to go see it, and I must say. I think it definitely is a little better than how it comes across in the ad. The filmmaking is definitely solid. The film creates some fairly tense moments, even though it's one of those films where you sort of have an idea as to how it will likely end. It is a fairly straightforward and simple film for sure. However it is well made, and the script is definitely not as unintelligently written as most Hollywood films these days. The dialogue is perhaps a little harsh for some, but that actually also helps this film build the decent amount of tension that it needs to work reasonably well. I definitely don't regret going to see it on the big screen. For many people, this will be worth a watch for sure.

I think Mel may have taken this project in order to help fund his own passion projects, and why not? They definitely made a decent little film out of this in my view. In fact, I'd say it's a fairly good date movie if you all can handle some creepy dialogue and a little bit of gore.

What is also refreshing about this script, is that even though a female has a major role in the film. The script doesn't enter into any of these overly naive and ridiculous political narratives that so many other Hollywood films these days do. If I see another one of those films, I'm going to be sick right in the theatre. So look out people.

6.5/10.