Flight Risk (A PopEntertainment.com Movie Review)

FLIGHT RISK (2025)

Starring Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Dockery, Topher Grace, Monib Abhat, Eilise Guilfoyle, Senor Pablo, Savanah Joeckel, Mark 'Cowboy' Schotz, Milko Kadikov, Georgi S. Georgiev, Atanas Srebrev and the voices of Leah Remini, Maaz Ali and Paul Ben-Victor.

Screenplay by Jared Rosenberg.

Directed by Mel Gibson.

Distributed by Lionsgate. 91 minutes. Rated R.

Flight Risk is further proof of how far Mel Gibson’s star has fallen in the last couple of decades due to his real-life controversies and scandals – not just as an actor, but also as a filmmaker. As a film director, Gibson is best known for making arty, Oscar-baiting films – such as Braveheart, The Passion of the Christ, Apocalypto and Hacksaw Ridge. Hell, two of those films were filmed in dead languages with English subtitles. It doesn’t get much artier than that.

So, it was rather surprising earlier this year when he released this film, a slick, cheesy, disposable action film which the studio did not seem to have much faith in. It was pretty much slipped into theaters with little fanfare and very few press screenings – there wasn’t one in Philadelphia – so it was not all that big a stretch to imagine it would be a complete bomb.

I finally caught up with it now that it is being released on video, and the biggest surprise is the fact that it’s actually not bad. Not exactly great either, but Flight Risk is an assured and fairly taut potboiler. It will not be mentioned at Oscar time, but Gibson delivers the goods as an action filmmaker.

It is essentially a three-person show, with only a few characters on screen during the vast majority of the film. There are also a few voice-only characters (heard over a plane radio) and several others who have a scene or two at most. It also takes place in a limited setting, mostly on a private rental plane, so Flight Risk does build up a good sense of alarming isolation.

Although Mark Wahlberg has top billing in the film, he actually has the smallest role of these three – although he certainly has the showiest character.

The main thrust of the film is about Madolyn (Michelle Dockery of Downton Alley), a US Marshall who has been assigned to transport a mob accountant named Winston (Topher Grace of That ‘70s Show) from the wilds of Alaska to Seattle, to reluctantly testify in the trial of the head of the syndicate. Grace basically plays the same jokey nerd role that he always plays, just this time he’s doing it while in handcuffs.

The pilot who is flying them is a weird, chatty, bald guy named Daryl (Wahlberg). However it quickly becomes pretty clear that he is not actually the pilot but is instead a hit man deployed by the mob to eliminate the witness, and his government companion. 

Wahlberg went the extra mile physically to play the role, shaving his head daily rather than wearing a bald cap. While it was brave of Wahlberg to de-glam so much for the role, honestly bald Mark Wahlberg looks sort of like long-time character actor Clint Howard. (Look him up, you’ll see.) And without Wahlberg’s being handsome, how much does he really have to offer as an actor?

He does seem to be having lots of over-the-top fun in this evil role of a possibly gay, definitely homicidal lunatic. Since he tends to play heroes in films, Wahlberg seems to revel in the opportunity to play a villain for the first time since early in his acting career.

The standoff between the three characters and whether or not they will be able to survive and land the plane keep the audience on the edge of their seats. None of it is overly surprising, but much of it is surprisingly entertaining.

And, best of all, unlike some Mel Gibson’s earlier films, the dialogue in Flight Risk is not recorded in a dead language.

I’m not sure how much – or even if – Flight Risk will help to rebuild the somewhat disgraced actor / director’s career as a respected Hollywood filmmaker. However, it may open up new avenues for Gibson – Mel Gibson, B-movie mogul. What the hell, it’s good, honest work. And apparently, he does have some talent for it.

Jay S. Jacobs

Copyright ©2025 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: March 26, 2025.