Sat Jan 25 10:40:00 UTC 2025: **”Flight Risk” Takes Off, But Crashes and Burns: A Hilarious Disaster**
NEW YORK (AP) — Lionsgate’s new thriller-comedy, “Flight Risk,” starring Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Dockery, and Topher Grace, premiered to decidedly mixed reviews this Friday. The film, described as a “Dollar Store ‘Con Air’,” sees a U.S. Marshal (Dockery) transporting a fugitive witness (Grace) to Anchorage, relying on the services of a wildly unpredictable pilot (Wahlberg).
The film’s critical failure stems largely from its inconsistent tone. While Dockery attempts a serious, action-heroine portrayal, Grace delivers sitcom-style one-liners, and Wahlberg’s character is a full-blown, sexually threatening antagonist. This clash of styles creates a disjointed viewing experience, with brutal violence and dark humor awkwardly intertwined. The screenplay, laden with scatological humor and bizarre non-sequiturs, further exacerbates the film’s tonal inconsistencies.
Director Mel Gibson’s return to filmmaking after a decade-long absence is noted, with the film’s cinematography praised for its lively shifting between the confined plane interior and the vast Alaskan landscape. However, even Gibson’s visual flair cannot salvage the incoherent narrative. The plot, involving a last-minute government conspiracy revealed by Dockery’s character mid-flight, feels tacked-on and unconvincing.
While the film’s promotional tagline is “Y’all Need a Pilot?”, critics unanimously agree that the more pressing question is “Y’all Need a Filmmaker?”. The film earned a brutal zero out of four stars from the AP, plagued by a chaotic mix of tones, a nonsensical plot, and a cast that seems to be performing in entirely separate movies. “Flight Risk” is rated R for violence and language and clocks in at 91 minutes.
First Piper 