PLOT: A pilot transports an Air Marshal accompanying a fugitive to trial. As they cross the Alaskan wilderness, tensions soar and belief is examined, as not everybody on board is who they appear.
REVIEW: It looks like each time Mel Gibson releases a brand new film, there’s discuss of a “comeback.” Then he disappears for a decade, and all momentum is misplaced. It doesn’t assist that he’s fairly controversial in his private life, however I’ve at all times simply centered on the movie aspect of Gibson. His latest movie, Flight Threat, sees him combining forces with Mark Wahlberg, who’s lastly taking a darker flip after many years of taking part in generic good guys. Does it lead to a Markie Mark efficiency value watching? Has Gibson really returned to kind, or is that this extra of an indication of extra mediocrity to come back? Properly…
The story of Flight Threat follows Madolyn, a US Marshal, who accompanies Winston, a key witness in opposition to the mob, to a trial throughout the nation. However on the flight over, they notice that the pilot is a skilled hitman, with the only real intention of constructing certain Winston doesn’t get to his vacation spot by any means vital. Most will possible acknowledge Michelle Dockery from Downton Abbey, so seeing her tackle a extra action-oriented function is cool. I wasn’t absolutely satisfied of her till the second half of the movie, however she gained me over by the top. I’ve at all times thought of Topher Grace severely underrated, so it’s good to see him get a giant function right here. He’s the comedian aid, however he additionally energizes the film a bit with some character.
Ever for the reason that first trailer for Flight Threat was launched, I used to be intrigued for one motive and one motive solely: Mark Wahlberg as a foul man. One in every of my predominant criticisms of the actor is that he at all times performs the identical good man character in each film (even when it’s imagined to be primarily based on an actual particular person). So to lastly see Wahlberg play a foul man looks like viewing the actor with new eyes. He appears to be completely relishing in each evil second he will get to partake in. There are some nice traces however he can a bit cartoonishly evil at occasions. The bald cap is a bit hokey, and the hairline appears unnatural, nevertheless it was good to see Wahlberg strive one thing completely different.
I actually wished to love Flight Threat as I’ve at all times loved airplane thrillers. There’s one thing about being hundreds of ft within the air which ramps up the strain. However there are such a lot of nonsensical plot developments that I had to make certain I wasn’t watching some low cost streaming film as a substitute. The movie is continually at odds with easy methods to preserve issues attention-grabbing whereas not making the characters seem like whole morons. Spoiler alert: they fail fully. I’m certain there are some old-school followers who will dig the aesthetic, however I simply discovered it continuously lazy and uninspired.
Mel Gibson has at all times had a fantastic understanding of story construction and cinematic language. So I’m probably not certain what’s happening right here as Gibson simply looks like a gun for rent. The movie begins actually abruptly, and most of the plot factors breeze by with out an exclamation. The motion is contained to an airplane in order that limits it fairly a bit, so I’ll commend Gibson for conserving it attention-grabbing regardless of primarily being in a single setting. However the sheer lack of satisfying payoffs and boneheaded character choices make this a chore to get via. I additionally wasn’t impressed with the FX work, because the CGI is overabundant.
Finally, is Flight Threat Mel Gibson’s large return as a director? Undoubtedly not, nevertheless it reveals he’s capable of take himself much less critically and make one thing aside from 3-hour epics. Plus, not less than we lastly obtained to see an evil Markie Mark. And that was definitely worth the worth of admission, not less than. Right here’s hoping he doesn’t take the poor high quality of this movie as a motive to not strive it once more. We positively want extra evil Wahlberg on this planet.
FLIGHT RISK IS IN THEATERS ON JANUARY 24TH, 2025.
The publish Flight Threat Evaluation: Mel Gibson’s Newest Crash Lands On Arrival appeared first on JoBlo.
