Strap in, hold on, and try not to lose your wig!
Mark Wahlberg as a hitman pilot? Mel Gibson back in the director’s seat? Oh, I strapped in for this one expecting full-throttle chaos—and let’s just say, Flight Risk is less Top Gun and more Spirit Airlines Flight 666 with a Layover in Hell.
This 91-minute turbulence simulator drops us into a cramped Cessna, where Deputy U.S. Marshal Madolyn (Michelle Dockery) is trying to escort mob accountant Winston (Topher Grace) to testify—only to realize that their pilot, Daryl (Wahlberg), is less “friendly neighborhood aviator” and more “hired assassin with a questionable wig.” Cue mid-air betrayals, knife fights, flare guns, and dialogue cheesier than an in-flight meal out of Wisconsin.
Let’s start with Wahlberg, because… wow. My guy doesn’t just play a villain—he goes feral. With a Southern accent that sounds like it was crowd-sourced from every bad country music video there is, he embodied this villain. He’s unhinged, sweaty, and monologuing like a Walmart-brand Hannibal Lecter. At one point, his wig literally flies off mid-fight, revealing his gleaming, bald, villainous dome like some sort of Lex Luthor stunt double. Honestly? Muah...Cinema!
Dockery, meanwhile, is all business, proving that Lady Mary from Downton Abbey could absolutely kick your ass. She tases, wrestles, and outwits Wahlberg’s deranged pilot while managing to keep a straight face through lines that sound like they were lifted from a rejected ’90s cop show. And Topher Grace? Bless him—the man spends the entire movie handcuffed, cracking jokes, and trying not to die. He’s basically the audience surrogate, watching the insanity unfold while praying he makes it to the credits.
Now, let’s talk action. Mel Gibson directs this thing like he’s making up for lost time—guns, knives, tasers, seatbelts as weapons—if it exists in a cockpit, it gets used in a fight scene. Is it ridiculous? Absolutely. Is it entertaining? Against all odds—yes. You know a film is extra when even Die Hard would be like, "Okay, dial it back, guys."
For all its turbulent flaws, Flight Risk does get one thing undeniably right: it commits to the chaos. Mel Gibson may not be reinventing the action-thriller template here, but he knows how to keep things moving at breakneck speed—there’s never a dull moment, never a chance to check your phone, and never a second where Wahlberg isn’t doing something deeply unhinged. The claustrophobic setting works in the film’s favor, turning the tiny Cessna into a pressure cooker of paranoia, shifting alliances, and mid-air brawls that feel dangerously unpredictable. And despite the questionable dialogue (ugh the dialogue), the cast gives it their all—Dockery is a certified badass, Grace keeps the humor flying, and Wahlberg? The man is unleashed, delivering a villain performance so absurdly over-the-top that it’s almost—almost—genius. If nothing else, Flight Risk proves that even a mid-tier action flick can still be a hell of a ride when the right people are at the controls.
Does Flight Risk make sense? Not even a little. Does it care? Absolutely not. And that’s kind of the point. It’s the movie equivalent of getting seated next to a guy on a plane who won’t stop talking, but he’s so insane you just let it happen. Final verdict? 3 out of 5 Bryans. It is dumb, chaotic fun with Wahlberg in full goblin mode.
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