Directed By James Madigan

Starring – Josh Hartnett, Charithra Chandran, Katee Sackhoff

The Plot – A mercenary (Hartnett) takes on the job of tracking down a target on a plane but must protect them when they’re eventually surrounded by people trying to kill both of them.

Rated R for strong bloody violence, adult language throughout and some drug material.

Fight or Flight | Official Trailer (HD) | Vertical

POSITIVES

In everything from the construct of its material to the abrasiveness of its personality, it’s unmistakable that “Fight or Flight” is a direct descendent of 2022’s “Bullet Train”, where they’ve taken the on-land concept to the air, and while that derivativeness does make for the occasionally predictable path, as a result of remaining so close to its predecessor, that doesn’t mean that Madigan’s film isn’t loads of fun, especially once the established plot is set into motion within the opening fifteen minutes of the film. From there, the script relies on an abundance of mystery to compel its audience, when it’s not getting its hands dirty with rampantly brutal fight sequences, both in the ambiguity and intentional underdevelopment of who on board is a paid assassin, as well as the importance and identity behind this ghost character, which did lead to a surprising reveal that I honestly didn’t see coming. The former definitely helps to keep the audience on their toes, as spontaneous onslaughts from random enemies helps to maintain the urgency of the narrative throughout a run time that feels effortless at 95 minutes, and the latter, while materialistically conflicting with the aforementioned established tone of this turbulent flight, does help to cement stakes and stark contrasts to the intentions of this mysterious hacker that Hartnett’s mercenary has sworn to protect, helping it to evade feeling like just another reason to splash blood and guts over an aircraft, and instead shedding a light on important angle, in order to justify why this hacker has gone to such extreme lengths. The action being the highlight of the movie should certainly come as no surprise, especially considering Madigan’s work on films like “Iron Man 2”, “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” or “Red 2”, but in his first feature length directing job, he not only effectively conjures the urgency and vulnerability of so many crisply choreographed fight sequences, with cerebral contortions of the camera to instill just enough shake without the spoils, but also an expressiveness to conflicts that allow the production to show off their own impactful merits of devastation within the physicality. This is where the boldly echoing deposits of the movie’s sound design marries so beautifully with the overhead splendor of a loudly abrasive soundtrack, helping to enact a chaotic freneticism to these masterfully orchestrated sequences that make them a joy to experience, even in a violent-hungry culture that feels a bit desensitized to envelope-pushing action at this point. The C.G blood deposits are obviously artificial, but they somehow play seamlessly into the maniacal macabre of what’s continuously called upon, constantly building crazier towards an acid trip of a third act climax that brought back memories of Jason Statham’s “Crank”, but merely in the best of ways. As for the performances, Josh Hartnett is having the time of his life as this dangerously eager mercenary constantly overwhelmed by elevation of his claustrophobic confines, but his brute exterior relishes without sacrificing the air of expected charisma that he has lent to so many memorable roles during the duration of his career. Continuing on this road to resurgence, Hartnett not only proves himself to be physically capable of moving as swiftly cerebral as any of his action star peers, but also a compelling force in personality that isn’t above humility, and the result is a character who not only feels comfortably capable in the flaws of his designs, but also a powerful force to be reckoned with that Hartnett steadies with believability and prominence, cementing another unconventional role for the film veteran that he passes with flying colors. I also found Charitha Chandran charmingly endearing as Isha, particularly in the depths of an expansive second half, where her character assists Hartnett’s in ways that go above a servicing stewardess. Chandran’s unapologetic honesty is only surpassed by her sincerity during dramatically evolving shifts that showcases her holding the movie’s tonal plausibility in the palms of her hands, and considering she’s acting opposite of a leading man like Hartnett, with over twenty-five years of experience in the industry, she more than holds her own towards articulating an endearing supporting performance, with a smile of gold and battle-tested resiliency that essentially makes her feel like the jack of all trades. Last but not least, I have to show some love to the production designs, as this luxuriously expansive aircraft was so lush with signature stylings and comfortable features that you hate to see it destroyed by the many dangerous entities frequenting it, granting not only faithful depiction towards upper class elegance on foreign aircrafts, but also creature comforts in visuals that capably set the table before its inevitable demise.

NEGATIVES

While I had a good time with “Fight or Flight”, it’s definitely far from perfect, particularly in the material with the aforementioned screenplay, which doesn’t always fire on all cylinders in its ascent to the skies. The comedy gets off to a bit of a rough start during the opening act, where it anxiously and desperately explores every square inch of its R-rating, in order to utilize a curse word towards selling an intended laugh, with the gags themselves not exactly garnering any kind of creativity or unexpectedness. This is where the film feels most derivative from “Bullet Train” because it lacks the quirky characters or candor of what made that movie’s comedy effortlessly flow with effectiveness in its deliveries, instead here firing off as loudly obnoxious or emphasizing emotion as possible, and it not only creates an uphill battle for our protagonist mercenary, but also eviscerates some of the garnered tension to these eventually riveting fights, and I wish more time was spent attaining that personality, instead of assuming that it’s going to be there from the word go. In addition to comedic turbulence, this is another script guilty of my least favorite trope in cinema, where it begins with a scene already in progress, before cutting back with the “One day earlier” on-screen text. This annoys me because it prematurely usually spoils something vital in the duration of the film, and though its deduced here to a specific something happening to the aircraft itself, the development would be so much better suited towards playing out in real time, especially because it elevates the already monumental stakes of dangerous adversities caught in vicious battle for pay-offs. If this doesn’t ground them enough, the constant deviation to an on-the-ground arc between two characters whom I couldn’t care less about, felt just as intrusive, sending the otherwise pristine pacing into a tail-spin that didn’t always balance the movie’s minutes in the most valuable of ways. One moment of such pertains to a twist involving these two governmental characters, which is not only completely telegraphed with even ten seconds of thinking, but also adds literally no kind of pay-off to the finished resolution, which in itself has its own issues with sequel-baiting that this movie doesn’t need or even remotely earn. Finally, while much of the movie’s technical components attain meaningful merit with either the presentation or prominence of the many intensely riveting action sequences, I found the editing to feel a bit rushed in its sequencing, making this finished draft feel like a few noteworthy scenes of development were left on the cutting room floor, and instead leaving rushed emphasis to some of the movie’s most important moments that could’ve paced itself with many of the forthcoming developments that overwhelm during the second act.

OVERALL
“Fight or Flight” does receive momentary turbulence during its initial take-off, with ineffectively embellishing humor and inconsistent editing, but does eventually ascend to cruising altitudes, with brutally unforgiving fight sequences and expressive direction that entertainingly allows it to reach its intended destination. Josh Hartnett’s continued career resurgence unloads the most physically demanding performance of his career to the delight of the audience, and with vulnerable personality behind his devastatingly dangerous actions, pilots this action thriller to prominence, even towards charted territory.

My Grade: 7.1 or B-