FILM REVIEW: FLIGHT RISK (15) ESP RATING: 2/5

Oscar-winning director Mel Gibson – with epic blockbusters like Braveheart and The Passion of the Christ on his CV – makes a change of direction with his latest film.

But sadly it’s mostly a downwards one.

This lower-budgeted thriller is generally confined to the inside of a small jet as US Marshal Madelyn Harris (Downton Abbey actress Michelle Dockery) transports fugitive Winston (Spider-Man 3’s Topher Grace) across the Alaskan wilderness.

Said fugitive is an accountant-turned-informant, who is going to testify against his former employer, the highly-powerful and menacing Moretti crime family, so it’s a race against time to get him to the Alaskan capital, Anchorage – then onto New York City – without him coming to harm.

But alas, we have Mark Wahlberg on rare bad guy duties, as seemingly the pilot – supposedly going by the name of Daryl – of the small private aeroplane, but he’s actually a hitman who has been tasked with eliminating the prized cargo.

And through multiple set-pieces set on the inside of the plane – involving stabbings, tasers, gunshots, punching and lots of blood – Gibson ekes out a surprisingly generic thriller that is just about passable at best.

Or absolutely preposterous at worst.

Wahlberg tries his best to be a menacing protagonist – despite ultimately being a secondary character, but it’s probably Dockery who shines the most with her role, as an FBI agent trying to reconcile with her past demons, that makes it watchable. With Grace in able support. In short, they do the best with what is put in front of them.

But with Gibson at the helm, you just keep waiting for something with a bit more ingenuity to happen – that ultimate moment – but it unfortunately never really comes.

This maybe passable for a short and sweet brainless Saturday night action flick with the family – but disappointingly it never really takes off.

Which makes this a flight without a lot of turbulence.

Rating: 2/5

Gavin Miller

Showcase Cinema De Lux Peterborough & Odeon Luxe Peterborough, Out Now

Cast: Michelle Dockery, Topher Grace, Mark Wahlberg & Monib Abhat

Running Time: 1 Hr 31 Mins

Director: Mel Gibson

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