Fight or Flight is good-natured fun, even if it is a bumpy ride.

 Fight or Flight tells the story of Lucas Reyes (Josh Hartnett), an ex-communicado mercenary who lives life off the grid. Living his life in the shadows of a dive bar, Lucas is shocked when his phone rings with a call from Katherine Brunt (Katie Sackhoff), an ex-girlfriend who works for the FBI. Offering to give him his life back, Brunt enlists Lucas to track down an unknown target on a plane leaving for the US. Known only as the Ghost, the terrorist is wanted around the world and Lucas walks in blindly. However, when he discovers their identity, Lucas and the Ghost must fight together as everyone on the plane becomes a potential threat to their lives.

Directed by James Madigan, Fight or Flight is absurdly silly from take-off to landing. As Hartnett fights for his life (and his job) through an endless stream of passengers, the film feels like a B-rated cousin to Bullet Train. (Does that make it Bullet Plane?) With a simple premise and chaos in its crosshairs, Madigan wants to create the same sort of frenetic energy and humour that made Pitt’s 2022 film memorable. And, although the film’s script means for a much more turbulent ride than the sleek style of Train, there is lots of fun to be had for those who want to get onboard.

Performances in the film are fun but there’s no question that they’re intentionally over-the-top. As a hard-nosed boss lady, Sackhoff leans into the goofiness of the film with malicious glee. And Hartnett, the once-and-could-have-been-Superman, is actually kind of lovable as the broken-down mercenary. He’s grumpy and yet aloof in a way that makes him endearing.

Ultimately though, no one is on this Flight for the dialogue.

Fight Or Flight

Fight or Flight takes very little seriously but it also revels in its action scenes On this Flight, everything is a potential weapon from the drink cart to the overhead sprinkler system. For Madigan, the more ridiculous the moment, the better. (In fact, the opening seconds of the film frame the utter chaos of mid-air violence with bouncy classical music.) And, actually, it generally works. This isn’t a film that wants to offer the dark tone of John Wick, Taken or Nobody. Instead, it’s simply leaning into the popcorn nature of the set-up.

It knows what it is. And it dives in headfirst.

And it’s also worth noting that Hartnett fully dives in to the film’s physicality as well. With violence on the menu, Hartnett is willing to take a LOT of punishment. These are tight spaces and demand a lot of throwing one’s body around with reckless abandon. So, even with the film’s lighthearted tone, one can’t deny that Hartnett is giving his all when asked.

Truthfully, Flight doesn’t offer anything particularly new. Characters feel like lesser representations of what we’ve seen before. Twists are often predictable and the script has no deep subtext to balance out the action scenes. Even the film’s greatest surprise – the identity of Ghost – is answered relatively quickly. But that doesn’t mean that it can’t be fun. Fight or Flight invests itself enough into its wanton recklessness that it does make for a fun night of mayhem on the big screen. However, for people who are looking for something with depth, this may not be a Flight that they want to take.

Fight or Flight is available in theatres on Friday, May 9th.