Flight Risk (2025, 4K UHD Blu-ray, Library Rental) Review

[SRW1000]

Studio:  Lionsgate
Release Date:  4/18/2025
Rating:  R
Film Grade:  D+

The Story:  Air Marshal Madolyn Harris has been tasked with bringing a fugitive named Winston back from Alaska to New York City, so he can testify against the head of a powerful crime family.  Winston is quickly tracked down and a private plane is chartered for their return.  Once in the air, they start hitting turbulence, caused by both the weather and the people on board. 

My Take:  Don’t be fooled by that cover or top billing, this is not a Mark Wahlberg movie.  While he is in it, he’s just a costar.  What we do get in this Mel Gibson directed movie is a competent Michelle Dockery as the U.S. Marshal, and an annoyingly glib Topher Grace as her prey.  What could have been a competent, tight thriller set in a confined space turns into a farcical affair, filled with nonsensical action and a wild conspiracy.  Wahlberg chews up the scenery as the pilot, practically winking at the camera as he delivers his lines with a smirk.  The highlight of the entire cast is Maaz Ali, who voices the perfectly calm and disarmingly charming pilot working from the air traffic control room.  It’s a small but genuinely fun role.

Shot in just 22 days, sloppiness is evident throughout.  In one example, a character, clearly meant to be unconscious, is seen with moving hands and fingers.  It’s an all to obvious mistake to an audience that is just waiting for something to happen. 

As the movie goes on, the improbable events just continue to mount, until the silly ending.  One wouldn’t guess that it would be this incompetent when considering the talent involved, but the movie is off course almost from the beginning. 

Visuals:  One interesting aspect to the movie is that it was filmed almost extensively in The Volume, ILM’s virtual film studio.  As detailed in the extras, it allowed them to film some extraordinary shots all in a safe environment.  The results were quite believable, with the set acting as an acceptable replacement for the real thing, while also slicing the filming budget.

The same can’t be said for some of the opening CGI shots that looked as bad as some of the recent AI video demos.  They really cast an early negative feel on the film, to the point where my wife was asking if we had to watch the rest of the movie.    The rental did not come with a Blu-ray copy, so I wasn’t able to compare discs.

Audio:  The Atmos soundtrack was reasonably good for this kind of movie.  Wides are used occasionally, and heights are engaged throughout for everything from flyovers to the creaky noises from the plane’s rickety body.  The musical score is of the typical tension-filled variety.  Overall, the mix is one of the better features of the movie.

Special Features:  The featurette is well worth watching for anyone interested in how The Volume is being used today.

• Risk Management: Making Flight Risk
• Theatrical Trailer

Final Verdict:  Mel, Mel, Mel, are you the same man who directed Braveheart and Hacksaw Ridge?  I know you’re not getting the same kinds of offers these days, but this?

There’s little to recommend this movie.  Maybe someone looking for a campy romp might find it entertaining on a so-bad-it’s-good level.  But, if you’re looking for anything close to Gibson’s earlier directing efforts, you’ll be sorely let down. 

Fun Quote:  “You know, the number of passengers who left their lunch up here, I could open a snack bar.”

As is so typical these days, the trailer gives away so much of the story that it leaves little to be discovered.



My Review System:
JVC DLA-RS3100 4K Ultra High-Definition Front Projector
Elite Screens Sable Frame B2 117” Width with Infinitely Variable Height
Monolith by Monoprice HTP-1 16 Channel Processor with Dirac Live
Monolith by Monoprice 7x200 Watts Amp
Monolith by Monoprice 3x200 Watts + 6x100 Watts Amp
JBL Studio 590 for Left, Center, Right, Wides, and Rears
JBL Studio 580 for Side Surrounds
JBL Studio SCS 8 for Tops
JTR Captivator 1400 Subwoofer X 4
Panasonic DP-UB420 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
Oppo BDP-93
NVIDIA Shield Android TV - 4K
Xbox One X
HTPC Running madVR (work in progress)
Remote: URC MX-780
Mini DSP 2X4 HD controlling all subwoofers
APC S15 Power Conditioner with Battery Backup

[David Vaughn]

Another one I have no desire of seeing. Frankly, the studio's have completely lost their way releasing crap like this!

[Paul Heroy]

Scott, are you intentionally working on some kind of "taking one, er, two, er how many for the team?" award lately? 

[SRW1000]

Scott, are you intentionally working on some kind of "taking one, er, two, er how many for the team?" award lately?

Sadly, no.  It's slim pickings for movies right now, so I've added titles to our library queue that are on the questionable side.

I've watched plenty of other bad movies over the past few months that I couldn't muster the energy to write reviews for.  They ranged from smaller indie films to foreign rereleases, all pretty bad.  But for all those clunkers, I will find some nice surprises.  Two of those have been the Paddington movies, which I originally skipped, but watched in anticipation of the new one coming out now. While they're aimed at children, I thought they were absolute delights, and even entertaining for adults.

I had some hope for this one, just because of Gibson and Wahlberg, but I guess they need to eat too.

Things may be looking better in the next couple of weeks.