Flight Risk
⭐️ 1/2 (out of 5 stars)
Mel Gibson is one of those divisive figures in Hollywood who has found extreme success in the industry while struggling to manage much of his personal life in this media-driven world. Braveheart, The Passion of the Christ and Hacksaw Ridge to his directorial credit, there is mixed speculation as to what to expect from a suspense thriller like Flight Risk. In the latest release from his production house, Icon, the Academy Award-winner partners with friend and collaborator Mark Wahlberg to delve into a genre unfamiliar to both.
As she searches through the frozen landscape of Alaska, U.S. Marshal Madolyn Harris (Michelle Dockery) finally apprehends a fugitive named Winston (Topher Grace). He is an accountant with all the information to bring down the New York Moretti crime family. The pair must charter a private flight out of the snow-covered tundra to reach civilisation for the informant to testify. Their pilot is Daryl Booth (Mark Wahlberg), a fast-talking Texan living in Alaska for the past few years. He promises to get them to Anchorage safely over the mountains in the 90-minute flight. Yet, Madolyn quickly realises that Darly is not who he says he is and has no plans to get the marshal and her fugitive to their destination alive.
As a concept, this is a thriller that has been done before, but with Gibson and the helm and Mark Wahlberg in front of the camera, things look like cinematic gold. Yet, this combination is less than a winning mix as many elements undermine this production. Harris and Grace do their best with Jared Rosenberg’s script as they try to deliver uninspired dialogue that leads nowhere in relationship building or true character development. Wahlberg seems to enjoy the heinous words he is given to deliver in his less-than-convincing bald cap. Yet, some well-placed gaffa (duct) tape could have remedied this constant drip of mind play. This leads to discussing the less-than-convincing makeup choices from Wahlberg’s comedic hairpiece and Dockery’s facial laceration that continually shifts throughout the film. Not to mention the logic and physics-defying elements that make this production unnecessary and comical as opposed to delivering on the promised thrills.
Flight Risk is one of Mel Gibson and Mark Wahlberg’s works that should have been buried in the snowy frontier of Alaska for the sake of all involved.
REEL DIALOGUE: Can we be redeemed from our past?
Redemption: an act of redeeming or atoning for a fault or mistake, or the state of being redeemed. Deliverance from sin; salvation.
The idea of redemption motivates U.S. Marshal Madolyn Harris to head to Alaska for this thankless assignment. Her past comes to bear in this tale and proves to have a haunting effect on his life and career. At its heart, Mel Gibson’s film deals with some of life's basic needs. Acceptance, forgiveness and redemption.
Most of us come to a point of seeking redemption for various things that we have done or failed to do as we travel through life. We try to find a means of rectifying the wrongs we have done to people, society, or God. This concept can be found at the heart of the Bible's message. Jesus' life and death provide a special type of redemption that is readily available to anyone who is willing to accept it.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace… Ephesians 1:7
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