Everything is exaggerated and over-the-top in the action-comedy FIGHT OR FLIGHT but the sky-high, stunt-filled film starring Josh Hartnett, which is really both fight and flight, certainly delivers on popcorn entertainment, both in the high body count action and the silly, strangely British-flavored comedy. Josh Hartnett is very entertaining as a disgraced, drunken Secret Service agent trying for a second chance, with an assignment to bring in a mercenary assassin who is on a plane where nearly everyone is trying to kill one or the other of them.
Action-comedy FIGHT OR FLIGHT opens with a shot of a jet flying high against a blue sky, as “The Blue Danube” plays, then cuts to a shot of a passenger aboard that flight, with eye mask and neck pillow, being rudely jolted awake as a brawl spills across the aisle, followed by a pan to the other aisle of the wide-body plane, where another army of brawlers are battling. All roiling with only the Blue Danube for sound, It gives to a taste of what this entertaining, silly, stunt-filled action-comedy has in store.
The opening is a clever set- up for this highly entertaining, high body count stunt fest with a John Wick vibe and goofy humor, which for some unknown reason felt British to this reviewer. No thinking required for this popcorn escapist delight and actually it might actually give you a headache to try to figure some details out. Just buckle-up that seat belt and go along for the comedy and action ride.
We next cut to 12-hours earlier, on the ground, as a young guy in a suit bounces happily down a city street, listening to “Sunshine and Lollipops” – until a phone call sends him into sends him into an angry string of cursing as he hurries to work. Cursing the doorman and being rude to everyone on his way, this jerk storms into work, hoping to avoid his boss.
Work for our cursing, arrogant guy in the suit, Aaron Hunter (Julian Kostov, from “White Lotus”), is at an private security agency run by ex-CIA folks doing similar work for private clients. Something has gone horribly wrong in Bangkok, and our suit is hoping to dodge his boss on the way in. He doesn’t.
Arrogant, foul-mouthed Hunter arrives to get the update from his assistant, Agent Robinson (Jyuddah Jaymes), but snarls at another agent, Simmons (Willem Van Der Vegt), when he chimes in with new information. When the boss, Katherine Brunt (Katee Sackhoff), shows up, Hunter tries to talk his way out of trouble with a string of excuses, until Agent Simmons calmly and efficiently provides the information Hunter doesn’t have, quietly showing him up in front of their boss Brunt.
The dry-humor workplace comedy bit is one of several occasional touches of silliness to come, comic relief amid the stunt action mayhem. That action and comedy balance is part of what makes this popcorn flick such fun.
What has gone wrong in Bangkok is an explosion that wiped out their whole team at that location, The bigger problem this creates is with their assignment to capture an elusive assassin known as the Ghost. Although no one has ever photographed the assassin, they know the Ghost is in Bangkok, and is not headed for the airport. The nearest other team is an hour and a half flight away. Desperate measures are needed. The desperate measure is to call disgraced U.S. Secret Service agent Lucas Reyes (Josh Hartnett).
Hartnett’s Lucas Reyes is trapped in Bangkok and currently drinking himself to death, unable to leave after being placed on the No-Fly list and having his passport revoked. But Lucas is not too happy to hear from his old buddy Brunt, with whom he also has a romantic history and now distrusts. Still, he eventually, reluctantly agrees to the assignment, in exchange for a new passport, a ton of cash, and lifting the no-fly ban.
Brunt knows which flight the Ghost will be on but has no photo to share. Lucas’ assignment is to locate the Ghost on the flight, take the target into custody and hand the assassin over to Brunt when the plane arrives in San Francisco.
What Lucas doesn’t discover until they are in the air, is that nearly everyone on the plane is there to kill him or kill the Ghost. He has to survive – and keep the Ghost from being killed too, to collect his fat paycheck.
The plane is a double-decker wide body, with a luxury class, first class and coach seating. Luckily, Lucas gets some help from flight attendants Isha (Charithra Chandran, of “Bridgerton”) and Royce (Danny Ashok).
Josh Hartnett is terrific as the hard-drinking yet strangely very capable Lucas, who would like to get his life back on track but still craves the drink. Lucas Reyes is that familiar hero in need of a second chance. The hard-drinking Lucas is a sad soul at a crossroads, and someone with a bit of a heart, despite being a mercenary. And he is amazingly good at his job, despite the copious amount of alcohol he consumes.
Supporting cast is good as well. Brit Charithra Chandran is excellent in her role as Isha, and Katee Sackhoff is spot-on as hard-as-nails boss Brunt. Julian Kostov is funny as the foul-mouthed Hunter, and Marko Zaror is over-the-top as a weirdo passenger who goes by the name Cayenne. Hugie O’Donnell plays the overly-dramatic lead flight attendant, Garrett, while Sanjeev Kohli and Declan Baxter play the unflappable pilot and more “flappable” co-pilot, respectively.
An endless stream of adversaries come for Lucas but the film alternates between comedy and action, with a few breaks for brief character development scenes. The humor in FIGHT OR FLIGHT has a vaguely British feel but actually the film is American, albeit with an international cast the includes some Brits. At other times, the comedy is pure AIRPLANE. The action/comedy’s John Wick feel has more of a basis, as it was produced by the same team as the John Wick ones.
Emmy-winning director James Madigan does well helming his first feature film. keeping things moving briskly and balancing comedy and action well. The script by Brooks McLaren and D. J. Cotrona is pretty wild but has nice touches that lift this entertainment offering out of the familiar and predictable, while still satisfying its audience.
The entertaining action/comedy is also packed with colorful characters, great stunt fights along side silly humor, plus a bit of a heart and even a message against about slave labor being used to build smart phones.
Describing more would create spoilers, so we’ll stop here on that. The film is fast, fun, and keeps your interest throughout with both good characters and stunt work. Moving around the large plane keeps the visuals varied, as Hartnett’s Lucas battles one adversary after another. The John Wick vibe is strong but there is a bit of Indiana Jones too, although Hartnett’s drunken assassin is no intellectual heavy weight. he’s still likable. What happens with the Ghost we would say more about, to avoid spoilers, but it adds another layer of interest, as both of them are trying to survive the flight on a plane full of assassins.
Tons of action ensues, but many of the characters have a comic bent, while Lucas Reyes alternates between beating people to a pulp, heavy drinking and soul-searching. Josh Hartnett is surprisingly good and very likable in this oddball role, and you can’t help but root for him. Not in the fights, where he seems to defeat all with ease, no matter how much he drank, which is a nice comic bit. Hartnett reportedly did his own stunts, and looks pretty good doing them.
The stunt work is terrific, with that John Wick feel you might expect from these producers. The stunts are varied, and feature an array of characters, which keeps them interesting. Director James Madigan cleverly uses the action sequences to advance character development, and the action is nearly non-stop, with brief breaks for exposition and more character development, and of course, comedy.
Director Madison keeps everything cooking, and moving briskly in this film that runs under two hours, This is a high body count action film with an R rating but the action is stunt-work with a cartoon violence style rather than gore, although there is blood.
FIGHT OR FLIGHT is purely popcorn action comedy fun, despite a little bit about fighting slave labor used to produce smart phones. It is ridiculously far fetched but fast-paced and laced with humor, topped off by a winning performance from Josh Hartnett as a surprisingly likable drunken assassin. This is well-done, highly-entertaining popcorn fun. If you aren’t squeamish about the high body count that all its cartoon violence delivers, this fast-paced mix of laugh-out-loud comedy and high-octane stunt fighting is a good escapist distraction from a grim real world.
FIGHT OR FLIGHT opens Friday, May 9, in theaters.
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
