A mercenary takes on the job of tracking down a target on a plane but must protect her when they’re surrounded by people trying to kill both of them.

Review

Sometimes a movie is bad because it strives for greatness and misses the mark. With Fight or Flight, from the director behind the worst Marvel Cinematic Universe movie out there, I have no doubt that the filmmakers made exactly the movie they set out to make. It’s just a shame that it’s soooo ridiculous.

The setup is there, disgruntled and disavowed agent (doesn’t matter from what or where)Lucas Reyes (Josh Hartnett midway through his Hartnettaissance) is contacted by his ex-girlfriend Brunt (Katee Sackhoff, who deserves a much better career) because he’s the only one in Thailand who can board a plane to track down a suspect (who and for what doesn’t really matter) and deliver them safely back to America.

What follows is an all-out splatter fest of hand-to-hand combat and everything-is-a-weapon brawling. That part works. It’s fun and crazy, but it doesn’t take itself too seriously and Hartnett is a decent leading man. But when this movie goes off the rails, and it does, it’s hard for it to find a decent footing. A hole in the plane is an insurmountable obstacle. Until it isn’t. The dynamic between Reyes and Brunt is crucial to the story. Until it isn’t.

If all you’re looking for is a fun time, it can at least deliver that, logistics be damned. But if you have any expectation of it being good, well, better luck next time.

Jonathan’s Grade – D+

While I don’t consider myself a studio film elitist, a movie that opens with a credit sequence for nearly ten different financing companies usually doesn’t bode well for the final product. Fight or Flight regrettably upholds this tradition, coming across as a frantic and hollow knock-off of Bullet Train. Though the fight scenes are well-choreographed and Josh Hartnett puts in a strong showing, the film simply doesn’t have enough going for it to truly take flight. This is one action flick that’s all style and no substance. 

Jeff’s Grade – D