With a century of each cinema and aviation below our belts, it’s exhausting to imagine that it took humanity this lengthy to give you an airplane thriller referred to as “Struggle or Flight.” However cinephiles all over the place can relaxation straightforward realizing that the arrival of the bottom hanging fruit since “Bullet Practice” delivers huge portions of combating onboard a transferring passenger jet.
James Madigan’s function directorial debut exists in a self-contained bubble of authorities competence that’s oddly comforting proper now. An unnamed American intelligence company oversees the world with staggering precision, by no means permitting a nefarious actor to elude its imaginative and prescient for too lengthy. And whereas they’ve eyes on numerous unhealthy guys, one title towers above the remainder: The Ghost. No person has ever managed to place a face on this nameless cyber burglar, however the wreckage left from their multitude of hacking jobs has made them a lot of enemies.
From crypto heists and id theft to the distant destruction of whole factories, The Ghost demonstrates singular laptop hacking expertise and a cruel greed that leaves no nation or organized crime syndicate unscathed. And the Darkish Internet simply acquired a tip that they’re getting on a flight from Bangkok to San Francisco.
The company’s ruthless director Katherine Brunt (Katee Sackhoff) realizes this is perhaps her solely shot at catching her white whale, however her roster of instantly out there mercenaries in Bangkok is proscribed. She’s pressured to swallow her delight and name Lucas Reyes (Josh Hartnett), a disgraced former Secret Service agent who simply occurs to be her ex-boyfriend. Unable to depart Bangkok since Katherine positioned him on a no-fly listing out of spite, the once-great agent has grow to be content material to slowly drink himself to demise amongst Thai locals who pity him. However Katherine offers him a remaining shot at redemption if he can board the flight (full with the legitimate passport she had made for him in 37 minutes) and guarantee The Ghost will get to San Francisco unhurt.
Lucas is just not precisely thrilled with the proposition. He’s spent years steeping in anger at Katherine over the life she stole from him, and he didn’t count on their first dialog for the reason that breakup to contain her asking for a favor. However with nothing to lose and all the pieces to achieve, the anxious drunk makes his option to the airport and prepares for the hardest flight of his life. It seems Katherine wasn’t the one particular person tracing the Darkish Internet for The Ghost’s whereabouts, and the double-decker luxurious jet is crammed with assassins all over the world, keen to gather the $10 million bounty on their head. If Lucas needs a prayer of getting his previous life again, he’ll need to kill each final one of them earlier than they land at SFO.
“Struggle or Flight” milks its high-concept premise for all the pieces it’s price, giving us a compelling protagonist with all the pieces on the road after which hitting him with limitless issues. Hartnett eagerly dives into the position of the erratic loser, donning the bougie pajamas given to first-class clients as he fends off assailants utilizing each weapon and fight methodology below the solar. It’s a intelligent script — even when “Flight Threat” stays the very best contained aerial thriller of 2025 — and co-writers Brooks McLaren and D.J. Cotrona deserve credit score for crafting a setup that will get us to purchase into their ridiculous premise. Briefly, the movie‘s first two-thirds are a rowdy good time.
The movie’s greatest energy is its writing, nevertheless it hits some actual turbulence when the fight takes heart stage. The motion sequences devolve into pure camp, leaning into the truth of the movie’s low finances by relying too closely on tacky cinematography and unconvincing particular results. By the point a chainsaw inexplicably materializes, it’s clear that the movie has totally embraced its standing as a B-movie.
Possibly that’s OK, as “Flight Threat” by no means strives to supply something greater than senseless escapism. If nothing else, it joins “Entice” in an increasing canon of mid-career Josh Hartnett films which can be memorable for his or her utter ridiculousness. And maybe all of us should be grateful that a movie that promised us combating or flight had the generosity to ship on each.
Grade: C+
A Vertical launch, “Struggle or Flight” opens in theaters on Friday, Could 9.
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