FIGHT OR FLIGHT

(director: James Madigan; screenwriters: Brooks McLaren, D.J. Cotrona; cinematographer: Matt Flannery; editor: Ben Mills; music: Paul Saunderson; cast: Josh Hartnett (Lucas Reyes),  Katee Sackhoff (Katherine Brunt), Julian Kostov (Aaron Hunter, agent), Charithra Chandran (Isha), Marko Zaror (Chayenne); Runtime: 101; MPAA Rating: NR; producers: Tai Duncan, Basil Iwanyk, Christopher Milburn, Erica Lee; F or F films; 2024-USA/UK)

“For action pic fans, this a flight worth taking.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

A heavy-duty comical action thriller directed by first-timer James Madigan and written by Brooks McLaren and D.J. Cotrona as if bombed on too many martinis.

The bleached blond Lucas Reyes (Josh Hartnett) is a former Secret Service agent who after experiencing a severe nervous breakdown and disgracing himself, has been relieved of duty and for the last few years has been living in exile in Bangkok,Thailand as a mercenary. His former girlfriend Katherine Brunt (Katee Sackoff), now heading a shady government organization, recruits him to be on the same flight as the unidentified notorious cyber-terrorist called The Ghost, a hacker responsible for crashing several country’s GDPs and demolishing Yemen’s oil reserves. But the ‘red flag’ appears when Lucas realizes he’s not the only mercenary on the plane, in fact there are many mercenaries aboard who want to kill the hacker.

The job calls for Lucas to be on a flight to San Francisco and finger which passenger is the so-called Ghost so he can be placed under arrest. When fights break out, the bewildered flight attendant Isha (Charithra Chandran) assists Lucas in trying to stop the violence. While the volatile Lucas, casually dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and pajama bottoms, runs up and down the aisles searching for his man.

Filled with slapstick humor, an air of playfulness and loaded with inventive kills such as those with a chainsaw, this is an entertaining film that’s goofy and follows the template of a John Wick film. For action pic fans, this a flight worth taking.

REVIEWED ON 4/15/2025  GRADE: B

dennisschwartzreviews.com