Flight Risk Parent Guide

The remote Alaskan wilderness is a great place to disappear, but not for Winston (Topher Grace), a fleeing mob accountant. Deputy U.S. Marshal Madelyn Harris (Michelle Dockery) has picked him up, and now he faces a long and unpleasant prison stay – unless he’s willing to testify against his employers. Since his desire to avoid prison exceeds his loyalty to his criminal employers, Winston is eager to cut a deal with the feds.

Before Winston can testify, Harris must return him to civilization, which means a nerve-wracking flight in a small charter plane. The pilot – Daryl (Mark Wahlberg) – seems strange but it soon becomes clear that Daryl is not the pilot they hired, but a hitman for the mob. Now Harris must figure out how to keep her witness alive while fending off a murderer in a small single-engine plane thousands of feet over the desolate Alaskan wilderness.

Perhaps the kindest thing I can say about this movie is that the pacing rips past. It’s nearly dead-on 90 minutes, and the contained nature of the story means it just keeps ticking along. This is a tender mercy, since most of the movie is pretty tedious. Sloppy dialogue, insane plot holes, and irritating characters are all things worth speeding through. Credit where credit is due, the film does get a little better as it goes, and the last half-hour actually manages to be tolerable – but this isn’t a 30-minute movie.

I’m not a fan of Mark Wahlberg to start with, and this isn’t his best performance. There should be a fun B-movie baddie in here somewhere, but his character feels more like a shambling amalgam of over-the-top screen psychopaths. Worst of all, Daryl never feels scary.

Honestly, I can’t be surprised at the on-screen mediocrity. I should have known this was going to be a mess when the fake blood looked more like raspberry jam. Seriously, folks, it’s 2025 and in a world of sophisticated moviemaking, it’s not hard to find good fake blood. I’m sure the production team for Nosferatu has some left over.

Flight Risk is not going to be a hit with families, not only because of the violence and frequent profanity, but also because Wahlberg’s character spends most of his screentime threatening to rape Harris, and I don’t consider that an entertaining way to spend my time. Fortunately, I don’t think this flick is going to be a hit with anyone. Narrative momentum notwithstanding, it’s just a mess.