Second Emulation

Flight Risk: Mark Wahlberg's Mid-Air Thriller Falls Short

• Shawn Juarez • Episode 74

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Mark Wahlberg's breathless delivery and a predictable plot send "Flight Risk" into a nosedive. This Apple TV crime thriller directed by Mel Gibson attempts to create tension in the skies but never manages to get off the ground.

When a U.S. Marshal and government witness board a plane, they quickly discover their pilot isn't who he claims to be. What follows is 90 minutes of confined-space drama that relies heavily on the performances of its three leads: Wahlberg, Michelle Dockery, and Topher Grace. While the premise has potential, the execution falls flat at nearly every turn.

The film's problems begin with its opening CGI sequence that looks straight out of 2013, immediately setting a low bar that the rest of the movie struggles to clear. Wahlberg, playing an assassin who somehow managed to infiltrate a witness protection transport operation, delivers his threats with his characteristic out-of-breath style that often feels more comical than menacing. As our podcast host notes, "It was hard to take it seriously when you have Mark Wahlberg talking, threatening you and he just sounds like he's been running a marathon all his life."

Beyond the acting, Flight Risk suffers from logical inconsistencies that constantly break immersion – perfect cell reception during a snowstorm at high altitude, battery life that never depletes, and an assassin who chooses the most complicated method possible to eliminate his targets. The "big reveal" that the pilot is actually the assassin is telegraphed from the moment characters board the plane, removing any potential suspense.

With a rating of just 2 out of 5 stars, this film joins the ranks of forgettable thrillers that had potential but failed in execution. For crime thriller fans seeking quality storytelling, you'd be better served revisiting classics like Silence of the Lambs rather than boarding this particular flight. Subscribe to our podcast for more honest reviews and join us next time when we dive into anime with "The Red Power Ranger is in Another World and Becomes an Adventurer."

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  📍 Hi, hello, and welcome to Second Emulation! Oh my God, you guys, I’m so excited for you to listen to this episode—like, it’s going to be so good! Your amazing host is about to take you on a deep dive into all things movies, anime, gaming, and pop culture. Seriously, it’s, like, the best way to spend your time. So, grab your favorite drink, maybe a latte or something cute, and get ready to have the best time. Okay, love that for you! Here’s your host!

Hey  everyone. Welcome back to Second Emulation, the show where we dive deep into the latest movies and see what's with your time. I'm Sean, your host, and today we're gonna be talking about Flight Risk, a new crime filler movie that just dropped on Apple TV and theaters. So if you're a fan of crime style type movies, this might be on your radar. 

Stick around as a breakdown. Share my thoughts, see what other movie lovers and letterbox are saying about this movie. Alright, so let's get into it.  We're gonna start with the brief summary of the film and it reads, follow a US Marshall Escort, a government witness to trial after he's accused of getting involved with the mob boss.

Only to discover that the pilot who is transporting them is also a hitman sent to assassinate the informant. After they seduce him, they're forced to fly together after discovering that there are other, attempting to eliminate them.  Now this film stars mark Walbert, Michelle Dockery, and Topher Grace, and it is directed by Mel Gibson.

Now, I know for those who are saying  Mel Gibson wasn't on my Bingo card for any type of movie project after things that he's done. But I was surprised to see.  It was him who directed this. So let's get into it.  Now. When I first heard about this film, flat Risk, I wasn't really too sure what to make of it, because I didn't see any type of marketing.

There were no commercials. This movie kind of just flew under the radar. And you they made it seem like Mark Wahlberg. Was the center, but was also a main character in some way. And just with the title Flight Risk alone,  you you already knew that it was gonna be about airplanes of some sort.

They didn't want to give too much away  for the movie, and it was always interested in seeing mark Wahlberg in his next project because this guy is always working. He. He's very interesting as an actor, is that he plays multiple roles, but he acts the same in these roles. He's dwayne Johnson of movies is that he's suppo, he assumes these new characters, but he just, is just playing himself, assuming these new characters.

He's not as transformative in these roles. He, it's almost like he's cosplaying these characters, if you would say,  so first impressions, there wasn't.  Much there to be impressed by is what I'm saying is that  the marketing, as I mentioned earlier, was non-existent. And if he did find something, they made sure to like really hammer that.

Mark Wahlberg is the star of this film  now. What are some things that worked for this film,  to be honest?  I think what really worked  for this film is just I wouldn't even say the tone for this movie was essentially, I have to say Mark Wahlberg,  though Tofi Grace was there, but Mark Wahlberg had huge dialogue in the movie.

And even though you had other characters like Michelle, doc Grace.  It felt more like allowing Mark Wahlberg to exercise his acting chops a bit,  which was something different. Now,  his character or his appearance was resembled the actor or the character from Tropic Thunder, just the way he looked in the face.

Not sure if that's what they were going for, but when I first saw him, that I instinctively thought of that character from Tropic Thunder that was played by Tom Cruise. Now,  when I also want to say what worked is that  you essentially have acting at its core. I.  In my previous episode with the Gorge where you have character actors who are playing characters who are isolated, it's very heavily, relied on the acting, portraying these characters narratively to body language and sometimes non-social type cues.

And I felt like what worked. In this film was, they had to do a lot of that. They were in a confined space where a lot of it, there was no gimmicks, there was no other type of props to essentially work off. It was to Topher, mark and Michelle in an area confined to this plane.  And they really had to work and play with one, play off one another for that.

Now  I thought that was what really worked for them  and the tone I. A bit, I give them props for setting it up, even though there's been multiple type films with this same scenario that you see it coming. But they did it and they portrayed it in a new way for this type of like  airplane thriller type film. 

Now I'm gonna contradict myself here. Here are some things that also what didn't work with a film, and  I'm gonna say Mark Wahlberg because again,  I. He's not a chameleon when it comes to portraying new characters. He has to play characters that allow him to have that type of, thick either Boston accent that he has.

It's hard to get away from that. I'm not sure if he has a linguistic coach or he just choose, is to just roll with the punches and just, things would just  magically figure themselves out.  But.  Just anytime Mark talked, he has a distinct tone where he is always out of breath or he appears that he's out breath when he is not.

And  it also distracts when you know the character he's playing, is trying to be serious, menacing and also threatening.  You just can't take him seriously. So I felt like.  That  also hurt them  because you have Tofa and Michelle being very serious amongst the situation because they're now in a position where it's, life threatening.

But it's hard to take it seriously when you have Mark ber talking, threatening you. And he just sounds like he's been running a marathon all his life and now he's just catching a break.  The opening sequence with CGI also didn't work for them. It had that feel of 2013 CGI, where it looked like all the budget went towards the actors and not enough for giving you the illusion that we're hunting, tofa in a, kinda like isolated ice tundra. And so that was a thing that didn't work  and  it set up everything to go downhill from there.  I'm also gonna contradict myself earlier when I said, what worked was that, putting actors in an area where they have to rely on no props or gimmicks in order to progress a story of their film.

This also, hurt the film as well because.  In regards of just having these three actors in an area which also may have looked like a green screen or a prop of the plane, is that now you are relying on these key three actors to carry a story and just now feed off each other. There was a lot of cuts.

They used a lot of, transitions back to Mark in order to like. Reese really like cement the fact that he was a threat and he was dangerous. And then with that, it didn't really, it started to lose its appeal. So every now and again, they would have to remind you like, Hey, this is a here, there's a real threat going on here. 

Just letting you know he's a threat. He's a threat.  And you could see because. Each actor didn't, one of 'em would have less dialogue throughout the film. A lot of the acting was relied on body language and  it was hard for it to be very believable in a sense, especially coming from Mark.

Michelle,  Dockery really did her best to portray, this sense of, urgency,  I need to take control of the situation, but I also don't know what I'm doing. Just found out, A, B, and C and I am outta my depths  here.  And I feel like the majority of the film, most of our panning from character and scenes were with Michelle and Mark and  this, occasionally they'll go to Topher Grace when you know they needed him to say something.

And then for Mark. To be aggressive and threaten him again. So it was odd to see that on screen.  I think for me it also didn't work was the big reveal. They prolonged it a bit within the movie to build up suspense.  But when you see the actors get onto the plane, you everything there gives off this like bad juju vibes.

And so you get, the instinct of a something's off here. I.  And they prolong that, quite a bit to kind of cement like, Michelle's character doesn't know we're gonna have this full surprise. But for you, for, if you're watching the film, you're instantly know right away, something's up and something's awry.

With the, with.  The scenario that's going on. And maybe that has to do with, myself watching so many type of crime tv, true crime drama, and just regular TV shows that kind of have these type of scenarios. I feel like it was just numb to it altogether. Like it, it didn't do anything to, pull me in.

And any established, like for me to care about these characters 'cause again.  Every time, mark Wahlberg talked,  it was hard to really pay attention because he needed to get his threats out. It felt like he, he was being paid by the word, every line he was being paid. So it felt like he had to say something every time.

And that,  that kind of felt very odd.  Especially for, not especially for him 'cause he is known for using profanity in some of his films, but playful. But he was like really getting into it. It was odd to see for his character  and for him as an actor.  Now here's gonna be a little bit of spoiler warning, but before we go, I want to give a quick spoiler warning.

If you haven't seen flight risk yet, which I'm assuming by this time people will watch it or just ignore it, you can skip to the next section. But for everyone else, let's talk about the big reveal that the pilot is the assassin.  What I thought was pretty funny is that they did nothing. To essentially hide this type of information from the viewers of the film.

It was like the moment they got onto the plane, you could automatically just know and Mark Wahlberg, his character was at.  Prior to the dig review was so awkwardly obvious. It's like he was trying to lead them to the question like, Hey, I'm the assassin. If you didn't know and it was just it didn't feel right.

And so once the gig was up, which I mean it was obviously very quick, he was able to flip the script and be, as. What's the word? To put it? To be so aggressive. Der  and psychotic as possible up to that point.  And I feel like the big reveal, I didn't have the impact that they were going for because the moment I knew, I was like, oh yes, the pilot.

And then, the reveal happened a couple scenes later. I'm like.  They didn't, they weren't hiding that information. It wasn't like any secret. It was pretty much obvious. And for me, I felt like that was lazy writing in a sense, because, if he's supposed to be this great assassin or this assassin he didn't try as hard, he felt lazy  and. 

I don't know. It was like a no for me, that when films do that where they try so hard to build upon something and then when they execute it, it's just, fall short. This one is they didn't even try. And I know in scenarios where this could be, not scenario like where things like this happened, but you're.

Trying to tell me that Mark Wahlberg's assassin was able to take out and kill a FBI agent who's trained in scenarios like this and  I don't know. And the way they made him look was like very out. Like he was outta shape of it. So  it just didn't make it believable. But then again, this movie's all about.

Things that are unbelievable. The other spoiler, not really much of a spoiler, the plane didn't crash. I guess it did,  but  Michelle was able to phone for assistance for help,  and they was able to get a, like a pilot on the phone that would help her fly the plane.  If I, if that's not a handicap, I don't know what is, and how the hell does she have cell service up at that altitude in a windstorm? 

Maybe. I don't know  how, you know a phone would work at that altitude. I had actually, correction,  I would assume, given the. The wind storm and snowstorm that they were in, it would have impacted her reception to get calls. But she had, clear calls all the way through and her battery didn't die  like she, it seemed like she had a hundred percent power throughout the whole film. 

That was one thing. I also like to. Would like to add to what didn't work was that was not believable at all because normally the month, the moment my phone is off its charger, it's dying. I'm normally within mid to evening, I'm already at like more than half 50% of my power on my phone.  There was no way that  she had full power on her phone throughout the entire  events. 

So that I call  malarkey or not true, it would've made more impact. I feel if her phone was dying and she needed a conserve battery, that would've made it more impactful for them,  but they didn't go that route.  This is not really a spoiler, but I guess it could be. But the whole purpose of this flight was to take Tofu, tofu, Grace's character  to FBI, 'cause he was for a safe house.

So he can then, be on trial to, as a witness against this mob.  And I'm thinking, if they, if the assassin was really an assassin at his job, he could just rigged the boat to take 'em all out, or not the boat,  sorry. He could have rigged the plane to blow up and then he could have jumped out of the plane. 

So I.  I don't think like everything that led up to the film was necessary for the assassin. Even though he is not a great assassin, but he could have been more efficient,  I. I've, I've seen other films where there are assassins and they're much more efficient than Mark Bert's character.

They're like, he was just being lazy and maybe, I think he mentioned he was like out of jail or something, or prison and maybe he just wanted to talk. He just wanted a friend. Mark Wahlberg after being on a projects wanted to, be friendly with people and the only way he can be friendly is to run a marathon and talk to you when he's done. 

I.  So what did I give this movie as? Overall rating? So on a scale one out of five, I gave a flat risk. A two out of  five. Two out five. There's no way in hell this movie is gonna get a three or out of a five. I.  This, you can put this film up to any any other film, and those films will score higher than this one. 

But it's definitely worth a watch just for Mark Wahlberg alone and just see him with this crazy antics. But I don't even want to classify as a crime thriller because.  It wasn't even a thriller. It wasn't even just essential. Like  again,  I have to say this.  I started to lose interest in this movie  because it wasn't entertaining. 

And so that says a lot.  I know. I know. But that's what I give. That is my reason, and  this is also like why I gave it a two.  Because there were just a lot of things that were wrong with the film. Even though I mentioned things that worked, there was a lot of shortcomings, for this film, and it didn't execute 'em very well.

It felt like  this movie felt like a. Movie made for TV type of project and Hallmark or Fox or U-S-A-R-N  Paramount, or if a movie's only made for tv, it's not like high production. Yeah, it's not really high production, but it had enough to make it believable for set. Flight risk has that same feel like a TV made movie and it felt really bad because Topher Grace is a good actor. I haven't seen anything that Michelle Dock reason I.  Mark Wahlberg is, I don't know what he's doing. He's, feels like he's scraping the bottom barrel for films and this is like his latest project that I've seen him in.

So yeah,  he has that going for him.  Now let's see what other movie lovers are saying about flight risk. I pulled a few reviews from letterbox to get a sense of how the community is reacting, and I'll read a few, share their ratings and let you know if I agree or disagree. So the first review I have is gonna be from user Chris Parker. 

He says, AI generated snow motel  a 2005 CGI Moose. Being the first thing is crazy.  He gave it a one out of five. And you know what? I agree.  You feel like a lot of the budget, some of it, or not even a lot, like I.  A small section went to cg and that's why I made a comment earlier that, this felt like a tv TV made movie  because the bar was set low and all they had to do was walk over it. 

Our second review is from User Hannah.  She wrote was on the edge of my seat waiting to leave.  She gave it a rating, 1.5 out of five, barely, almost a two.  And you know what I would agree with both of these these users, is that the low rating for it, what they gave and what they mentioned are on par, is that. 

If you are not really invested, this film didn't really do much to back up its name for the supporting ca cast of care actors who are portraying these characters. It felt like a lazy type film and you're just trying to get through, I believe, 90 minutes of it and just be done.  So I feel like it seems.

Like the general consensus on letterbox  is negative. Most people are not praising this film. A lot of 'em are very critical of just, either it felt like a waste. A lot of it has to do with the CGI and then the acting itself that  the portrayal of this was just, not executed. 

In its highest form, especially from  an actor Mel Gibson, who's now a director, when he's brought in pro done projects like Passions of the Christ. So  you can see where like the drop in quality for film, like that was his pinnacle, and now this is it. And.  A lot of people are saying on letterbox that this, if people could give it zero stars, they would, but you have to give 'em something and I've seen a lot of, ones one and a half, two.

So I kind agree with, the community on letterbox in regards to this film is that it's not a great film.  I don't even, for me personally, I think you shouldn't even rent it or watch it.  Just let it, sink into the shadows and be forgotten  if, if I had my way. But that's my opinion. 

And some people and some other users on letterbox for the same way as well.  Here are my final thoughts on the film. Flight risk, though I gave it a one out of five. If you are a fan of this crime slash thriller, which they'll probably be, fans of this, I. Can't de you can't deteriorate anyone from watching the film.

We all have our favorites and we all enjoy different things, but if you do want to, watch this film, you might enjoy this if you can get past the CGI opening scene  and hopefully that doesn't deter you away  for this movie.  I feel like this was a good. Attempt back in the director's seat for Mel Gibson, but it did not hit the mark that he was trying to hit.

And I'm not sure if this was his own story or, he was just given a script and he is oh yeah, you know what? I need the money, I'll do it,  type of thing. Because besides. The three main actors, Michelle Topher and Mark Wahlberg. There were a lot of people who were unknown and I didn't know about I, a lot of 'em were just voices on the phone.

So  this movie really relied on those reactors to really carry the film. In a project like this. So  I feel like it wasn't the best approach, was the best, script  and  Mel Gibson could  pro well. No one's really shouting for Mel Gibson to direct projects, so I understand it. And you probably used, whatever star power he had to bring people onto this.

This project. So  again,  if you  want to be entertained, then flight risk is the movie for you.  And you'll have a few laughs at just at Mark Wahlberg himself trying to be this, over the top assassin who is menacing and life threatening.  And he was always shooting out profanity at every chance he gets. 

I don't even want to recommend this film,  but I know to delete your own. But I.  Essentially you can find other films like this, skeleton key or Signs of the Lambs, which are done really well, who might have the similar vibe and may scratch that same image that you're looking for. Those films I will recommend so, but not this one. 

I can't, in good conscience, I can't recommend this film. But  people will do what they want.  I'd like to thank everyone for listening and tuning in into this episode of Second Alation. If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, share with your friends. Also follow the podcast on their social media accounts, which is gonna be a link in the episode description.

And for more recommendations and updates. Let me know what your thoughts will.  RO flight risk and I love to hear 'em and  we'll catch you the next one.  Next episode's going to be an anime review of the Red Power Ranger as in another world and becomes an inventor. So really excited to do, an anime review with our new format, so I'm excited.

You should be excited. All right.  Again, until next time. All right. Bye. 

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