Fight or Flight Review: Aviation Thriller Leans On the Sturdy Charm of Josh Hartnett

When James Madigan’s action picture Fight or Flight works it’s because of Josh Hartnett. The premise is fairly simple: a nefarious, black-ops government agency led by a fierce Katee Sackhoff is forced to employ the dormant skills of an exiled mercenary (Hartnett) in order to protect an asset named Isha (Charithra Chandran) on an airplane. The reasons are, of course, not altruistic. And the other twist: the majority of passengers are determined to kill the asset for a hefty bounty. Isha must trust this killer she barely knows in order to survive the ride.

The action is, per Fight‘s setting, clean and tight. Madigan made his bones in the visual-effects department of many a blockbuster, which led to him to roles as a Second Unit Director on recent big-budget fare like Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and The Meg. The economy here is evident (Fight or Flight‘s budget is decidedly not big) but Madigan makes the most of his tools. His experience is a clear X-factor. Hartnett is the other.

Here is a middle-aged performer who has fully found his stride. Following a strong supporting turn in the Oscar-winner Oppenheimer, he followed it up with two gleefully silly lead performances in this film and last year’s Trap. Hartnett has always been a capable, if reluctant, action star, so it’s refreshing to watch him fully embrace the absurdity. He leans into the cartoonishness a bit more than Brad Pitt does in Bullet Train (the clear blockbuster comp), and Fight of Flight works quite a bit better because of this. Chandran matches Hartnett’s energy well enough, and the two develop a worthwhile chemistry that anchors the film as its third act goes to predictable places.

Sackhoff will forever be a performer who should be about four times more celebrated. She has an uncanny ability to both be mean and mine empathy in the same exact moment. Viewers can watch her eat her incompetent second-in-command (Julian Kostov) to pieces with each passing cutaway. The rest of the cast leaves a bit to be desired, though everybody is capable, with physical performances that are undeniably impressive. Violence is plentiful, as are the confined stunts. Additional credit to production designer Mailara Santana, who opens up the airplane and gives character to each section of the fuselage.

The screenplay, by Brooks McLaren and D.J. Cotrona, is limited by design, which proves a gift and a curse. On the one hand, it’s smart to simplify your action movie with as little backstory as needed and develop a MacGuffin that can generate the requisite amount of morality to make this ultimate mission worth completing. On the other hand, it gives your viewer precious little in which to invest. Which brings us back to Hartnett. Fight or Flight‘s enjoyment will rest on where you stand with Hartnett, his character, and his comedy.

Fight or Flight opens in theaters on Friday, May 9.

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