Film Review – Fight or Flight

May 8th, 2025 | POSTED BY Allen Almachar

The Josh Hartnett renaissance is upon us.

The actor has carved himself some nice and varied output in the last few years. From his work with Guy Ritchie, providing solid character work in the Oscar-winning Oppenheimer (2023), to his villainous turn in Trap (2024), Hartnett has shown a willingness to try new things while still maintaining a leading man presence. Those qualities continue in Fight or Flight (2024). This is a stripped-down action comedy taking place within the confines of an airplane. But more so, it allows Hartnett to have some fun and take chances with his performance. In the middle of the mayhem and bloodshed is a smirking, off the wall, unrestrained character. It’s as though Hartnett is winking at us saying, “Can you believe they’re letting me get away with this?”

Hartnett plays Lucas Reyes, a mercenary whose rocky past has left him exiled in Bangkok staring at the bottom of a bottle. His fortunes change when Katherine Brunt (Katee Sackhoff), head of a shadowy black ops organization – and who just happens to be Lucas’ ex – calls upon him to take on a deadly mission. An unknown terrorist called “Ghost” is set to board a flight from Bangkok to San Francisco. Katherine and her minions believe Ghost is tied to a secret weapon that could threaten the entire world. Lucas’ job is to board the same flight to identify and apprehend Ghost before the plane lands. What neither Lucas nor Katherine realize is that on the very same flight are a host of other deadly mercenaries. Not only do they want to take down Ghost for the reward money, they have also been notified that Lucas has a bounty on his head as well! That’s a whole lot of killers crammed into a plane, what could possibly come of that?

Director James Madigan (and co-writers Brooks McLaren and D.J. Cotrona) structure Fight or Flight as cartoonish, intentionally silly chaos. Other reviews have compared this to the Brad Pitt starring Bullet Train (2022), and the parallels are valid. Hartnett mirrors the blond haired, slacker persona that Pitt exhibited in his role. There’s also a bit of Snakes on a Plane (2006) going on here, in how ridiculous the action gets and how so much can be happening in a relatively small space. I got a laugh at how the production completely ignored the dimensions of the aircraft. Fight scenes take place in first class while passengers in coach will remain clueless to what’s happening. Apparently, the cabin is soundproof between sections. After a shootout leaves an entire room covered in body parts, the airline workers get back to serving customers like nothing happened. A brutal fight scene unfolds in the first class bathroom, with the area being so large that you’d think they were in a fancy hotel.

Clearly, this is a film that we shouldn’t take too seriously. Its main concern is to provide as much non-stop entertainment as possible, and in that regard it accomplishes its goal. The wacky hijinks Lucas gets himself into generate plenty of comedy. Mercenaries seem to appear out of thin air, and each one has their own theme or character trait. A pair of Asian assassins show up fully dressed in martial arts attire – because why not? When one of the big highlights involves a character mowing down enemies with a chainsaw, ala Evil Dead II (1987), we get a clue as to what kind of movie this is. Granted, there are instances where the narrative tries to inject more substantial character motivations. Lucas only accepts the job from his ex to earn his freedom from being a mercenary and return home. We’re introduced to airline stewardess Isha (Charithra Chandran) whose humanitarian efforts makes her a person of bigger interest than we would expect. But all these bits exist on a surface level, allowing for the slimmest of dramatic stakes. 

As crazy as things get – Lucas spends most of the time either drunk or drugged (sometimes both) – the film does not cut corners when it comes to the action. The stunt choreography, cinematography (Matt Flannery), editing (Ben Mills), and special effects render the action with good clarity and lots of energy. Josh Hartnett is not as experienced in hand-to-hand combat as say, Keanu Reeves is from The Matrix and John Wick films, but he is serviceable enough to make the action work on screen. There are some creative sequences, such as when a character uses a fire water spout to take down an enemy, or when a seatbelt is used for more than just keeping a person still during turbulence. The disregard for space limitation turns out to be a benefit. Sequences feel so much bigger and more outlandish because everyone isn’t stuck inside of a sardine can. How this all occurs while the pilots still maintain a steady flight is anyone’s guess.

Much of what I have described are positives. The narrative’s freewheeling, anything goes attitude works for much of the time. However, its relentlessness can get exhausting. It very rarely allows us a moment to breathe. During one extended sequence, a drugged out Lucas experiences an entire animated hallucination. While it is funny – the appearance of the Asian assassins in his dream hilariously comes out of the nowhere – it could be argued that it adds little to the overall story. There isn’t a need for the camera to hold still on Lucas’ face as he trips out. In the grand scheme of things, Lucas’ hallucination doesn’t have much significance. Granted, it is a fun, splashy, and crazy scene in line with everything else that goes on, but it does stick out in a bizarre way.

Fight or Flight is a solid – albeit absurd – action romp. It doesn’t redefine the genre or take it to new heights, but it does deliver on what it advertises – nothing more, nothing less. The film is loud, wild, and carefree, and features a central performance willing to be loud, wild, and carefree right alongside it. I dug it, and if you’re willing to meet it at its level, you might dig it too.

Ben Mills, Brad Pitt, Brooks McLaren, Bullet Train, Charithra Chandran, D.J. Cotrona, Evil Dead II, Featured, Fight or Flight, Guy Ritchie, James Madigan, John Wick, Josh Hartnett, Katee Sackhoff, Keanu Reeves, Matt Flannery, Oppenheimer, Snakes on a Plane, The Matrix, Trap