Fight or Flight
Former Secret Service agent Lucas Reyes (Josh Hartnett) is living a booze-soaked life in Bangkok after being ejected from service by the FBI's Katherine Brunt (Katee Sackhoff, TV's 'Battlestar Galatica'), so he isn't thrilled when she calls upon him in desperation to board a San Francisco bound plane to uncover a terrorist known only as The Ghost. Once on board, Lucas will learn the entire plane is filled with global assassins all with their sights on the same target and no one wants to give up their bounty in "Fight or Flight."
Laura's Review: B
The fledgling feature filmmaking team of director James Madigan and writers Brooks McLaren and D.J. Cotrona deliver the action comedy "Bullet Train" only dreamed of being, Josh Hartnett exhibiting tons of charisma in the lead with 'Bridgerton's' Charithra Chandran in a major breakout role as Mayko Airlines flight attendant Isha. The film kicks off with a view of late breaking insanity, with female ninjas fighting a man with an automatic weapon in one aisle of an A380 as Isha tosses a running chainsaw down another, which just happens to feature a gaping hole in its side, before rewinding to twelve hours earlier.
Lucas, who is awakened from a drunken stupor by a little boy trying to stead his money, stumbles into his local bar and avoids coffee and a phone call from Katherine, who, we will learn, turned him in years ago while they were dating (he was on the side of right). After exchanging his Hawaiian shirt for a pink tee, the bleached blonde arrives at the airport where his promised passport is pressed into his hands. He boards his flight in first class and is seated next to Chayenne (Marko Zaror, "John Wick 4"), but what begins as friendly seatmate chat ends minutes later with a drugged Lucas stuffing the man's body into a dropped ceiling. Allowing Isha and her fellow flight attendant Royce (Danny Ashok) into the enclosed area, Lucas takes them into his confidence, despite the insane nature of his story.
The film is full of great lines ('you are stitching a parachute as we fall from the sky'), all manner of hand-to-hand combat, sight and sound gags and an evolving, percussive score and soundtrack featuring the likes of Japanese punk band The Let Go's, Elvis Costello, The Clash and Goran Bregović and his Eastern European brass orchestra. There's even a guy who steps into the aisle to play 'The Girl from Ipanema' on the clarinet. Hartnett proves equally adept at physical choreography, amusing facial reactions and sarcastic put-downs ('pusswah'). And if his initial winning bout while on horse tranquilizers doesn't do the trick, wait for a later scene featuring psychedelic toad toxin where what Josh perceives as sparkler sparks turns out to be geysers of blood. Throughout all this, The Ghost is ingeniously hiding in plain sight with a back story that flips the script.
"Fight or Flight" promises some genuine fun at the movies. This is some mighty tasty popcorn.
Robin's Review: B
Vertical releases "Fight or Flight" in theaters on 5/9/25.
