Written by: Brooks McLaren & D. J. Cotrona
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Charithra Chandran, Marko Zaror, Katee Sackhoff
Rating: [2.5/5]
The fear of flying can easily be explained from the lack of control and the higher stakes nature of this particular travel. It’s an irrational fear, but one that ultimately makes sense on a psychological level. Fight or Flight compounds this general discomfort of this lack of control with the concept of everyone on the plane wanting to kill you, which certainly has the potential for entertainment value. Despite all of its fault, it certainly delivers on that front.
Disgraced former Secret Service agent, Lucas (Josh Hartnett) hides out in Bangkok where his former love interest and leader of a government agency, Katherine (Katee Sackhoff) reaches out to solicit his help in tracking down a hacker who’s boarding a specific plane. With the promise of having his record completely cleared, Lucas takes on the task but finds out that not only does he need to find the hacker, he learns the rest of the plane is filled with assassins seeking to do the very same thing.
If one were trying to be reductive, describing Fight or Flight as Bullet Train on a plane, it would feel quite apt given the glaring similarity of an individual trying to fight off assassins within a singular form of mass transportation. Combining this plot point with the general anxiety that comes with flying seeks to add a distinct element to this film that makes it stand out. While this feature does not necessarily reinvent the wheel, it sure brings the entertainment value that it promises audiences.
To enjoy Fight or Flight, one must suspend their disbelief given that so much happens within the confines of a flight where seemingly a sound barrier separates action sequences from anyone else hearing it. Lucas engages in all-out brawls using various instruments to fend off the assassins trying to take him out and no one else, even folks in the immediate vicinity, can notice. It makes we wonder how much actually happens on planes that I may not notice utilizing this film’s logic, but again, we’re here for a good time not a long time. We get to witness Josh Hartnett try out an action star vehicle, and he manages to pull it off while also injecting some comedic elements as well.
With the release of this film and Trap in recent years, it appears we are in the midst of a career resurgence for Hartnett, and I’m all for it given the man knows how to deliver. In this feature, he needs to present as a competent professional in causing physical damage, while also an out-of-work has-been who finally obtains the motivation to get his life back. It begs to divulge exactly what happened in his life where he had to exile in a foreign nation and cannot legally return home without striking this deal of finding this hacker. Hartnett strikes this balance quite well where he begrudgingly takes on this task and tries to go about this killing in the most humane way possible.
This humane approach lasts for a short while before the film goes into complete pandemonium as we learn about all the characters on the plane and those pulling the strings down on the mainland. In these moments, the film begins to fly off of the rails as the true intent of these characters become apparent for all to see, showing even the good guys have some questionable motives. This turns the plane into a complete brawl that begs the question of how they could possibly land without something insane happening. That remains the final mystery of this film, which for the most part makes narrative sense.
In a time when assassin movies have become all the rage, Fight or Flight does not rank anywhere near where others have taken this genre. The film does not carry the same punch or demonstrate a level of fight choreography that will leave audiences wildly impressed. It serves as a good time at the movies at seeing Josh Hartnett survive this hornet’s nest of assassins that does not elevate the genre in any way. Well, except for one singular moment where a chainsaw, which somehow made its way onto the plane, gets utilized for violent effect. Let the Hartnett career resurgence continue.
Films with Josh 
