I know it’s a cliché at this point, but I’m a sucker for a good in media res opening, and Fight or Flight kicks off with a humdinger: people brawling on a plane midflight. Fists are flying, bullets whiz, a hole opens up in the plane, and is that chainsaw getting in the mix? Cut to black and a “12 hours earlier” chyron and we are off and running. Or flying.
What Fight or Flight gets right about this kind of opening is that it doesn’t just overload the senses. It offers up the kind of wtf?!? imagery that makes you want to see the build-up to that moment. And you know what? The preceding action frequently reaches those same heights. All that to say this: Fight or Flight is a bloody delight. It’s a violent and funny jolt of energy.
The exposition heavy first act sets up the story efficiently. Lucas (Josh Hartnett) is a mercenary who spends his days drinking himself to an early grave in Bangkok. Two years prior something bad happened to Lucas, leading to his current seclusion and spirituous ways. The people he used to work for, Katherine Brunt (Katee Sackoff) and Aaron Hunter (Julian Kostov) need a guy to track someone down in a pinch and, despite having infinite resources, they turn to Lucas. The goal? Catch someone called The Ghost. All we know about The Ghost is that they are headed to the airport and has possibly been shot. The Ghost appears on security cam footage, with their body obfuscated by static.
After a barroom slap-around and some fun techno spy business, Lucas boards the play and begins his hunt for The Ghost. The catch? Seemingly everyone on the plane is also after The Ghost and they all have a particular set of skills. From there, the hijinks, as they say, ensue and they are glorious.
The core creative trio of director James Madigan and writers Brooks McLaren and D.J. Cotrona bring go-for-broke energy to the film that is its biggest asset. After a decade of leading second units on various action-heavy projects, Madigan makes the jump to the top spot for his feature debut. He shows a good eye for putting together action sequences. Given the confines of the plane setting, there’s a resourcefulness on display that is impressive. It almost feels like McLaren and Cotrona’s script is trying to back Madigan into a corner and Madigan is game to wriggle out of it. I mean that as a compliment. It’s like they are issuing challenges and continuing to one up each other. From the minute Fight or Flight starts there is a playfulness that is immediately endearing.
I cannot emphasize enough how amusing Fight or Flight is. The action is violent and shot clearly so it’s each to see the cool stunt work on display. But it’s also quite funny. Quips fly around as frequently as fists, and the jokes have a good hit rate. On top of that, Madigan has a great eye for visual humor. There’s an early moment where someone is trying to hide a body in an overhead compartment, but arms and legs keep dropping down that is particularly funny. There’s a shot where a flare gun goes off inside the plane with gloriously cartoonish results.
Just about the film’s only misstep is that it doesn’t find a way to get Sackoff in on the ass-kicking. Feels like a waste to have her play a pencil-pushing G-man in one of the film’s few roles that doesn’t involve fisticuffs. Alas. The rest of the cast is quite game. Almost everyone onboard the plane gets a chance to deliver a quality joke or punch, if not both. Hartnett gives a playful performance as Lucas. It’s a largely physical effort, what with all the fighting, but Harnett mixes in enough humor to give it a slapstick feel (complimentary). The other standout is Charithra Chandra’s as Isha, one of the flight attendants on the plane. After Lucas, Isha gets the most character development and Chandra makes the most of it.
Fight or Flight is the kind of movie that knows it’s a B-movie and doesn’t strive to be more or delude itself or its audience. It wants to be a kick-ass action movie that also makes you laugh, and it goes about its business accordingly. It lands on the release calendar right before the bombast of the summer movie season ramps up and Fight or Flight is a satisfying appetizer before blockbuster season brings out the main courses.
