Fight or Flight (United Kingdom/United States, 2025)

I can hear the pitch now: “It’s like Bullet Train, only on a plane.” And there you have it – a low-rent version of the 2022 David Leitch thriller except, instead of speeding across Japan, this time things are happening in the not-so-friendly skies. Director James Madigan, a visual effects expert making his debut behind-the-camera, wrings some tension out of the inherent limitations of the setting but runs into the usual problems encountered by filmmakers who confine their stories to the inside of a jet cruising at 40,000 feet. The list of movies that overcome those is short so it comes as no surprise that Fight or Flight never quite ascends to the bonkers-level entertainment provided by its grounded inspiration. But at least it’s better than this year’s other sky-high thriller, Flight Risk.

The movie makes the rookie mistake of starting at the end then telling a majority of the story in flashback. Why? It makes for a good hook but there’s no real point to the non-chronological approach. And it has the unfortunate side-effect of keeping us waiting for 70 minutes to again see the chainsaw-wielding character. The image is so indelible that it hangs over the film, encouraging impatience with the narrative. We sit there thinking: “Okay, let’s move along and get back to the woman with the chainsaw.” When a movie opts for a non-linear approach, there needs to be a reason. Fight or Flight has none.

What it does have is Josh Hartnett, who seems to be enjoying himself immensely. Playing Lucas Reyes, an ex-Secret Service agent on the lam, Hartnett uses his easy-going charm to good effect (not unlike Brad Pitt in Bullet Train). Lucas finds himself on board a San Franciso-bound international flight at the behest of despised former colleague Katherine Brunt (Katee Sackhoff), who promises him a “clean slate” if he can apprehend the elusive hacker Ghost. They’re on that flight but no one knows what they look like. So it’s up to Lucas to identify Ghost. But (of course) there’s a complication. Ghost’s itinerary has been leaked so the passenger list is chock-full of killers looking to cash in on the bounty.

There are some good action scenes, including several martial arts-influenced conflicts that end with broken bones and exposed viscera. The gore level overall is pretty high – but what else would one expect when someone brings a chainsaw to a knife fight? The narrative is on the lower end of the dumb-to-moronic scale but this isn’t a plot-driven movie. All it has to do is get the protagonist onto a plane where someone reclining their seat too far is likely to result in a bloodbath. To that end, Madigan limits downtime (and, mercifully, exposition).

In a production like this, there’s a need for some sort of human interplay and that comes in the form of the sometimes-serious/sometimes-playful interaction between Lucas and the only competent flight attendant on board, Isha (Charithra Chandran). Aside from a couple of other flight attendants whose primary purposes are for occasional comic relief, no one else gets much screen time. On terra firma, Katherine and her asshole minion, Aaron Hunter (Julian Kostov), keep us wondering about their intentions but they’re a sideshow.

One thing missing from Fight or Flight is the kind of Tarantino-inspired banter that elevated Bullet Train. In fact, the production is only fitfully successful in transcending the boundaries of a generic action film. There are a few standout moments – a Battle Royale choreographed to Strauss’ “The Blue Danube Waltz and a psychedelic perspective of an intense sequence – but there are also a few too many scenes when the movie goes on auto-pilot as if it’s reluctant to get batshit crazy. That, of course, is silly because a premise like this calls for a high degree of insanity.  But Josh Hartnett makes a great focal point, Charithra Chandran is a plucky sidekick, and the chainsaw steals the show even though Leatherface is nowhere to be found.

Fight or Flight (United Kingdom/United States, 2025)