Taking a stylistic note out of Bullet Train’s book, Fight or Flight (and not Bullet Plane as I believe it could’ve been named) is a vividly coloured, wildly chaotic, bloody, silly, and batshit crazy actioner that sees Josh Hartnett getting to let loose with the same level of insanity he got to conjure for The Butcher in Trap, but this time honing that energy into a former secret service agent who is tasked with finding a hacker escaping Bangkok on a flight to San Francisco. But, of course, not everything, or everyone, on the plane would be as they seem, making the task far more complicated than it was expected to be.
Playing its tonal cards early on in the piece, director James Madigan knows that a fast-paced and ludicrous energy is going to be the right way to get Fight or Flight to really take off. The story isn’t breaking any new ground in the action-thriller genre, following almost every trope to a tee, with espionage, government betrayal, personal relationships, expendable soldiers, twists, turns, and violence galore. But Madigan brings an exciting, stylistic approach to the direction that puts a nice sheen over the more generic aspects of the story. It’s colourful, it’s chaotic, and the action is choreographed to the plane setting in a way that is brutal but uniquely fun.
The real winning aspect of the film however is the completely committed Josh Hartnett, who is clearly having a blast playing in this sandbox of insanity. The pure unwillingness of his character to be a part of this mission lends to the comedic chaos, with many moments of bloody action being bookended with his desire to not be a part of this at all. Hartnett does it all with the grin of a madman, and the physicality to match. His excitement in this role very much so emanates off the screen, and elevates the movie far above where its foundation lies.
While the well choreographed, heightened actions scenes, full of everything from hand-to-hand combat, gun fights, and a utilisation of many aeroplane items as make shift weapons, are a big aspect of the film’s entertainment factor, unfortunately they are few and far between, often being outnumbered by the investigative element of the story. Many times the film will spend extended periods within a government war room tracking every movement of this wanted hacker, or a blood-covered Hartnett trying to secretly solve the mystery of who this who this hacker is through conversations with the air-staff, who are oddly willing to help out despite the constant death that is occurring around them. It’s these more notable scenes in the film that fall into the aforementioned traps of generic predictability that don’t really bring anything original to the film, feeling like retreads of movies that have done the investigative/espionage elements better before.
Fight or Flight is at its most fun when Hartnett is fully leaning into his character’s manic energy, something matched by the exciting, but sporadic action scenes on offer. The story is generic, and the plot undercooked, but this is an easy watch and action-packed way to pass the time.
Fight or Flight is in Australian cinemas September 4.
