Flight Risk Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		2.0

Flight Risk Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 4, 2025

Mel Gibson's personal peccadilloes have often seemed to keep him in the headlines at least as much as any of his relatively recent film industry work, but even given those distractions it may be a bit of a surprise to survey Gibson's kind of curiously variant directing career. While perhaps not as well remembered as some of his later work, The Man Without a Face, Gibson's first foray into feature directing, was rather well received at the time. Its fame and fortune were rather radically eclipsed just a couple of years later, though, when Gibson brought Braveheart to the screen, winning him a couple of Oscars in the process. That was followed by the arguably even more epochal The Passion of the Christ, a film which rather radically divided audiences at the time of its release and which continues to provoke some controversy in at least some circles to this day. Next came Apocalypto, a production which seemed to almost jokingly imply Gibson wanted to alienate his audience with shocking violence combined with dead languages, a la his immediately prior outing, though his sensational arrest almost put the kibosh on the release. That may be seen now in hindsight as to where the "cracks" starting showing in terms of those searching for some kind of insight into Gibson's evidently fraught persona, though at least those less disposed toward some of the, well, bad news of physical torture Gibson emphasized in his telling of the Jesus story might feel that things were already starting to fray for Gibson back then. But here's the kind of interesting thing (and/or things, as the case may be): does anyone really remember Get the Gringo, which came out in 2012, whatever pleasures it may have offered? My hunch is relatively few really do. But many do remember Hacksaw Ridge, a kind of semi-triumphant "comeback" in a way for Gibson, who in his guise as an actor had often been consigned to near straight to video fare in less than challenging roles. One might assume that someone with Gibson's (apparent? intermittent?) show business savvy might have immediately traded on the success of Hacksaw Ridge for another A list directing assignment, but instead his filmography is filled with more, well, filler in terms of negligible acting assignments. And in terms of directorial credits for Gibson, Flight Risk arrives nearly a decade after Hackshaw Ridge, and may be fated to inevitably fall into Get the Gringo status in terms of memorability.

Some may feel like granting Gibson a bit of slack, at least insofar as he's helming a feature with a so-called "three hander" cast (for the most part) and a very claustrophobic, small and enclosed setting (again for the most part), the last of which may remind some at least a bit of similar efforts like Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat. Unfortunately, there's nothing even approaching the surprising subtlety of the Steinbeck adjacent screenplay, and in fact it's that former aspect, namely a principal cast of three, that may, well, sink this airborne "thriller".

In other words, start to analyze a property knowing that it involves a U.S. Marshal named Madolyn Harris (Michelle Dockery, a long way from Downton Abbey) tasked with transporting a potential organized crime informant named Winston (Topher Grace) back to civilization after he's found hiding out in the wilds of Alaska. The only way to get there is by chartering a small airplane piloted by Daryl Booth (Mark Wahlberg). So you have approximately an hour and a half to fill, how are you going to do it? Will the plane crash and the survivors have to battle their way through isolated mountains? Well, some may jokingly suggest that since the trailer doesn't feature any footage like that, and it most certainly would have had the plot taken that turn, that must not happen. So what else is there? Well, obviously there's going to have be some mischief in the sky, and it really doesn't take a rocket scientist and/or small aircraft mechanic to figure out what ensues. Either the prisoner is going to make some desperate attempt to take control, or someone else has nefarious motives.

What is ultimately kind of hilarious in this regard is once the "reveal" appears (rather surprisingly early, all things considered), some may end up recalling the inimitable John Cameron Swayze touting the benefits of Timex watches by saying they "take a licking and keep on ticking" when considering just how many improbable resurrections the villain ends up having. Things get even sillier once the plane unsurprisingly manages to make it back to safety and what might be termed "red shirt" nemeses enter the fray. And in fact it's that "unsurprisingly" bit that permeates this effort virtually from the get go. The also maybe slightly hilarious thing is you can almost imagine this being one of those endless straight to video-esque features with Gibson (or, alternatively, Bruce Willis back in the day) playing the bad guy.

Flight Risk Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Flight Risk is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. As of the writing of this review, the IMDb has a rather interesting array of cameras listed, including the DJ Ronin 4D and various Sony models, but no DI resolution listed. That said, source capture resolutions of well over 4K and frankly just the look of this presentation leads me to believe this had a 4K DI (as always with my reviews, if anyone has authoritative and verifiable information to the contrary, private message me and I'll happily update things). I will recommend for those interested with 4K setups to opt for either the wide or SteelBook 4K UHD releases from Lionsgate of this title, as both detail levels and palette see some improvements in that version, though that said, this is a hugely appealing 1080 presentation on its own merits. Due no doubt to the cramped quarters in the plane, Gibson often frames things utilizing extreme close-ups filling much of the frame, and fine detail on things like facial features is excellent. I'd probably argue that some of the less effective (and admittedly completely minor) green screening in the backgrounds during the "flight" sequences actually may look better in this 1080 presentation than in the increased resolution the 4K UHD disc offers. The actual location aerial photography is more often than not stunning. The palette is nicely suffused, with a tendency toward cool tones for much of the running time.

Flight Risk Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Flight Risk features a nicely expressive Dolby Atmos track, though kind of ironically the confined space of being inside an airplane may actually limit showy overhead effects. That said, the Atmos speakers are rather consistently alive, at least in interstitial outdoor moments, but also in some of the repeatedly calamitous interactions during the flight. Otherwise, though, surround activity is really rather nicely handled considering the confines of most of the story, and there are some fun directional effects engaging the side and rear channels as mayhem breaks out. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English, French and Spanish subtitles are available.

Flight Risk Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Risk Management: Making Flight Risk (HD; 8:10) is a standard issue EPK.


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 1:19)

Note: I utilized Lionsgate's 4K UHD release for purposes of this 1080 review, but it looks like this standalone 1080 release comes with DVD and digital copies.

Flight Risk Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Flight Risk has some occasional passing thrilling scenery, but everything on board the plane is increasingly ridiculous. Technical merits are first rate for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.