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When agents working for the United States government learn that an elusive hacker known as the Ghost is in Bangkok, department head Katherine Brunt (Katee Sackhoff) wants the terrorist apprehended. However, with no capable field agents nearby, Brunt turns to a disgraced former Secret Service agent, Lucas Reyes (Josh Hartnett), her former boyfriend who was stranded in the country two years ago after botching an assignment. Brunt offers Lucas the chance to win back his freedom and life if he delivers the Ghost to her in San Francisco, alive and unharmed, requiring him to board a flight and identify the enigmatic figure. Soon after take-off, Lucas learns that there is a bounty on the Ghost's head, and the plane is full of ruthless mercenaries who are determined to claim the reward. As Lucas works to identify the target, he deals with flight attendants Isha (Charithra Chandran) and Royce (Danny Ashok), while Brunt continually asks for updates.
The compact runtime of Fight or Flight is a significant asset, as the screenplay avoids getting mired in unnecessary secondary subplots or convoluted complications. Screenwriters Brooks McLaren (2018's How It Ends) and D.J. Cotrona (an actor known for Shazam! and From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series, making his writing debut here) fill the picture with big personalities and engaging conflicts, consistently leaning into the tongue-in-cheek tone. Since the movie gets extremely violent at times, the light-hearted tone ensures the set pieces do not feel mean-spirited or uncomfortable.
Veteran visual effects artist and second unit director James Madigan makes his feature-film debut here after a couple of television credits, and he keeps the picture moving along at a confident pace. Considering the director's experience with second-unit action, it's no surprise that the action sequences throughout Fight or Flight are top-notch, featuring smooth camerawork and terrific choreography despite the confined setting, and often incorporating eccentric song choices. The plane being a gladiatorial arena full of killers gives the director a chance to incorporate some variety with the assailants, including Chilean martial artist Marko Zaror (John Wick: Chapter 4) and a skilled shaolin monk assassin played by JuJu Chan Szeto (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny).
Considering Madigan's extensive VFX background, it is unsurprising that the director can effectively integrate sufficiently convincing digital effects, belying the modest budget (reports peg the cost at under $20 million). Admittedly, Fight or Flight is not as impossibly slick as the likes of the John Wick or Nobody films, but it carries more visual gravitas than any number of nasty, direct-to-video endeavours. Madigan even includes some trippy imagery when Lucas is high on toad venom towards the end of the film, adding an additional humorous touch. There's a hint of Bullet Train in the flick's stylistic execution, particularly since both movies take place on moving vehicles full of expert assassins, but the endeavour doesn't feel overly derivative. Madigan largely relies on practical bloodshed, but there are a few instances of phoney digital gore that detract from the visceral excitement.
Hartnett has great fun here, embracing the opportunity to play this goofy role as sincerely and believably as possible. There's a delirious, Looney Tunes-esque energy to Hartnett's performance at times, especially during the action scenes, and Lucas's blasé attitude towards killing is enormously funny. Plus, it's encouraging to see a male action hero in a 2025 movie who isn't subject to deconstruction or humiliation. Hartnett also reportedly performed all his own stunts and fight choreography, despite being nearly 50. Meanwhile, Katee Sackhoff makes a pretty good impression as a stock-standard shadowy government operative, trading sharp banter with Hartnett over the phone. However, there is not much for Sackhoff to do here except talk sternly (she was jealous of the amount of action Hartnett performed for the picture).
Perhaps my rating towards Fight or Flight is too generous since the movie is nothing profound, groundbreaking, or thematically rich. But with so much forgettable and underwhelming slop polluting multiplexes and streaming services, a genuinely fun action flick like this deserves its due credit. Minor flaws and all, Fight or Flight is a home run that genre fans will almost certainly enjoy.
7.8/10
