Josh Harnett gets bruised and battered and we’re all the better for it in the enjoyably rough and tumble Fight or Flight.
One of this reviewer’s favorite troupes in action cinema is the battered and bruised action hero. Where our intrepid out of his/her depth protagonist goes through the ringer amassing all manner of scrapes, cuts, and injuries as they face an onslaught of baddies, challenges, and bad lucky at every turn. Raiders of the Lost Ark, Police Story (or most of the best Jackie Chan films of the 80s and 90s), and Die Hard are the top tier examples of these types of storytelling. Fight or Flight takes this storytelling troupe and adds the claustrophobic space of a 747 jumbo jet for good measure. The result is an entertaining actioner should become a new cult classic in short order for fans of the genre.
Ex-Secret Service Agent Lucas Reyes (Josh Harnett) is given a second chance. All he has to do is board a transpacific flight and apprehend the terrorist known as The Ghost and ensure that he and his target make it safely back to the US where the Government is waiting. The hung-over Reyes agrees and gets more than he bargains for as the 747 is filled with assassins not just targeting the Ghost but he as well. As Reyes sobers up and closer to US soil the plane gets, he begins to realize that there is more to this situation than meets the eye.
Make no mistake, Fight or Flight has no other intent than to entertain you with its B-movie action stylings. There is something refreshing about how focused director James Madigan’s film is on telling this linear story with the maximum amount of humor, wit, and bone crunching action. The script by Brooks McLaren and D. J. Cotrona hits all the right beats and set ups in its first 20 minutes allowing the next 90 minutes to be a rollercoaster ride of action set pieces and fun plot twists.
Part of the charm and winning success of Flight or Flight is due in large part to star Josh Harnett’s grizzled, fun and funny performance. As Reyes, Harnett is the put upon guy with a massive headache that just wants the easy way out and never gets it. There is something entertaining about seeing Harnett take a beating – in the Jackie Chan sort of way – that you’re instantly rooting for him as you feel the impact. Even when he does win there’s this sort of deflated self-deprecating charm that he just wants to crawl back into bed – that has you rooting for him. Harnett has finally aged into those boyish good looks to make him that weathered action hero that maybe he couldn’t have been earlier in his career. The result is a truly winning performance.
Fight or Flight is the kind of truly clever modern update to the action thriller that’s going to surprise and entertain in equal measure.
Josh Harnett gets bruised and battered and we’re all the better for it in the enjoyably rough and tumble Fight or Flight.
One of this reviewer’s favorite troupes in action cinema is the battered and bruised action hero. Where our intrepid out of his/her depth protagonist goes through the ringer amassing all manner of scrapes, cuts, and injuries as they face an onslaught of baddies, challenges, and bad lucky at every turn. Raiders of the Lost Ark, Police Story (or most of the best Jackie Chan films of the 80s and 90s), and Die Hard are the top tier examples of these types of storytelling. Fight or Flight takes this storytelling troupe and adds the claustrophobic space of a 747 jumbo jet for good measure. The result is an entertaining actioner should become a new cult classic in short order for fans of the genre.
Ex-Secret Service Agent Lucas Reyes (Josh Harnett) is given a second chance. All he has to do is board a transpacific flight and apprehend the terrorist known as The Ghost and ensure that he and his target make it safely back to the US where the Government is waiting. The hung-over Reyes agrees and gets more than he bargains for as the 747 is filled with assassins not just targeting the Ghost but he as well. As Reyes sobers up and closer to US soil the plane gets, he begins to realize that there is more to this situation than meets the eye.
Make no mistake, Fight or Flight has no other intent than to entertain you with its B-movie action stylings. There is something refreshing about how focused director James Madigan’s film is on telling this linear story with the maximum amount of humor, wit, and bone crunching action. The script by Brooks McLaren and D. J. Cotrona hits all the right beats and set ups in its first 20 minutes allowing the next 90 minutes to be a rollercoaster ride of action set pieces and fun plot twists.
Part of the charm and winning success of Flight or Flight is due in large part to star Josh Harnett’s grizzled, fun and funny performance. As Reyes, Harnett is the put upon guy with a massive headache that just wants the easy way out and never gets it. There is something entertaining about seeing Harnett take a beating – in the Jackie Chan sort of way – that you’re instantly rooting for him as you feel the impact. Even when he does win there’s this sort of deflated self-deprecating charm that he just wants to crawl back into bed – that has you rooting for him. Harnett has finally aged into those boyish good looks to make him that weathered action hero that maybe he couldn’t have been earlier in his career. The result is a truly winning performance.
Fight or Flight is the kind of truly clever modern update to the action thriller that’s going to surprise and entertain in equal measure.
Fight or Flight is in theaters May 9th
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