Summary
Mel Gibson is back in the director’s chair with a pulsating 90-minutethrillercalledFlight Risk.It stars Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Dockery and Topher Grace, and it was released in theaters on Jul 24, 2025. The film is reminiscent of the classic high concept action movies of the 90s, and the weekend box office suggests the audience are digging it, as the film hit the top spot with $12 million.
The critics have been less than favorable, with a score of 26% on Rotten Tomatoes. In stark contrast, the audience score is currently at a respectable 63%. The plot sees a suspect being transported in a plane by a US Marshal in order to testify against a significant mob enforcer. However, the pilot is somebody connected to the mob guy, and will stop at nothing to kill both of them.
Flight Risk
Starring
Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Dockery, Topher Grace, Monib Abhat, Leah Remini and Paul Ben-Victor
Written by
Directed by
Mel GIbson
Flight Risktells the story of Daryl (Mark Wahlberg): a pilot of a small plane transporting a Mob informant called Winston (Topher Grace) to Anchorage, where he will testify against a high ranking gangster. Deputy U.S. Marshal, Madelyn Harris (Michelle Dockery) is also along for the ride, but the pair end up having to fight for their lives when it is discovered that ‘Daryl’ actually killed the real pilot and assumed his identity. Winston realizes this when he sees a photo of the real pilot, and tries desperately to get Madelyn’s attention. The U.S. Marshal is having her own doubts about Daryl’s real identity, as she spots blood on his neck and body. Turns out, Daryl is actually amob hitman, assigned to kill them both. A fight ensues, and Daryl loses his toupe, revealing a rather distinctive bald appearance. Madelyn is able to taser Daryl and ties him up at the back of the plane.
However, there is one very big problem. Neither Madelyn nor Winston know how to fly a plane, and Daryl has no intention of helping them. This is where a pilot named Hasan (Monib Abhat) comes into the picture, after Madelyn is able to contact her colleague, Van Sant (Leah Remini), by satellite phone to seek assistance. Hasan schools Madelyn on how to successfully control the plane, after she instinctively manages to avoid driving it into the ground.
How Does Flight Risk End?
After Daryl taunts Madelyn about her troubled work past, she loses her temper and attacks him. However, he is able to steal her sunglasses and uses them to gradually tear away at the strap, and eventually releases himself. Daryl attacks Winston and stabs him in the chest, causing some severe bleeding, and he then goes for Madelyn, trying to strangle her with a strap. Winston bravely pulls the knife from his body and slices the strap, freeing Madelyn. She restrains Daryl again, and ties him up once more. However, when it comes to landing the plane, Daryl attacks her once again, but this time, she shoots him with a flare gun, and hits him over the head with a fire extinguisher, and sprays him down afterward.
Madelyn lands the plane on the runway, and Daryl falls out of the plane and is run over and killed by a vehicle. Winston is taken in an ambulance, while Madelyn surveys the area. She still figures there must have been a leak somewhere, as Daryl knew too much about the operation. She heads into the ambulance and shoots a man dead who is trying to suffocate Winston. Turns out, Director Coleridge (Paul Ben-Victor) was the big bad villain, and Madelyn intercepts a phone call he was on with the recently deceased bad guy.
