Josh Hartnett enters his John Wick actioner era in explosively entertaining and hilariously off-kilter pulp flick, Fight or Flight. For decades, Hartnett has been putting up impressive character work since his acting boom in the late 90s/2000s. Though he took some time off in between projects, it truly feels like we are experiencing a Hartnett Renaissance now in real time. Last year, Trap let him embody the skin of a sadistic serial killer. With Fight or Flight, he plays mercenary-for-hire Lucas, tasked with a seemingly impossible mission on a speeding airplane. Buckle up for safety—this one’s a doozy.
Utilizing that age-old trick of starting in the middle of the action, Fight or Flight opens with a graphic slow-motion brawl as utter chaos breaks out in the middle of a flight. Flashing back just twelve hours earlier, a video-distorted “Ghost,” said to be a terrorist hacker, has put the security of millions at stake. Tracking the Ghost down to a Bangkok airport, girlboss Katherine (Katee Sackhoff) enlists the help of her ex-boyfriend slacker, Lucas, to infiltrate the flight. The catch: he must make sure he brings in the Ghost alive, lest Lucas’s name will not be cleared.
With the breezy setup out of the way, director James Madigan wastes no time in getting to the bloody mania. Once the sketchy folks on the plane have their eyes set on Lucas, they become a veritable unstoppable force of randoms hell-bent on hitting their mark. As revealed in the trailer, a hit has gone out for Lucas, though no one yet knows what the Ghost looks like or who they are. Once teaming up with this Ghost (Charithra Chandran), the duo have to survive through close combat brawls, knives, guns, and all manner of random objects thrown their way. Some of the battles are filmed in single takes that highlight their relentlessness, whilst others take their time inflicting pain. As carnage breaks out at 35,000 feet, we feel every crunchy second of the propulsive runtime.
Hartnett and Chandran make a surprisingly tight duo. Though their connection borders on cheesy at times, they have a chemistry that powers through the over-the-top nature of the battles. Between dry one-liners, a mutual respect quietly develops until the two are, begrudgingly, inseparable. Hallucinogenic frog toxins, poisoned cocktails, creative weapon improvisation, and nasty bone-breaking color the fights with a tinge of fun. The nature of the action sequences emphasize the entertainment value rather than an abrasive realism. Incredibly stylized and a total blast, these scenes help the film to soar even in the very few slower, story-building moments.
A cliffhanger ending appears to suggest a sequel that one can only hope will get to see the light of day. Without a doubt, Josh Hartnett’s stage presence has been missed—Fight or Flight proves evidence that he isn’t going down without a fight if it can be helped. As Ghost tosses Lucas a chainsaw during a hectic face-off, screenwriters Brooks McLaren and D.J. Controna lovingly embrace the unpredictability of a wild video game.
Whatever the choice, Fight or Flight provides comfort—and bloody mayhem—to service even the most discerning diamond status fliers. Catch it zooming onto theater screens on Friday, May 9th.
