Fight or Flight

Josh Hartnett offers up a much funnier, much higher version of John Wick in the absolute madhouse thriller FIGHT OR FLIGHT.

After giving his all in the dopey M. Night serial killer flick "Trap" last year, Hartnett offers up body and soul for a hell of a beating as Lucas Reyes, a mercenary with a mysterious past.

Drunk in Thailand, he comes into play as the absolute last resource available to bring in The Ghost, a computer genius and assassin who is playing far too easily with the global economy.

The first half hour is a rickety contraption of predictable set ups and character introductions that offer up little innovation.

Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica) is a welcome presence as Katherine Brunt, the tightly wrapped head of a mysterious organization that seems to have screens devoted to every agent on the planet. Sackhoff is almost unrecognizable, wound and ready to coil at every kiss ass employee that she's pressing for information. That war room they work in reminded me of the operation center on CBS's "FBI", albeit with a lot more f-bombs and danger of instant liquidation if you muck it up. Surprises around that organization made me laugh out loud.

Once Hartnett drags his drunken ass on an airplane for a very long flight back to America, the film kicks into another, much improved gear. Half the passengers seem to be killers for hire, trying to uncover the true identity of The Ghost.

Imagine an Agatha Christie whodunit on a 14 hour flight, with chainsaws, automatic weapons, buckets of blood and a couple drug-induced mad trips.

I loved how Director James Madigan goes all in on showing us what Lucas sees when he decides to drink a bunch of toad venom. Sparks fly out of the top of a killer's head, lighting up Lucas, who bathes in the light like he's at a rave. It's a hilarious visual sequence, suddenly flashing to the reality of passengers bathed in blood instead of sparks.

Madigan and his effects team are equally adept at staging the action, which is basically an hour long hand to hand battle aboard a large plane. How can that possibly last an hour?

Well its easy when you're dealing with this Tarantino / John Wick fantasy world where an endless series of assailants line up in the aisles and wait their turn. I laughed a LOT and loved the twisted humor of all involved.

Fight Choreographer Brahim Chab did excellent work on "MONKEY MAN" and he delivers again here, with an added dose of physical comedy between the breaking bones, stabbings and eye gouges.

Charithra Chandran (Dune: Prophecy, Bridgerton) is terrific as Isha, a flight attendant who proves to have some serious fighting skills.

Hughie O'Donnell is very funny as Garrett, a flight attendant absolutely committed to protect the flight experience of his First Class passengers, who've paid a lot for their flight and deserve the best. That's hard to provide with body parts and chainsaws flying down the aisles.

This is some seriously dumb but enjoyable, pure popcorn action with Hartnett having the time of his life at its center. Looking like a beach blond surfer stuck in one hilariously bad outfit after another, Hartnett is like Wick's goofy brother, always ready with a laugh right before he spills your brains by any means available.

If you loved "Bullet Train" you're going to love this throwaway adult action flick.

It's sudden ending feels abrupt, setting up further adventures that feel a bit unearned.

As a one off, if you don't mind stupid, mindless action, you can book a lot worse flights than a seat next to Hartnett. Somebody cast this guy in a comedy, quick. His delivery and acting chops have only improved with age.

FIGHT OR FLIGHT gets a C+, taking off nicely after a very bumpy takeoff.