Flight Risk premieres in U.S. theaters on January 24, 2025. Helmed by Mel Gibson, the movie stars Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Dockery, and Topher Grace. It follows a deputy U.S. Marshal (Dockery) and the witness (Grace) she is trying to protect, as they discover that the pilot (Wahlberg) of the plane they are traveling on is a hired assassin. The movie has garnered abysmal reviews from critics, leading to poor scores on both Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic.
Flight Risk reviews criticize Mel Gibson’s new thriller
ComingSoon’s Jonathan Sim states in his review that while Flight Risk is “fun at times,” it “ultimately ends up as a mediocre attempt at a popcorn movie.”
Todd Gilchrist of Variety calls it a “crude, unimaginative, suspenseless adventure” that draws its tension from “deciding which of its three main characters will prove the most unlikable by the time it ends.”
Liz Shannon Miller of Consequence also accepts that Flight Risk has its “funny moments” but adds that “none of them are funnier than when the end credits start” rolling as “you’re reminded, once again, that this movie was directed by Mel Gibson.”
AV Club’s Andy Crump criticizes Wahlberg’s performance by claiming that it’s the actor, not the overwriting, that hampers the pacing and tension in the movie.
Flight Risk has received some positive reactions from professional critics, though they are not that many. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian admits that the movie has its “silly” moments, but states that it is “diverting and ingenious, and contains game performances from Wahlberg, Dockery, and Grace.”
Flight Risk’s Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic scores are terrible
Flight Risk has garnered a disappointing 26% approval rating on the review aggregating site Rotten Tomatoes after 31 reviews. On Metacritic, which utilizes a weighted average to rate a movie, Flight Risk has a score of 36 out of 100 after 16 reviews, denoting a “generally unfavorable” response. These numbers will change as the movie comes out and more reviews pour in, but that is unlikely to impact the overall negative onus from the critics.
