Director Mel Gibson’s new feature film does not live up to its ambitions.
Between Valiant heart (or Braveheart), The passion of Christ et Hacksaw RidgeMel Gibson, the filmmaker, has accustomed us to elaborate films. In comparison, this High risk flightwhere humor dominates, can seem a tad lazy, especially since the director has surrounded himself with a solid cast.
The story is classic, if not conventional. Madolyn (Michelle Dockery), a marshal, is tasked with transporting Winston (Topher Grace), a prisoner who is actually an informant. Their plane trip is provided by Daryl (Mark Wahlberg), a pilot who turns out to be a very dangerous adversary.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY LIONSGATE
Filmed almost in real time, this High risk flight of 91 minutes is sufficiently well paced to put the viewer and the action movie fan at ease. The dialogues are amusing, Topher Grace uses a deadpan humor which suits him perfectly, while Mark Wahlberg goes for the overkill of murderous madness, which also works very well. Michelle Dockery, who we are used to seeing in period costume in the popular series Downton Abbey perfectly succeeds in her reconversion into the main character, a woman kick-ass who knows how to use his fists.
-PHOTO PROVIDED BY LIONSGATE
The special effects – notably the landscapes through the windows of the small plane – leave something to be desired and seem to be the work of amateurs rather than seasoned specialists. We can easily see that everything was shot in the studio with a lot of green screens, which significantly limits the pleasure we take in seeing how it will all end.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
Canada
