You've never seen Mark Wahlberg like this before. Well, unless you ventured to the cinema to catch Flight Risk back in January, during its delayed theatrical run.
Now, however, you can catch Wahlberg's newest movie, where he plays hitman-meets-pilot without much hair up top, on Amazon Prime Video. It's already notched up the no.1 position on the streaming service in the UK.
I'd never heard of Flight Risk before now. But that might come back to its delayed run – as it's directed by Mel Gibson, yet never promotes that by using his name, as you can see in the trailer below.
Flight Risk trailer
What's Flight Risk about?
Marky Mark Wahlberg isn't exactly who he first appears to be in this movie. As the trailer makes clear, he's acting as a pilot, Daryl, assisting an Air Marshal, Madolyn (Michelle Dockery), to transport a government-wanted fugitive, Winston (Topher Grace), to trial.
As it quickly transpires, however, Daryl is actually a hitman, sent to take out Winston. Madolyn is the only line of defence in their little propeller plane, out over the Alaskan wilderness, and things take various twists and turns – quite literally.
Given the tight confines of the movie's key setting, it's pivoted on strong performances to really deliver. But with Wahlberg like you've never seen before, Dockery and Winston always believable, it's a strong cast outlay.
Is Flight Risk a well-rated movie?
Not that a strong cast is able to rescue Flight Risk overall. The movie hasn't flown sky-high with critics' ratings sat at a stalled 29% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Reviews are 'mixed', it's safe to say, with an audience score at a much higher 62% on the same site showing that there's still a place for this flick.
As the trailer points out, Mel Gibson's strongest back catalogue is leveraged as upsell. He's got Hacksaw Ridge, Braveheart, Apocalypto and many more under his belt. But the consensus is that Flight Rik doesn't ascend to such high altitudes.
Nonetheless, who doesn't love a bit of Wahlberg? Especially with so little hair, as you've never seen him before. While Flight Risk might not be a truly high-brow action-thriller, it's got the experienced, big-hitting cast and crew that, for some, will make it worth strapping in and braving the turbulence to watch.
