TL;DR – This is what happens when you build a film entirely around your leading star’s personality, and it works.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Setting the Scene

If there is anything that 2025 cinema is going to be known for, it has been the bountiful number of action films we have gotten. Some look back to the past to find inspiration, some work in the medium as it stands, and some are still looking forward and charting their own path. Today’s entity is trying to do a bit of all three, and while I don’t think it landed all the aspects, it does get points for the pun in the title.  

So, to set the scene, Aaron Hunter (Julian Kostov) is not having a good day because one of the teams he is overseeing just got wiped out in Bangkok by a ghost. Not a literal ghost, but given how The Ghost has eluded capture so far, it might as well have been one. His boss, Katherine Brunt (Katee Sackhoff), knows that capturing The Ghost will be a fantastic stepping stone in her career; the only problem is that, with the Bangkok team dead, and The Ghost heading to the airport, she doesn’t have time to get a team onto the plane to capture the target. She is left with only one choice, Lucas Reyes (Josh Hartnett), a man burned by the intelligence agencies, but might be willing to take the gig, only to get off the no-fly list. He agrees, reluctantly, however, as he boards the plane, what he does not know is that he might not be the only person on the plane hunting The Ghost.

Cast

This film is anchored almost entirely on the physical process of our lead, Josh Hartnett, who is throwing his whole body into this role, and I mean, his entire body. He is punched, slammed, kicked, grabbed, dragged, pounded, and stabbed, and that is only part of what he puts his [and probably a lot of his stunt double’s] body through. He is the emotional and physical core of the film, and he does not let you down. Lucas Reyes becomes a fascinating character as this moral-ish, anti-hero-ish, ass kicking machine. We then support Josh with a cavalcade of delightful characters. I loved the bickering between Katee Sackhoff and Julian Kostov, as they both try to outmanoeuvre each other while things go from bad to worse. Then you have Charithra Chandran, who is a constant delight throughout Fight or Flight, and a good counterpoint to Josh’s energy.

Action

Once you have the main cast, the next thing you must do is fill the plane with some of the best stunt people working in the business today. Having your action contained to such a small area is both freeing and restrictive, meaning you must be creative at every step. Well, they use every inch of that plane fuselage to its best. There are crunched bones, explosive decompressions, upset first-class passengers, and at least one power tool. Even though there is limited space, the different cabins and sections of the plane make sure that you never get stuck in one place too long. There is a little glee that you get when it all plays out.

Narrative

If there is a weakness, it is the narrative, and look, given the type of film that it is, then you will understand that the narrative is not a deal breaker if everything else is fun. However, it lingers in the background like a persistent distraction you can’t quite shake. Part of that is because Fight or Flight is dabbling in a lot of themes that it does not have a strong grounding in, so it just becomes lip service. You see this the most in the antagonists that just become eye-rolly villains by the end. This is not helped by the film slipping from fun into silliness at times; it just misses on a tonal level at times.

Conclusion

In the end, do we recommend Fight or Flight? If you like action films that err to the more comedic side of things, then this is the film for you. The character work from Josh Hartnett might be enough to recommend this alone. But if you are not a fan of blood, then this might be one chainsaw too much for you. Have you watched Fight or Flight? Let us know what you thought in the comments below. If you liked Fight or Flight, we would recommend Bullet Train to you because it is an entirely similar premise, but on a train, which is both the same but also a very different form of transit.  

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Fight or Flight
Directed by – James Madigan
Written by – Brooks McLaren & D. J. Cotrona
Music by – Paul Saunderson
Cinematography by – Matt Flannery
Edited by – Ben Mills
Production/Distribution Companies – Asbury Park Productions, Sky Cinema, Vertical & Roadshow
Starring – Josh Hartnett, Charithra Chandran, Katee Sackhoff, Julian Kostov, Marko Zaror,  JuJu Chan Szeto, Danny Ashok, Hughie O’Donnell, Jyuddah Jaymes, Willem van der Vegt, Sanjeev Kohli, Declan Baxter, Sarah Lam, Irén Bordán, Nóra Trokán, Heather Choo & Claudia Heinz    
Rating – Australia: MA15+; Canada: 14A; Germany: 18; New Zealand: R; United Kingdom: 15; United States: R