Rated R

Mel Gibson sits back into the director’s chair to pilot FLIGHT RISK, about a U.S. Marshall escorting a witness from Nowheresville, Alaska to testify in the trial of a crime boss. One small snag: the pilot of the plane they’re on is an unhinged hit man.

I can’t say FLIGHT RISK is a brilliant film, and it’s a huge step down in quality from Gibson’s previous work like THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST. But he still shows off his skills as a watchable director.

Ninety percent takes place on the small prop plane in the air, which leaves the cast of Michelle Dockery, Topher Grace, and Mark Wahlberg to delivery sometimes corny and clichéd dialogue. However, they make the in-between moments work well enough.

With the production value of a bottle episode of a series, the film evokes a TV movie-of-the-week feel with an occasional dash of thrills.

Still, with a breezy 91-minute running time, it’s a decent – if not utterly predictable – slice of pulp entertainment.

FLIGHT RISK gets three Wahlberg bald caps out of five. I’m Kevin Carr, and that’s the way I see it.

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