Fight or Flight: Bullet Train for Bloodthirsty Aerophiles

Apparently, the screenplay for James Madigan’s Fight or Flight had been floating around Hollywood for several years before Thunder Road Films finally picked it up and produced it. After watching the film last night — and having to navigate more plot holes than a detective in a self-published crime novel — I can see why so many studios passed on it. That said, it was still a perfectly entertaining Friday night flick — especially if you, like me, enjoy turning off your brain from time to time and surrendering yourself to the complete and utter chaos unfolding before you.

To its credit, Fight or Flight wastes no time getting off the ground and into the air. It skips the drawn-out launch sequence so many films favour these days, opting instead for a quick, kinetic takeoff that throws us into the action before we’ve even fastened our seatbelts. Unfortunately, this leaves us unprepared and unprotected when we eventually hit some narrative turbulence later on. But, until then, things are light, fun, and easy to get on board with. 

Trouble starts to arise, however, as the story progresses. What begins as a taut, well-paced thriller soon unravels into a mess of widening logistical gaps and increasingly shaky character motivations. There’s also a heavy-handed moral crusade subplot that feels tremendously out of place given the hyperviolent milieu it’s shoehorned into. Had the filmmakers simply reined the screenplay in a bit before rolling camera, Fight or Flight might have been a much smoother ride.

Lessening the blow of a poor screenplay is Josh Hartnett, who is actually quite likeable as Lucas Reyes, the morally upstanding yet habitually sloshed protagonist of the film. From the moment we’re introduced to him — passed out in a Bangkokian rickshaw, bottle in hand — it’s clear that he’s a man who, despite his predilections, wants to be on the right side of history. He maintains this integrity even as he’s pursued by every bounty hunter in the eastern hemisphere with a smartphone and a pulse. Together with the spunky Isha — played by the beautiful Charithra Chandran — Fight or Flight gives us two leads who are eminently rootable.

Also deserving of a tarmac clap is whoever steered the visual direction of the film — especially during the fight scenes. Airplanes aren’t exactly great settings for showcasing fast-moving hand-to-hand combat, but somehow they made it work, and work surprisingly well. Every square inch of the cabin is explored and every available prop gets its moment to shine — basically, if you can find it on a plane, it was probably used as a weapon in Fight or Flight. The no-holds-barred approach to violence that the filmmakers took really suited the film as well, even if the effects used for some of the broken limbs and bloody wounds looked like they came straight out of the Spirit Halloween clearance bin. 

To keep Fight or Flight from turning into a nonstop bloodbath, there are several moments of levity sprinkled throughout — none funnier than a scene involving the accidental ingestion of some hallucinogenic toad venom. The film also features some fantastic needle drops, most of which serve as the sonic backdrops for the fight sequences.

I’m not sure how I felt about the conclusion; fresh out of the theatre, it struck me as a bit presumptuous — and now, knowing the film only made around $3 million over its opening weekend, it feels even more so. But that’s modern-day Hollywood for you, isn’t it? You always have to leave the door open for a sequel. And truth be told, if there was to be a sequel, I would probably still go and watch it.

In the end, Fight or Flight is a flawed film that somehow still manages to stick the landing. Although I can’t ignore my issues with the screenplay, I (somewhat hypocritically) think it’s at its best when it drops the pretense of coherence and goes fully unhinged, embracing the absurdity of its premise with pie-in-the-sky enthusiasm. Post-screening I was inclined to give it a 6 or 7/10, but considering I would probably watch it again if asked — and how generous I’m feeling at this very moment — I’m going to bump it up to an 8/10. It’s not exactly first class, but it’s definitely not a middle seat in the back row between two screaming children, either.