Why So Blu?

Flight Risk (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)

Did any of us have it on our 2025 bingo cards that Mark Wahlberg or Mel Gibson would be returning to theaters with a B-grade exploitation actioner? I definitely did not. Flight Risk, however, is just that. A quick and dirty 90 minutes, is Flight Risk worth all the hatred it received from critics and audiences? Will it work better at home? Find out in the review. Don’t forget to buckle up, there may be some turbulence ahead.

Film

In this high-stakes suspense thriller, Academy Award^® nominee Mark Wahlberg (2006, Best Supporting Actor, The Departed) plays a pilot transporting an Air Marshal (Michelle Dockery) accompanying a fugitive (Topher Grace) to trial. As they cross the Alaskan wilderness, tensions soar and trust is tested, as not everyone on board is who they seem.

Agent Madolyn Harris has been hot on the trail of Winston, a shady accountant. She finally catches up to him in Alaska and arrests him, hoping to get him back to New York to testify against a mobster.  Booking a private plane to Anchorage, the pair board and meet Daryl, a good ol’ boy of a pilot who is just a little too friendly.

As the flight begins, things are jovial for Harris, who has Winston shackled in back.  She dons the headset along with Daryl and they listen to Blue Monday while they talk about the flight info. When the signal goes dead randomly, things go quiet. Winston then notices that the Daryl flying the plane is not the Daryl whose pilots license is displayed in the plane.  Unable to get Harris’s attention, he begins to panic behind them.

While Daryl and Harris continue to chat, Daryl’s down-home accent begins to slip. In its place is now an east coast accent.  The tone changes too. The big reveal is that Daryl is a hitman employed by the mafia to kill Harris and Winston. With this information driving her, Harris begins a fight with Daryl and tases him. After a quick wake up and a further tasing including a nasty burn to the neck, Harris is successful. After taking over the plane, Harris calls her boss on a satellite phone who then puts her through to a pilot who can help her fly the plane to safety.

While fake Daryl is passed out and cuffed in the back, Harris and Winston are directed by the FBI pilot on how to get to Anchorage.  While they await instruction, Daryl comes to and begins to taunt the pair.  He reveals that he’s been following them both and knows information about them: He knows where Winston’s mother lives, and that Harris is single and lives alone. This leads Harris to believe that there may be a mole in the FBI, leading to further mistrust within her work allies.

Let’s stop there with the plot description.  I know, I know – It all sounds ridiculous.  You’re right. It is ridiculous.  Even writing it out feels ridiculous.  For a film that would feel “direct-to-video” with anyone else in it, Flight Risk somehow worked for me. Mel Gibson, politics and some personal stuff aside, has been an excellent actor and director.  Here, he makes Alaska’s wilderness look incredible. The interiors of the tiny plane feel claustrophobic and inescapable.

Then there are the principal actors.  Michelle Dockery for me is the lead here.  Her agent Harris is fierce, emotional, strong, and willing.  She will not let anyone stop her from her goals.  Her determination exceeds the limitations of the script and she shines beyond her role as I knew she would.  Mark Wahlberg’s “Daryl” is also excellent, chewing scenes with his menace.  We seem to have forgotten his insanity as David in the 90’s thriller Fear where he made “Nicole 4 Eva” feel like a terrifying threat.  Here, he has a (real) pattern baldness and a creepy grin as he’s knocking out agent Harris and threatening Winston’s mother. He’s enjoying being a creep. Topher Grace is also fun as the comic relief throughout.

We also have 3 supporting actors as voice cast. Leah Remini plays Agent Harris’s boss, while Paul Ben-Victor voices the FBI Director and Maz Ali as the FBI Pilot who is also quite funny.  There is an interesting quality that these voice performances give to the film that makes things interesting too. While the writing here is TV writing at best, the performances are what set them higher than they’d be in other actors’ hands.

Flight Risk is a straightforward action thriller.  It isn’t innovative, new or even special.  It also isn’t bad at all.  It’s harmless Saturday afternoon fun. Would I have been this kind to it had there been different actors? I really can’t say. However, to have some decent actors and production values thrown in for good measure doesn’t hurt. Will everyone feel this way about Flight Risk?  I doubt that, but for those who like a good, quick cheesy action flick, Flight Risk will certainly do the trick!

Video

Encoding: HEVC / H.265

Resolution: 2160p

Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1

HDR: Dolby Vision

Layers: BD-66

Clarity/Detail: Flight Risk soars onto 4K UHD Blu-ray with a flawless presentation. Finished at 6K, there is no room for error with plenty of detail in wide shots of the Alaskan wilderness. The interiors of the tiny plane are full of detail with weathered flight gear and textures on faces and clothing looking sharp and excellent too.

Depth: Lensing and focus are particularly kind to the nature photography. Tight shots on the three principal actors keep things from losing ground with nothing falling out of place within the frame.

Black Levels: Blacks are perfectly pleasing leaving no evidence of crush.

Color Reproduction: Colors are varied and sometimes spectacular. Sunset colors come through with vibrancy with white snow blazingly bright. Late in the film siren lights also blaze on-screen and the drab interiors of the plane look good and dirty just as intended too.

Flesh Tones: Flesh tones look excellent here. Bloody makeup looks quite real with one scene involving a handcuff escape making me look away from the gore…

Noise/Artifacts: None.

Audio

Audio Format(s): English Dolby Atmos, Spanish and French Dolby Digital 5.1

Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish

Dynamics: Flight Risk sports an equally impressive Dolby Atmos mix. Using the claustrophobic plane cabin to immerse you in the close-quarters chaos, the mix closes in on top of you and keeps you in the crazy as the journey moves forward. Music throbs, gunfire pops, and dialogue is loud and clear. Of course, plane noise is constant and all over the soundstage. Wind noise is also apparent and sounds like it’s surrounding you just as it should.

Height: The sound of the plane cabin creaking, the movement of air and engine noise are apparent throughout the flight. A scene involving the plane hitting a snowbank gives you a moment of snowfall that drops the snow downwards before bringing you back inside the plane cabin. The mix is static but works just right for the film.

Low Frequency Extension: Bass hits hard when necessary, for a few moments of action and the throbbing electronic score. Gunshots, and the airport finale also give the sub a moment or two to put in some work.

Surround Sound Presentation: Surround channels are the main source of plane noise surrounding the listener and their job is nearly constant.

Dialogue: Dialogue is always on point.

Extras

Extras for Flight Risk are minimal. An Amazon Exclusive Steelbook and a Standard edition of the film are available. The steelbook is a fantastic rendering of “Daryl” with his backwards cap. When the slipcover is off, you reveal his bald head and a wound. It’s a hoot!

Bonus Features:

• Risk Management: Making Flight Risk (8 Min.)
• Theatrical Trailer

Summary

Flight Risk will not be everyone’s type of action flick. It’s not shiny or new or innovative. It is however a fun time waster, with good acting that elevates its standard TV writing and makes the 91-minute runtime fly by. Michelle Dockery proves once again that she is far more than just Lady Mary from Downton Abbey and Mark Wahlberg shows us that he should be a villain more often. While I don’t see this one bringing more audiences at home, I do hope more people give it a chance just because it’s a fun, silly little B-movie. Worth a Saturday afternoon on the couch when you want to have some time to just shut your brain off and relax. Oh, and the 4K presentation is excellent too, of course!  “Y’all need a pilot?”

Get the Standard 4K UHD Blu-ray of Flight Risk HERE

Get the Steelbook Edition of Flight Risk HERE