I’m not sure what sparked the idea of screenwriters Brooks McLaren and D.J. Cotrona but Fight or Flight comes across as a quirky combination of Snakes on a Plane and John Wick.  It’s got a barrage of contract killers trying to claim a $10 million USD bounty by killing a specific target… and the action takes place mid-flight on a passenger airplane where escape options are limited.  It doesn’t make a lot of sense but the deliberately silly plot, and the apt title, grabbed my attention.

The film also continues the career renaissance of Josh Harnett.  Thrust back into the spotlight after his distinctive supporting performance in Oppenheimer and his lead turn in Trap, Harnett is once again a box-office draw.  Here, he steps into the shoes of Lucas Reyes, a former U.S. Secret Service agent who now resides in Bangkok after his job went pear-shaped.  It’s a strong outing from Hartnett who finds the right blend of humour and masculinity in creating the character.

Reyes has a chance to “clear his name” and return to the United States but to do so, he needs to help the Government identify and apprehend a computer hacker who is onboard the flight.  The intelligence agency has limited information on the hacker and so the first part of the mission is identification.  Once that’s sorted, and I won’t spoil who it is, the next step is survival.  They must evade the skilled, contracted assassins looking to make big bucks.

Directed by first-time feature filmmaker James Madigan, who has a lengthy career as a visual effects supervisor, Fight or Flight succeeds in providing surprising laughs and bloody battles.  It’s outlandishly violent and while that may alienate the squeamish, the shock value adds to the film’s dark humour.  The body count is high with a mix of broken bones and eyebrow-raising facial injuries.  Cinematographer Matt Flannery, best known for his work on the excellent Indonesian action flicks The Raid and The Raid 2, delivers in spades.  I’m amazed how many great angles his fast-moving camera was able to access aboard a passenger airplane.

The back-and-forth scenes which take place at the U.S. agency are iffy.  They’re a bunch of boring, one-note characters.  Fight or Flight works best when things are at their most nutty and chaotic – in the air with an increasingly exhausted Josh Harnett killing bad guys.  See it for that reason!