If you’ve rewatched Bullet Train multiple times and are longing for something in that vein, well, I have some good (not great) news for you.
Fight or Flight is basically just Bullet Train, but on a plane this time! This very well could kick off a “Green Eggs and Ham” style cinematic universe. I would kill assassins on a train, I would kill them on a plane. I would kill them with a saw, yes I would, I’d kill them all.
The problem with Fight or Flight is that it feels in pretty much every way like a knock-off of the superior movie, especially in its writing. The writing duo here has little experience: Brooks McLaren’s only other credit is from the heavily panned 2018 Netflix original How It Ends, and this appears to be the first script from co-writer D.J. Cotrona.
Which is not to say that the script’s all bad—there are times where the dialogue does hit that darkly comic, sardonic tone that it seems to be going for. But there are plenty of times where we are led into needless exposition, and plenty of jokes don’t land as intended.
It’s also a directorial debut for James Madigan, and that lack of experience can be felt as well, with the film struggling to find the right tonal balance. In both writing and direction, it’s a step down from David Leitch.
The good news is, moviegoers who enjoyed Josh Hartnett‘s wild energy in Trap will probably similarly appreciate his effort as the lead character Lucas Reyes, some kind of special agent that has been blacklisted up until the events of this movie for being “too ethical.” I found the performance personally to be a little bit puzzling, but I thought that about his Trap performance as well. Yet again, it’s a step down from a similar character to Brad Pitt’s “Ladybug.”
Really, you’re here for the action set-pieces on a plane, with ridiculous, almost anime-style villains coming at a hero who is reluctant to kill yet absurdly good at doing so. And thankfully, those set pieces mostly work and bring both the thrills and laughs you’re looking for. The kills might even be gorier than expected, as there is quite a long sequence with a chainsaw as the weapon of choice.
All in all, this was a fairly fun time at the theater despite the constant thought at the back of my mind that I could not escape: “I’d kind of rather be watching Bullet Train.”
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