Early last year, Sky Cinema offered up The Beekeeper for action fans, a Jason Statham outing that delivered exactly what you expected from a Statham movie where he played a former assassin-turned-beekeeper out to seek revenge.
And Sky is delivering the goods for action fans again in early 2025 with Fight or Flight, a violent ‘assassins on a plane’ romp that sees Josh Hartnett have the best time with a chainsaw.
Honestly, if that description doesn’t make you want to see the movie, then it’s probably not one for you. But if it does, trust us when we say Fight or Flight is a must-see for fans of John Wick, The Raid and more.
As is the way in these high-concept action movies, Lucas Reyes (Hartnett) is not just some ordinary guy caught in a messed-up situation. He’s a disgraced former Secret Service agent-turned-mercenary who’s been on the run for years.
Lucas gets a chance at redemption when his former boss – and girlfriend – Katherine Brunt (Katee Sackhoff) needs his help. There’s a high-value target known only as The Ghost on a flight, and Katherine needs Lucas to find them and detain them. The only problem? It’s a plane full of assassins out to kill The Ghost for the bounty.
And so begins a pretty non-stop action movie which, after 20 or so minutes of the required set-up, delivers its first brutal fight. It’s here during Lucas’s fight with aspiring dancer assassin Cayenne (Marko Zaror) that you realise you’re in good hands, with a fight that you can actually follow that culminates in a gruesome death.
When you look behind the camera, it’s obvious why. The cinematographer is Matt Flannery who worked on the likes of The Raid and Gangs of London, while the fight choreography is Brahim Chab who worked on last year’s excellent Monkey Man. They understand how to stage a fight scene, letting the action do the talking and not rapid, nonsensical editing.
Until all bets are off in the chaotic final battle, involving said chainsaw, Fight or Flight also delights in making use of the limited options for weapons on-board. Lucas has to use everything from a champagne flute to a seatbelt to fight off various assailants, resulting in innovative and entertaining close-quarters battles.
As well as being proficient with the stunt work, Josh Hartnett gets to explore his goofier comic side. Whether high on toad venom or bickering with flight attendant Isha (Bridgerton‘s Charithra Chandran, who also showcases impressive action chops), it’s as much fun as we’ve seen Hartnett have with a role, even topping last year’s Trap.
The movie certainly shares action DNA with the likes of John Wick and The Raid, but this is an altogether sillier affair. Crucially, the cast and crew know this and pitch it accordingly so even if there are some unintentionally funny moments, it’s largely ridiculous in the right (and best) way.
Like fellow Sky original The Beekeeper before it, Fight or Flight is far from perfect and you wouldn’t have to look that hard to nitpick it. There’s an awkwardly wedged-in ‘serious’ plot twist about slave labour, while the shady company Lucas is hired by couldn’t feel more generic – until a ‘so stupid, you have to applaud’ reveal.
But when the movie also has Katee Sackhoff expertly deadpanning the lines “are you telling me that plane is full of killers?” and “start torturing the vet, please” in the space of a single scene, we’re not about to worry about little things like a deep plot.
Fight or Flight is just an extremely fun, often ridiculously bloody, ride that action fans will relish.
Fight or Flight is available to watch on Sky Cinema from February 28.
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
