Fight or Flight (2025) is directed by James Madigan, featuring a screenplay by Brooks McLaren & D.J. Cotrona. It stars Josh Hartnett, Carithra Chandran, Katee Sackhoff, Julian Kostov, Marko Zaror, JuJu Chan Szeto, Danny Askok, Hughie O’Donnell, Jyuddah Jaymes, Willem van der Vegt, Sarah Lam, Iren Bordan, and Nora Trokan. The film follows Lucas Reyes (Hartnett), a former member of the Secret Service who now lives on the run as a self-pitying boozehound. When his former employer (Sackoff) offers him immunity in exchange for completing a seemingly routine detain & escort mission, Lucas accepts. Once on the plane that harbors his target, Lucas is informed that a large number of the passengers are trained killers hired to eliminate Lucas and his target. What ensues is a zany, hyper-violent crusade not only to survive the various assassins but also to ensure the plane lands intact. 

Because this is an action film that revels in its own over-the-top lunacy, it allows for a handful of silly, larger-than-life characters. This is especially true of Hartnett’s Lucas Reyes, who is undeniably fun but painfully derivative of Brad Pitt’s character from Bullet Train (2022). In fact, this entire film feels much too similar to Bullet Train. It features a similar kind of stoner humor, a hyper-stylized approach to action, and, of course, manga-inspired visuals. It’s essentially just “Bullet Plane.” 

The supporting cast is oddly forgettable, mainly because their characters are either noticeably underdeveloped or generally unlikable. For example, Charitha Chandran’s character is painfully generic in almost every way. At the same time, Katee Sackhoff and Julian Kostov are a bit more lively, but say and do things that are so stupid, I wanted to pull out my hair. Seriously, these are the supposedly intelligent people?

The only thing that truly sets the film apart is its pervasive zaniness, occasionally feeling like an R-rated, live-action, Looney Tunes fight movie. Characters often say and do things that make so little sense, you can’t help but laugh. The film tries so desperately to amplify this sense of crazy that it often resorts to having characters yell at one another in moments where it makes very little sense—as if we’re so dumb, we think that ‘loony,’ ‘crazy,’ or ‘zany’ is just a bunch of loud noises. 

It’s a derivative, silly, and insane experience that often opts to toss logic straight out the pressure doors. For example, it’s not only confusing that this plane has about six different separated sections, but also that its passengers can’t hear all of the wild violence that occurs, some of which includes GUNFIRE. At one point, Lucas is having an intense, visual-heavy psychedelic trip, but is still able to fight people off as if he’s John Wick. 

The film isn’t exactly funny, original, or clever, but it’s entertaining. At one point, Lucas is faced with an important choice and responds, “Sure. Why the f*ck not?” That’s kind of how I feel about this madcap piece of movie junk food. How can you not somewhat like a movie where our hero is spiked with a heavy sedative, but remains conscious because, in his words, “You can’t pickle a pickle.” Somehow, even this guy’s addictions help him to be an efficient ass-kicker. 

Overall, this is an in-your-face, hyper violent, strange, and consistently loony Bullet Train ripoff. It’s a lot of fun to see Josh Hartnett let loose with a character like Lucas Reyes, I just wish I could say the same of at least one other cast member. The fight sequences are packed with bone-crunching fun, and the pace is as lively as these kinds of movies tend to get. It has a low-IQ, predictable script that ends with a shameless attempt to set up a sequel. Granted, it works better than usual because it fits the nonstop nature of this experience. It makes sense that the only time the film lets up is when it cuts to black. Many will think this is the definition of “hare-brained.” Still, it’s a good time if you enjoy films such as The Kingsman franchise, Guns Akimbo (2019), the previously mentioned Bullet Train, and even another 2025 release, Novocaine. If you like to “partake,” I’d recommend not being sober for this one. C+