‘FLIGHT RISK’ RATED R

With a lean running time of ninety minutes, “Flight Risk” manages to deliver mindless popcorn entertainment, at the hands of director Mel Gibson, that provides thrills in a uniquely claustrophobic atmosphere.

Another interesting feature to this thriller is the focus almost exclusively on three characters riding on a single-engine Cessna through the Alaskan skies over snow-capped mountains with nary any other visible landscape in sight until the climactic end.

The film opens briefly on the ground at a seedy motel room where Topher Grace’s mob accountant Winston is apprehended by U.S. Marshal Madolyn Harris (Michelle Dockery) and some cohorts. Fearing for his life, Winston is a reluctant witness for the upcoming trial of his mob boss.

Mark Wahlberg’s Daryl Booth is a bush pilot who has been hired to fly Madolyn and her prisoner to Anchorage to connect on a timely flight destined to New York in time for Winston’s testimony.

Shackled to the back seat of the Cessna, the garrulous, nervous Winston is a source of humor for his sarcastic wisecracks that soon begin to grate on the Marshal, while serving to lighten the mood in a turbulent ride, if that’s possible.

Not long into the flight, Daryl with his exaggerated Southern drawl turns out not to be the person he was supposed to be. That he’s not the good guy is obvious in the film’s trailer, so revealing this information is not a spoiler.

One question that everyone might consider is what is the deal with Daryl’s wig getting knocked off, revealing his balding pate that makes him look like a deranged Franciscan monk.

Aside from the trio of travelers on a possibly doomed flight and after tasing Daryl into submission, Madolyn connects by satellite phone with her superior (voiced by Leah Remini), which leads to another element of intrigue.

The other unseen player is the flirty Hassan (Monib Abhat), a pilot who’s engaged to help Madolyn land the plane once Daryl has been knocked unconscious even though the tension is palpable that he may rise once again as an immediate threat.

The confined space of a small plane created challenges for the storyline, but despite any of its flaws “Flight Risk” managed to keep the suspense afloat, mainly because Mark Wahlberg’s psychotic hitman was deliciously over-the-top with his maniacal turn.

As an actor with wide range, Wahlberg appears to have been directed to be just as outlandishly insane as possible, to the extreme point where to him having been the man of droll humor in films like “The Other Guys,” “Ted,” and Netflix’s “Spenser Confidential” seems improbable.

Coming most likely as a shock to very few, an overwhelming number of movie critics have savaged “Flight Risk” on Rotten Tomatoes for a variety of artistic reasons. They should know that films typically released in January are unlikely to garner any awards.

On the other hand, a giant step removed from film snobbery is the realization that “Flight Risk” is exactly what it obviously aspired to be, namely just fun that doesn’t tax the brain.

Quoted in the press notes, Mel Gibson explained that with the film’s claustrophobic setting, “We’ve played into everyone’s fear of flying, high altitudes, falling, and crashing.” Unless you are about to start flying lessons, this movie could be an entertaining outing.




‘GOING DUTCH’ ON FOX NETWORK

Denis Leary’s trademark angry rants are most fitting for his role in FOX’s “Going Dutch” of U.S. Army Colonel Patrick Quinn, who has run afoul of military brass and gets reassigned to a useless Army base in the Netherlands, hence the show’s title.

In the first episode, decorated combat veteran Colonel Quinn arrives at USAG Baumholder, Germany with his executive officer, Major Abraham Shah (Danny Pudi) in the belief he will be given command of the Army base.

General Davidson (Joe Morton), with good reason to hold a grudge, tells Quinn he’s being sent to command USAG Stroopsdorf, an insignificant service base that’s known for its laundry service, bowling and making cheese.

Arriving with Major Shah at the Dutch-based garrison, Colonel Quinn’s first encounter is with overweight, long-haired Corporal Elias Papadakis (Hal Cumpston), riding a bicycle, which prompts the Colonel to call him “a fat hippie on a bike.”

Sgt. Dana Conway (Luci Mosley) welcomes Quinn to the fromagerie and a tour of the other amenities, including a teen center on a base where there are no kids and which exists only because the budget allowed for a teen center.

The biggest surprise in store is when the Colonel meets the interim base commander, Capt. Maggie Quinn (Taylor Misiak), his estranged daughter, whose method of operation is the polar opposite of her father’s exacting style. That conflict between them is inevitable should be a source for humor.

With a military base full of misfits seemingly armed only with cue sticks and bowling pins, “Going Dutch” may yet find its footing as an entertaining off-beat comedy if the potential displayed in the early stage of the series is fully realized.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.