So many production companies have their logos in front of Fight or Flight, it is almost certain one is just straight-up laundering money, right? No one has yet invented a better way to cleanse ill-gotten gains than financing a Josh Hartnett action movie. That is a joke, just in case any of those 10-20 companies have good lawyers.

This is all to say that, from the jump, Fight or Flight feels dodgy and suspect. Perhaps that’s why it is downright admirable that the film’s ending is an explicit callout for a sequel. To have that level of confidence… This is essentially a repurposed Liam Neeson concept with kitschy camerawork, featuring a lead actor whose heyday coincided with JNCO jeans. To shoot, edit, and then release an ending that literally begins the next movie isn’t arrogant or obnoxious so much as it is endearingly optimistic. Oh, honey, there will not be a Fight or Flight 2. There was never going to be a Fight or Flight 2. Not even with another 10-20 dodgy production partners.

This isn’t to say that the film is bad. It’s terrible. But also kinda great? It’s the exact kind of schlocky dumb carnage that Netflix should be making instead of shelling out wild amounts of money for Tom Hardy to pout. Have you seen Havoc? Woof. Instead of asking if you’re still watching, Netflix should just have an automated pop-up that says “sorry we used our 17 price hikes to do this.”

Anyway, it is easy to stray from Fight or Flight because it isn’t super dense. Lucas (Hartnett) is a disgraced former federal agent who gets enlisted by his ex-girlfriend and former CIA executive, Katherine (Katee Sackhoff), to apprehend “The Ghost” on a plane bound from Singapore to San Francisco. The Ghost is a hacker who has been Robin Hooding people around the globe. Nobody has a description of The Ghost, so Lucas is pulled from a drunken stupor to sort through passengers. Except, word got out that The Ghost is on the plane, so it’s actually filthy with killers out for a massive bounty.

It’s a big plane, so there’s more room for fighting, which is nice. The cinematographer, Matt Flannery, did The Raid movies and…whoops. He also did Havoc. Sorry, Matt. This one is better, if that helps! The fight choreography and camerawork are goofy and cheeky, and so is the script. The former works better than the latter, as the parts where people talk to each other are the worst parts.

Fight or Flight is wildly unoriginal, down to calling the unseen target “The Ghost.” And again, this is just Neeson’s Non-Stop with someone who can still (almost) pull off bleached-blonde hair. The action is actually pretty great, even if it is too infrequent. The characters are…woof. Lucas is somehow supposed to be an alcoholic with nothing left to lose but also has a heart of gold and also kills a lot of people in spectacularly gory ways. Honestly, the gory stuff is great. The more outrageous and extreme the violence gets, the more it is evocative of reality. Kung fu dream sequences? Great. Chainsaw slaughter? Wonderful. A plane that has a hard time landing? Slow your roll, because the FAA apparently won’t.

Fight or Flight starts out slow, gets really fun, gets stupid, gets stupider, becomes fun again, and then ends with that jaw-dropping “demand” for a sequel. Does that add up to a good movie? No. Would I watch that sequel that won’t happen? You bet Josh Hartnett’s JNCO jeans I would.

Grade = C

Other Critical Voices to Consider

Lisa Laman at Culturess says “John Wick: Chapter 4, Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In, Rebel Ridge, and other great action films from the last two years had me constantly riveted on the edge of my seat. Fight or Flight, meanwhile, only sporadically held my interest. Thankfully, its finale is a grisly highlight.”

Travis Hopson at Punch Drunk Critics says “You get all sorts of killing tools, from flares to champagne glasses and pickaxes, to common airplane items like seat belts and the arms of chairs. All gruesome, all great.”

Kate Sánchez at But Why Tho? says “Touting a tight 98-minute run time, Fight or Flight (2025) is an absolute blast from start to finish. It has the action polish of any top Western action film and the inventiveness of situational violence of a John Wick film (it even features some of the original John Wick’s producers). It leans into B-action movie madness while thriving due to a stellar and unhinged performance from its lead.”