Action movies live and die on their hook. For years, filmmakers have been chasing that elevator pitch — Die Hard on an aircraft carrier (Under Siege), John Wick but with a suburban dad (Nobody). Some soar, others sink into copycat territory. With Fight or Flight, billed as essentially Bullet Train but on an airplane, the balance tips toward brilliance rather than knockoff, thanks largely to a reinvented Josh Hartnett and a first-time director who knows how to stage a fight in cramped quarters. Landing on Paramount+ October 1, Fight or Flight marks the feature debut of James Madigan and continues Hartnett’s unlikely but thrilling career resurgence.
Hartnett stars as Lucas Reyes, a former government operative burned by a mission gone bad and stranded abroad. He’s pulled back into action by Katherine Brunt (Katee Sackhoff), the very person who once betrayed him, with a mission that sounds simple but spirals quickly: board a flight carrying an international terrorist known only as “The Ghost,” identify them, and bring them home alive. There’s something of a catch, as you can expect, because a massive bounty on The Ghost’s head has drawn assassins by the dozen, and now the plane is crawling with killers who could be hiding in any seat. Reyes, in over his head, enlists the help of a quick-witted flight attendant (Charithra Chandran) as the body count rises midair.
Is ‘Fight or Flight’ Worth Watching?
Collider’s Aidan Kelley praised the film as a wildly entertaining actioner that knows exactly what it is. He noted that while Fight or Flight borrows liberally from Bullet Train, the movie “finds its own identity through sheer audacity” and showcases Hartnett having the time of his life. Kelley highlighted the inventive action sequences — particularly a brutal bathroom brawl and a bonkers finale — and pointed out that first-time director Madigan deserves credit for staging sharp, stylish fights in such a claustrophobic setting, and hinted at a potential franchise.
Fight or Flight may not be narratively deep (bar a pretty clever twist in the third act), but it does have one thing that many movie fans and action fans in particular have been craving more of — fun, and lots of it. In an age of big-budget blockbusters, it’s always refreshing when a sleeper lower-budget B-movie feels up to the quality of its blockbuster competitors. It’s that exact situation that led a somewhat obscure action flick following a man’s vengeance for his dead dog into one of the biggest and most iconic franchises today, and if the ambiguous ending of Fight or Flight is any indicator, this might not be the last stop for Lucas Reyes.
Fight or Flight premieres October 1 on Paramount+.
Fight or Flight movie poster
Josh Hartnett
Release Date
May 9, 2025
Runtime
102 minutes
Director
James Madigan
Producers
Basil Iwanyk, Tai Duncan, Erica Lee