Opinion

Are Critics Gunning for Mel Gibson’s ‘Flight Risk?’

Lionsgate thriller hidden from some critics, others told to hold their tongues

“Flight Risk” looks like anything but … on paper.

Director Mel Gibson previously gave us “Apocalypto,” “Hacksaw Ridge” and “The Passion of the Christ.” That’s a rock-solid record in anyone’s estimation.

Star Mark Wahlberg is a Hollywood veteran who knows his way around an action thriller. He appears to play against type according to early reports.

That’s another intriguing angle. Plus, the trailer looks like catnip for genre fans.

Flight Risk (2025) Official Trailer #2 - Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Dockery, Topher Grace

Yet this critic can’t screen the film prior to its late Thursday release, which often (but not always) suggests a studio lacks faith in the product. Other critics, according to World of Reel, can’t share their takes on the film until the very last minute.

That kind of review embargo is another red flag. What gives? WOR suggests reviewers may treat the film differently due to the Gibson factor.

Critics are no doubt already sharpening their knives against Gibson’s film.

The superstar’s infamous fall from grace could have capsized his career, but he’s been able to build it back slowly over time.

Some still hold his outrageous actions against him. On a personal level, that’s understandable. He said some terrible, awful things. Variety wondered why Gibson still has a career in an incendiary 2020 op-ed.

It’s not outrageous to suggest film critics may still hold a grudge for that reason. And there’s something else in play, a more recent development that could turn select critics against Gibson’s film.

The superstar spoke out against former Vice President Kamala Harris near the end of the 2024 presidential campaign. He said the Democrat “had the IQ of a fence post.”

He also threw his support behind Donald Trump at the same time.

More recently, President Trump chose the actor/director to lead an informal group to bring back the “Golden Age” of Hollywood.

That Trump connection does Gibson few favors in far-Left Hollywood. The same holds true within the critics’ community.

Movie reviewers lean overwhelmingly to the Left, and it’s reflected in select reviews. Consider the chasm between professional critics and general audiences vis a vis last year’s “Reagan” biopic.Reagan Rotten Tomatoes score-2

Movie goers will judge for themselves when “Flight Risk” opens wide this weekend. Sometimes a studio’s decision to hold reviews back makes sense.

The critical community will not be kind and rightfully so.

Yet some films have been hidden from critics and went on to perform well at the box office and/or deliver solid entertainment.

The mystery comes into focus once “Flight Risk” opens Thursday night.

10 Comments

  1. maybe the studio wants it to go to pay per view quicker. I would think they make more not having it in a movie theater for a while. then there is subscription channels looking for content. I’m sure they pay top dollar to get exclusive rights to show a Mel Gibson movie with Mark Wahlberg in it.

  2. CT,
    What do you mean by this?
    “The critical community will not be kind and rightfully so.”
    A fan (I think).

  3. Let’s just say you don’t deserve to review Mel Gibson films ever again after betraying his decent family-oriented film “Monster Summer” when it needed actual support and deserved it.

    1. Having seen both, Monster Summer was a better more enjoyable film.

      If someone asked me which to watch – Monster Summer hands down.

      If someone said I considering spending an hour reading the tax code or watching Flight Risk. Reading the tax code is a better more enjoyable use of time. There are many other trapped in a small space with a villain films that are better.

  4. I don’t believe any Mel Gibson film would be fairly reviewed by today’s mainstream media, I think the Studio is smart to let the audience decide.

  5. Not to mention the fact that Wahlberg is hardly a trad Hollywood lefty. He’s a dedicated Catholic family man who moved his family out of CA. That plus Gibson could be a toxic factor for the far-left entertainment media.

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