Watching Flight Risk Reminded Me Of How Great Mark Wahlberg Is As A Bad Guy

Before we take off, I’ll remind you that your tray tables should be in the upright and locked position, and that there will be spoilers on this flight!

I didn’t have high hopes for Flight Risk, which I caught recently with my HBO Max subscription. Of all the movies I've seen this year, this wasn’t one that really rated for me. That is, at least before I saw it. I’m not going to sit here and tell you Flight Risk my favorite movie of the year, or anything, but I have to admit that I enjoyed it quite a bit. Like, a lot more than I thought I would. That is, in large part, due to Mark Wahlberg’s over-the-top, but awesome performance as the villain.

I Miss Seeing Wahlberg In This Kind Of Role

I’m of an age that my first exposure (and I mean that literally) to Mark Wahlberg was in those famous Calvin Klein ads in the early ‘90s and, of course, as the leader of The Funky Bunch. The first movie I remember him in was Fear from 1996, co-starring Reese Witherspoon. It’s a movie that seemed to be on cable nonstop when I was in college, and I watched it way too many times.

I haven’t seen it in years, but Wahlberg's character in Flight Risk, the pilot/hitman whom we only know as Daryl Booth, immediately reminded me of his character in Fear. In both movies, he plays a raging psychopath, and while he is, if I’m honest, a much better and more confident actor these days, there were moments where I couldn’t help but compare the two villains. It was really fun.

There is one scene in particular, after “Daryl” is tied up in the back and he’s bleeding from his mouth, when he looks up at Madolyn (Michelle Dockery) with a psychotic look in his eye, that I really put it together. It was the same look he used in Fear. I loved it. It’s not something we see from Mark Wahlberg all that much, but he’s really good at it.

Usually in his movies these days, Wahlberg is playing heroes, like in Patriots Day, or goofballs, like in Ted. Even when he plays baddies, they are usually the more stoic kind and rarely the intensely crazy kind. He should think about letting loose with a character like “Daryl” more often, because it really works.

Flight Risk Is A Fun Ride

As I said, Flight Risk isn’t going to land on my Oscar contenders list or anything like that, but I’m more than happy to recommend it. It’s a well-made movie, mostly shot all in one small place, on a plane, with a tiny cast that mostly features just three actors: Wahlberg, Dockery and Topher Grace. All three are great, as are the actors who we only hear from over the radio: Leah Remini, Paul Ben-Victor and Maaz Ali, who has the perfect voice and delivery for a real pilot.

I love that it’s contained to the plane and nowhere else (save for one short scene in a cabin in the beginning) and that we never see the other characters who aren’t on the plane. It makes for a unique and wild experience. Critics might not have loved it, and it only made a modest amount at the box office as part of the 2025 movie schedule, but check it out. It’s worth taking a flyer on.