Out of the theater reaction video:

Last year I only made it to the movie theater a couple times. The year before that I only made it once. The main problem is that movies are so darn long! With only four hours to myself most days, an epic has to fall in the sweet spot that fits my limited time. So this Saturday, when I realized Mel Gibson’s latest directorial effort was only 90 minutes, I had to go.

Even if the reviews were so-so and I wasn’t super interested.

There will be spoilers.

While Mark Wahlberg receives top billing, Flight Risk really belongs to Topher Grace and Michelle Dockery. Grace plays Winston, a former mob bookkeeper hiding out in Alaska, who is being flown back to civilization to testify. As you’d expect from the That ‘70s Show Alum, Grace plays Winston as a nervous talker with an obnoxious sense of humor. You know who doesn’t have a sense of humor? US Marshal Madolyn Harris (Dockery). She has the unfortunate task of escorting him.

Very unfortunate.

Because the mob is everywhere. From the get-go, everyone gets an uneasy feeling about the pilot, Daryl (Wahlberg). As well we should, because he’s not the vetted pilot, but a mob hitman. For him, it’s not about the money, either. No. He just likes the game, the torture, the killing. And he’s willing to maim himself to accomplish his goals. Wahlberg plays with different accents, shaved his head, and says incredibly foul things in an unhinged performance.

And Gibson knows when to hold a shot to wring the last ounce of emotion out of his actors.

Things quickly go wrong on the flight, for everyone, and Daryl ends up tied up in the back. Which is good. Except neither Madolyn nor Winston knows how to fly. Which is bad. Using her sat phone, Madolyn is put in touch with Hasan (Maaz Ali), who shamelessly flirts with her as a distraction and to bring some much needed levity to film.

Because there’s a pervasive sense of danger.

Early in the flight, before Daryl is revealed to not be Daryl, the plane hits a bird, leaving a bloody smear across the windshield. That token of death remains throughout the film, the only bright spot in the drab cockpit. Anyone could die at any moment. This isn’t a franchise film. The guardrails of a potential sequel don’t exist. Had this movie been made in another era, our doubts of getting a happy resolution would only be heightened.

And I couldn’t help but think of 1985’s Runaway Train.

Both movies take place in the Alaskan wasteland. Both movies are set on vehicles that cannot stop and, left unimpeded, will crash. Both movies center around two desperate men and a woman who legitimately shouldn’t be there. And let’s just say, Runaway Train doesn’t have a happy ending. But it is satisfying, in its own way.

And Flight Risk is also satisfying.

I really appreciated that push and pull of the story. This isn’t a situation where our protagonists are always losing. Sometimes Daryl gets the upper hand, but when he’s put down, hard, we enjoy it. Every. Single. Time. It might be stupid, petty, or contrived. But in the moment I didn’t care. He had it coming to him.

Ultimately, Flight Risk isn’t a great movie. Certainly a lesser Gibson.

But if he was just looking for a practice run before getting back in the saddle, he proved he can still work on a small scale. The movie delivered exactly what it promised, no more and no less. I know most people aren’t impressed. Me? I enjoyed it for what it was. 

Back in the mid-00’s the USA Network said, “Characters welcome.” Shows like Monk, Burn Notice, White Collar, Psych, Royal Pains, and Suits filled the schedule and TV was, for a time, fun. The shows may not have had the most complex plots, but by the end of the episode you felt good about what you’d just seen. 

The colors were bright and the skies were blue.

But if you’ve looked at cable or network TV lately, things aren’t quite so cheerful. NCIS: Origins has a color grading best described as muddy, Tracker is somber, and even Matlock is more sour than sweet. Sure you can watch them as a family, but why would you? Even the 20 year old reruns of NCIS are more vibrant and feel-good than anything on TV now. And if you’re like me, you’ve got some of those episodes memorized.

Is there anything currently in production that recaptures that spirit early aughts?

Yes. Ironically, it’s from our neighbors to the north.

Wild Cards (available on Amazon Prime Video) is similar to White Collar in tone. Max (Vanessa Morgan) is a charismatic con artist working in a fictional Canadian city. Cole (Giacomo Gianniotti) is the straight-laced cop who catches her. In order to keep her out of jail and restore his position in the police department, they have to work together to solve crimes. That’s it. The show doesn’t even try to hide what it’s doing.

“We’re like Bones and that dude from Buffy… Castle and that hot girl… A Star is Born only you’re Lady Gaga and I’m Bradley Cooper.”

No, Max isn’t as smooth as White Collar’s Neal and Cole’s life isn’t as stable as Peter’s, since rather than a wife and house he has a cat (named Mark) and a houseboat. But the “can I or can I not trust you?” dynamic is the same. Their cases take them to all the usual places. We have the mystery on the set of a TV series plot, the trapped in a bank during a robbery plot, and the going under cover as a couple in need of therapy plot. We’ve seen it all before, but we haven’t seen these characters go through the paces, and that’s what makes it fun.

Even if you’re scrolling social media at the same time.

Is it family friendly? Well, Max has curves in all the right places and isn’t shy about showing them off, and sometimes the stories push the boundaries of good taste (with suggestive video and commentary to match). But overall, in fairly inoffensive. I’m not too worried about it going any further than it already has, and I hope Prime gets season two soon.

Because I like my skies blue.

One of last year’s most surprising movies was The Beekeeper, which was a big hit with those who saw it. Otherwise, it didn’t get much (wait for it) buzz. Together, director David Ayer and star Jason Statham made a serviceable action flick in the John Wick mold, but with some political intrigue and in a sillier (yet somehow more grounded) universe.

I liked it.

Now they’ve got a new movie coming out, A Working Man, and there are many reasons beyond their involvement that have me very interested. First, it’s based on a novel by Chuck Dixon, who admittedly isn’t someone with whom I was familiar until now. Apparently Dixon is mostly known for his work in the comics industry, writing stories for Batman and The Punisher, and for being outspoken about his politics. Given the not-so-subtle allusions to Hunter Biden in The Beekeeper, he and Ayer seem to be a good match.

Better yet, the screenplay was adapted by none other than Sylvester Stallone.

Yes, that Sylvester Stallone.

Given his political leanings, I don’t expect A Working Man to offend to me with messaging. This isn’t the first time Stallone has written for Statham, as he also penned the screenplay for Homefront, which I have yet to see but will soon. What I appreciate about Stallone’s writing is that mythic elements are always in the back of his mind. He thinks in epic terms even when the stories are small. 

Okay, but what about the story?

Yesterday I read the entire Chuck Dixon novel in about two hours. Levon’s Trade isn’t the most complex thriller out there, but a stripped down, fast-paced, tale of a violent man, Levon Cade, doing what he does best. When it opens Cade is working security at a construction site and establishes himself as someone you don’t mess with if you want to hold onto your teeth. The owner of the company’s daughter went missing after college finals, and since police and private investigators have failed, he turns to Cade for help.

Naturally, Cade refuses.

But he’s involved in a nasty custody battle over his little girl with the father of his late wife. Needing money to fight a battle that can’t be resolved with high powered weapons, he accepts. And once Cade takes on a task, he’s merciless in executing his mission. Turns out, the girl was taken by Ukrainian gangsters, who are just as merciless and even more cruel. Since the guy who took the girl is at the bottom, Cade starts at the top and begins dismantling the entire corrupt organization, digging his was down through the most violent means imaginable.

Maybe you don’t want to imagine, in which case this book isn’t for you.

By the last act it feels like Dixon is skimming over things, which isn’t to say he gets sloppy. Even the minor characters are given adequate backstories and key details are included to flesh out the world. It’s just that Cade is able to find his targets with a very convenient explanation that is left vague. This isn’t a complaint so much as an observation.

A Levon Cade novel is a Jack Reacher story with all the boring parts cut out. 

As for the movie, I think Statham will make for a good Levon Cade, even though the Cade of the novels is American, born and bred. Cade is described as “rangy” with a fighter’s scars around his eyes, and his demeanor is perfect for Statham’s screen personality. I honestly can’t think of a better actor, accent not withstanding. The novel doesn’t wrap up with a Hollywood bow, so it’ll be interesting to see how Stallone decided to handle that.

Overall, I’m looking forward to the movie and will likely read more in this series.

I suspect that A Working Man will be the sleeper hit of the year.