A new trailer for the movie “Flight Risk” has been released, giving viewers a closer peek at Mark Wahlberg in an unhinged role for the upcoming claustrophobic thriller. In the film, Wahlberg plays a mob hitman tasked with killing a U.S. Marshal (Michelle Dockery) and an informant (Topher Grace) while on a small plane. When his initial plan fails, the situation turns into a high-stakes battle as they try to take control of the plane and fly it to safety while evading more enemies.
Directed by Mel Gibson, known for his roles in the “Lethal Weapon” franchise and the original “Mad Max” movies, and for directing acclaimed films like “Braveheart” and “Hacksaw Ridge”, “Flight Risk” is generating excitement.
Lionsgate has shared an official trailer that starts with Wahlberg’s character introducing himself as Daryl Booth. However, a bumpy takeoff reveals the real Daryl’s pilot’s license from under his chair, exposing him as a fraud. The pilot then discloses that he’s working for a mob boss named Loretti. With his initial assassination attempt thwarted, they must keep him alive to help fly the plane, setting up a tense cat-and-mouse thriller where everyone’s life is at risk.
What the new trailer means for “Flight Risk” is that Mark Wahlberg’s villainous role brings a fresh energy. His character is balding, which is a departure from his usual look in many movies where he has a full head of hair, such as in “Uncharted”, “Transformers: The Last Knight”, the “Ted” and “Daddy’s Home” movies, and more recently, “Arthur the King” and “The Union”. But more significantly, Daryl Booth is a huge shift from Wahlberg’s past roles as it’s his first villainous part in over two and a half decades since 1996’s “Fear”. He delivers a uniquely dangerous and disturbing performance, as seen in a standout scene in the trailer where he’s garroting Michelle Dockery’s character and asks with a disturbing glee, “you ever see a face turn this color before?”
The “Flight Risk” trailer is Mark Wahlberg’s history in previous roles elevates the thriller. In the trailer, the fake Daryl Booth has a menacing glint in his eye, clearly enjoying toying with his prey. This makes him even more dangerous than an ordinary hitman and ramps up the tension in the movie, especially given his close proximity to the two people fighting for their lives. Since Wahlberg has mostly played heroes in recent years, his portrayal of a villain here creates a sense of wrongness that permeates the entire film, making it all the more thrilling.
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