91 min | R | January 24, 2025 | Lionsgate
Mel Gibson directs Mark Wahlberg in a contained thriller that never finds a reason to exist. Ninety-one minutes feels long.
The premise is functional. A pilot transports a U.S. Marshal and her fugitive across the Alaskan wilderness. Identities are not what they seem. Tension should escalate. The problem is the script never moves beyond that setup. The reveals are telegraphed. The action beats are perfunctory. The character work is nonexistent.
Mark Wahlberg plays the pilot with the same gruff intensity he brings to every role. He is not stretching here. Michelle Dockery as the Marshal tries to bring depth to a character written in shorthand. Topher Grace as the fugitive does what he can with dialogue that exists only to move plot. The three actors share a small plane and generate almost no chemistry or tension.
Gibson directs with competence but no vision. The Alaskan landscape should provide natural spectacle. The film barely uses it. The confined setting of the plane should create claustrophobic dread. It just sits there. The action sequences are staged clearly but without energy or invention. This feels like a paycheck job for everyone involved.