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I first met actors Jiri Bartoska – who died Thursday at the age of 78 – and Leonardo DiCaprio at the same time, at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival 31 summers ago.

The encounter was memorable for all three of us, I suspect. Leo was a teenager, just beginning his march to fame and glory, and Karlovy Vary was his first film festival, also attended by his German mother Irmelin and his German grandparents. He climbed into his grandparents laps and I have that snap eternally imprinted in my memory banks of my favorite movie business moments.

Leonardo DiCaprio with his grandparents in Karlovy Vary

That fortnight in the Bohemian sun led to a marriage and a daughter for me, but it also led to a fortuitous journalistic adventure that I like to think benefited Variety’s readers as well.

I had just begun my 32 seasons as an editor at the magazine. Jiri had...

Mark Wahlberg has worked under some of the greatest directors throughout his career. Despite starting with big-budget action movies, he collaborated with filmmakers like Martin Scorsese, David O. Russell, and Paul Thomas Anderson.

Recently, the Boogie Nights actor worked in an action thriller titled Flight Risk, made by the critically acclaimed yet controversial Mel Gibson.

Mark Wahlberg and Mel Gibson in Father Stu | Credit: Columbia Pictures

The latter’s personal life has been marred by many controversies that have even led to his absence from the industry. However, regardless of all that, Wahlberg praised Gibson as one of the greatest directors ever.

Mark Wahlberg spoke highly about Mel Gibson’s filmmaking skills

Mark Wahlberg has previously worked alongside Mel Gibson as a co-star in Daddy’s Home 2 and Father Stu. As The Departed actor worked under Gibson’s direction for the first time, he had nothing but praise for the Lethal Weapon star.

Most filmgoers recognize big cities like Miami, Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles in their favorite motion pictures. Sure enough, those locals provide the backdrop to several classic pictures from Michael Bay's "Bad Boys" to "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," "King Kong" and Michael Mann's "Heat."  However, another prominent locale exists in the film world, a place you've likely seen more often than not, even if it didn't immediately stand out. We're talking, of course, about the state of Maine.

Uniquely, many stories take place in the Pine Tree State. Its lush scenery and coastal views make for stunning cinematography, while the colder elements provide the necessary bleakness for heavier dramas. Here, family friendly fare like "Casper" and "Pete's Dragon" took flight, while more intense films such as the alligator thriller "Lake Placid" and the Stephen King horror tale "Pet Sematary" found unique ways to scare the bejesus out of audiences.

Taylor Sheridan's name is now synonymous with the hit Paramount+ Western franchise Yellowstone. However, a decade ago, years before Yellowstone began, he wrote the script for 2015's Sicario.

Sicario, which comes from Dune director Denis Villeneuve, is now available to stream on Netflix. The film follows a principled FBI agent, Kate Macer (Emily Blunt), who is assigned to a task force to destabilize the Mexican drug cartels, working alongside a shady CIA agent, Matt Graver (Josh Brolin), and CIA-trained assassin Alejandro Gillick (Benicio del Toro). The movie was a major hit that led to a film series which, so far, consists of two installments.

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Sicario further delved into the war on drug cartels, as well as highlighted the CIA's involvement,...

Mel Gibson, the actor who played "Mad Max" Rockatansky in the first entries of the franchise created by George Miller, has revealed which of the films in the dystopian universe is his favorite. Although Gibson has recently shown his power to divide, it's fair to say that this time we agree with him.

Per the report by Screen Rant, Gibson recently appeared at MegaCon Orlando, where he spoke about his run in the Mad Max franchise from 1979 to 1985. Gibson made a total of three Mad Max films: 1979's Mad Max, 1981's The Road Warrior, and 1985's Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. During a panel, the actor/director behind classics like Braveheart and the Lethal Weapon franchise revealed that his favorite Mad Max movie was the second entry, The Road Warrior:

I think the second installment was the best. It was just pure. It was just a chase. From an audience point of view,...

Mel Gibson’s Flight Risk is a rather risk-free, formulaic, and lazily written confined space thriller that doesn’t have anything remarkable going for it—except for Mark Wahlberg’s zany antics as a psycho killer, which might turn a few heads. The simplistic premise, which follows a US Marshal and an informant being trapped in flight with a deranged, sadistic killer, had the potential to be a solid thriller with proper treatment. You’d think the yesteryear action star, who directed movies like Apocalypto and Hacksaw Ridge, would be able to spin an interesting narrative using this premise, but instead we are treated to a bland, toothless thriller that is unintentionally silly and ludicrous.

Spoilers Ahead

Why Was Winston Detained By Madolyn?

Flight Risk opens with Winston, a former accountant of a mobster named Moretti, hiding in a secluded cabin in Bethel, Alaska. Winston has dirtied his hands a...

In a groundbreaking cinematic project, Danish filmmaker Mads Hedegaard has created a unique film that transports viewers to prehistoric Scandinavia by developing completely original languages for his new movie “Stranger.”

The film, which premiered at Sweden’s Goteborg Film Festival, tells the story of Aathi, a young woman from the first farming community in southern Scandinavia. Unlike typical prehistoric narratives focused on conflict, Hedegaard’s approach explores the deeper human experiences of early societies.

“When we think about the Stone Age, we think about warriors,” Hedegaard explained. “But her story is more human. It’s not just about fighting, but about society and passing things on.”

To ensure authenticity, Hedegaard collaborated with a linguistics expert specializing in ancient languages. The production team developed complete dictionaries and grammatical rules, blending Siberian tribal languages with ancient Mayan and Turkish influences. This approach allows the film to avoid modern language pitfalls and create a more immersive experience.

Danish director Mads Hedegaard had to invent new languages for the Stone Age epic “Stranger.”

“I have a background in documentaries [‘Cannon Arm and the Arcade Quest’], so it had to feel real to the audience. I was like: ‘We’re not going to buy it if the actors talk in Danish or English,’” he explained to Variety before the film’s world-premiere at Sweden’s Goteborg, where it is the festival’s closing film.

“There was a guy I knew; he has a PhD in Proto-Indo-European languages. But even those are 2,000 years older than those in our story. We asked him: ‘Can you come up with new ones?’ Tobias [Søborg] took an old Siberian tribal language and merged it with ancient Mayan. Then he did the same thing again, this time using dialects from the area around Turkey. We had a dictionary and a set of grammatical rules. Poor actors. They had to learn so much more than just their lines,...

It was a very quiet weekend at the box office as January 2025 is getting off to a mighty slow start. The entire first half of 2024 was pretty brutal, but at least January had hits like "The Beekeeper" and "Mean Girls" to help carry the load. No such breakouts have emerged yet this year, but hey, something has to top the charts even when we're looking at the ticket sales equivalent of tumbleweeds. Director Mel Gibson's new thriller "Flight Risk" was that film this past weekend, taking the crown with an estimated $12 million haul. With that, Gibson now has his first number one hit in nearly 20 years.

Any weekend in which a movie manages to take the top spot with $12 million is pretty rough, which we should state right up front. Setting that aside, Lionsgate gets to claim it has the number one movie in the country, albeit for a brief time.

Mel Gibson went almost a decade without directing a movie after his war drama "Hacksaw Ridge" hit theaters in 2016. The actor-filmmaker, whose other directorial credits include "Braveheart" and "Apocalypto," has now ended his dry spell with the release of his new movie "Flight Risk." It's a very minimalistic, contained thriller that takes place on a tiny plane and centers almost entirely on just three actors for the majority of its runtime. However, some familiar voices also pop up along the way, particularly for those who are fans of a certain classic CBS sitcom.

Gibson, it needs to be mentioned, is a controversial figure who has been accused of antisemitism, in addition to having a battery charge against his ex-wife, which is largely why he doesn't work as much as he once did. But he still does, indeed, get work in Hollywood these days, as evidenced by this thriller, which is being released by Lionsgate.

Sunday Am Writethru: It’s bound to be one of the lowest overall grossing weekends of 2025 with around $70.2M for all movies, and there’s not even a snowstorm to blame.

That’s how this part of the calendar typically swings at the box office. A year ago at this time, all titles counted $54.5M per Box Office Mojo, and that was the second worst weekend of 2024. For all the blah-blah from distribution heads that moviegoing can be a 52 weekend business, there are just some dead zones on the calendar. Today, it’s a run-up to the Super Bowl with Commanders vs. Eagles and Bills vs. Chiefs, so don’t expect any guys to go to the movies. Hopefully this weekend doesn’t come in lower than what we are seeing here.

Still, where others see pitfalls, Lionsgate sees opportunity, so good on them once again for programming a wide...

Flight Risk transforms a confined Cessna into a stark reflection of modern societal tension. U.S. Marshal Madelyn Harris (Michelle Dockery) transports mob informant Winston (Topher Grace) with pilot Daryl (Mark Wahlberg), whose aggressive demeanor crackles through threatening dialogue.

The plane, suspended over Alaskan emptiness, becomes a crucible for disintegrating trust and fragile control. Gibson’s direction oscillates between raw intensity and uneven storytelling, highlighting primal tensions: Wahlberg’s aggressive physicality contrasts with Dockery’s measured performance, while Grace embodies a nervous energy teetering between humor and desperation.

The malfunctioning navigation systems suggest deeper communication breakdowns. Alaska’s stark landscape emphasizes human vulnerability. Wahlberg’s character reveals masculinity’s performative nature—a facade masking deep insecurities. Survival emerges not through heroic action but random chance. The film captures a moment where human connections strain under extreme pressure, reflecting contemporary anxieties about unpredictability and interpersonal mistrust.

Human Cargo: Performances as Parables...

In what is shaping up to be one of the lowest box office weekends in terms of revenue, Lionsgate’s newest flick, Flight Risk, has hoisted the studio to its second No. 1 film of 2025. Per Deadline, the Mel Gibson-directed Flight Risk, starring Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Dockery, and Topher Grace is poised to earn between $11 and $12 million on its opening weekend.

The No. 1 spot for Flight Risk marks the second time Lionsgate has taken the top box office spot after the Gerard Butler-led Den of Thieves 2: Pantera was No. 1 during its opening weekend earlier in January, taking in $15.5 million. The Den of Thieves sequel was Lionsgate’s first No. 1 film since The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes in 2023.

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A “High-Stakes” Thriller

Gibson’s Flight...

Despite poor reviews (including from our own Tyler Nichols), Mel Gibson’s Flight Risk, starring an atypically evil Mark Wahlberg, is set to top the box office this weekend. It earned $4.4 million on Friday, with Variety estimating that it’s on track for an $11 million weekend. That’s actually significantly less than the $14 million we predicted. Still, according to a press release from Lionsgate, “this is a strong result for the modestly budgeted film which is on its way to becoming a significant money maker for the studio.”

However, the movie’s box office momentum could decline precipitously today, given that it’s been slammed with an atrocious C CinemaScore grade. This is unusual for Gibson, whose films as a director have been crowdpleasers. Perhaps the thriller genre is an odd fit for a director who seems much more comfortable directing epics like Braveheart, Hacksaw Ridge, Apocalypto, and The Passion of the Christ.

January movies tend to have a certain air to them. This time of year is not typically when Hollywood studios bring their A-game, unless we're talking about the expansion of an Oscar movie or something along those lines. For the most part, this stretch of the release calendar is full of a lot of schlock, with the occasional surprise. (The found footage monster flick "Cloverfield" is a great example of an exception to the rule.) I say this all to set the table before we talk about Mel Gibson's new crime thriller "Flight Risk," which has all of the markings of a typical January movie. In some ways, it is. In other ways, it's worse than typical. But no matter how one wants to slice it, this is the first out-and-out terrible movie of 2025.

The film centers on a pilot (Mark Wahlberg) who's commissioned to transport an Air Marshal...

It’s weird to find an animal outside of its natural habitat. A penguin floating around the International Space Station instead of waddling through the Antarctic. A kangaroo in line at the Department of Motor Vehicles instead of hopping across the Outback. A skunk in the White House instead of… actually, no, that one fits. Anyway, it’s also weird to find a mediocre straight-to-dvd action movie inside of a major movie theater, instead of in the bargain bin at a Big Lots in 2010.

All of that is to say that “Flight Risk” is a bit of a novelty. It’s a sometimes competent, mostly not, low-concept aerial thriller about a U.S. Marshal escorting a mob witness in a tiny chartered plane over the wilds of Alaska. A few minutes into the flight they figure out the pilot is actually an assassin with an embarrassing haircut. For the rest...

It’s more than a little odd when a director’s follow-up film to an Oscar-nominated hit is being offloaded onto theaters in the frozen tundra that is “dumpuary.” It’s weirder, still, when press materials make an effort to essentially erase the filmmaker’s name from the work entirely. It also isn’t every day that said filmmaker is Mel Gibson, a figure for which the word “controversial” does little to encapsulate his wild career and personal life.

So even if Lionsgate is coyly selling Flight Risk as “from the award-winning director of Braveheart, Apocalypto, and Hacksaw Ridge” without telling you who that award-winning director is, it doesn’t really matter. In fact, this anonymizing might turn out to be a good thing for Gibson. Flight Risk is a steep step downwards for the Oscar-winning director: a gritty, shiftless little B-picture set almost entirely on a Cessna flying over...

After the scope of Braveheart, The Passion Of The Christ, Apocalypto and Hacksaw Ridge, Mel Gibson is working on a smaller canvas for his sixth directorial feature. The kind of action thriller Hollywood is supposed not to make anymore, Flight Risk is a chamber piece, confined almost entirely to a single location — a rickety plane described as a “kite with seat belts”. It may not be particularly novel but it is well made, well performed by a cast who understand the assignment, and has enough twists, turns and tweaks to formula to keep it fresh. It also features the scary sight and sound of Mark Wahlberg warbling his way through New Order’s ‘Blue Monday’. Be warned.

Appearing on the 2020 Black List of Hollywood’s hottest scripts (that year’s list also delivered Todd Haynes’ May December and Scott Derrickson’s upcoming The Gorge), Jared Rosenberg’s screenplay is stock stuff — a government agent,...

Flight Risk Movie Review Rating:

Star Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Dockery, Topher Grace

Director: Mel Gibson

Flight Risk Movie Review (Photo Credit – YouTube)

What’s Good: The initial premise is fabulous and gives legs to the film the entire runtime.

What’s Bad: The film never fulfills the promises made by the setup, which creates a frustrating scenario that brings the film down.

Loo Break: The film allows for several loo breaks, as many of the characters’ choices don’t make much sense, so you won’t miss any pivotal moments.

Watch or Not?: Sadly, this film is a pass unless you’re a huge Mark Wahlberg fan.

Language: English (with subtitles).

Available On: Theatrical Release

Runtime: 91 Minutes.

User Rating:

Opening:

Mel Gibson’s career has been quite remarkable. Coming very young off the success of the original Mad Max worldwide, the actor then went to Hollywood, where he became a movie star,...

Nine years after the biopic Hacksaw Ridge (2016), starring Andrew Garfield as a Seventh-Day Adventist and pacifist who's called to the battlefield, Mel Gibson returns to the director's chair with American Hairlines, I mean, Flight Risk. The film stars Mark Wahlberg as Daryl Booth, a hitman marked by male pattern baldness and a penchant for torture. Joining the gleeful sadist on this bumpy ride, we have Michelle Dockery portraying a beleaguered Deputy U.S. Marshal and Topher Grace as mob accountant-turned-witness. It's a single-location three-hander with a hook, and it couldn't be less of a piece with the rest of Gibson's directorial efforts. His previous credits include the multi-award-winning Braveheart (1995), in which he also starred, the controversial mega-hit The Passion of the Christ (2004), and the controversial yet slightly-less-successful-than-Passion-though-still-a-hit Apocalypto (2006). If one thing is resoundingly clear looking at Gibson's body of work, it's that he favors the pictures with an epic heft.

Game performances from Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Dockery and Topher Grace lift this silly but diverting action movie set almost entirely on a small aircraft

Irritating though it is to be conceding anything to the objectionable Mel Gibson (whose 2006 film Apocalypto is very good), his new film does serve up a fair bit of entertainment value. It is an action suspense thriller set almost entirely on board a rickety small-prop plane, flying in a desperately dangerous situation through the Alaska wilderness. First-time feature screenwriter Jared Rosenberg had his script on the Black List of unproduced screenplays for four years before Gibson picked it up.

Michelle Dockery plays Madelyn, a deputy US marshal who arrests a bespectacled mob accountant called Winston, played by Topher Grace; this white-collar malefactor had been hiding out in a squalid, remote Alaska hotel room. The cringing Winston is persuaded to turn state’s evidence against his capo...

Lionsgate’s advertising campaign for “Flight Risk” credits its latest film to “the award-winning director of ‘Braveheart,’ ‘Apocalypto’ and ‘Hacksaw Ridge’,” which seems a circumspect way of recognizing Mel Gibson as its helmer. Unfortunately, the movie’s problem is not that it lacks Gibson’s name, but his personality as a filmmaker. Reminding audiences of those very good pictures sets expectations way, way too high ahead of watching this cheap-looking, shoddily-made, lifeless thriller.

Working from a Black List darling of a script by up-and-comer Jared Rosenberg, Gibson recruits his “Father Stu” co-star Mark Wahlberg to play the villain in a containment thriller that doesn’t even need Academy Award-winning talent, just basic proficiency and a bit of finesse in order to keep viewers on the edge of their seats. What he instead delivers is a crude, unimaginative, suspenseless adventure whose tension mostly derives from deciding which of its three main...

It's not often that you see an action movie which could also work as a stage play; the two mediums seem downright antithetical. Mel Gibson (with a script from Jared Rosenberg) was up to the challenge, though. His new film, a return to the director's chair after nearly a decade, is Flight Risk, which is almost entirely set inside a small Cessna Grand Caravan plane during its Alaskan flight. While we hear some voices, there are only three actors on-screen throughout nearly the whole film — Topher Grace, Mark Wahlberg, and Michelle Dockery.

Dockery plays a U.S. Marshal transporting an arrested fugitive, and her pilot is played by Mark Wahlberg. Dockery spoke with MovieWeb about the tight filming space and Gibson's direction. "It feeling like a play was the way it read for me, actually, when I first read the script. It was quite unique to anything I'd ever read before for screen,...

Quick Links Braveheart Director Mel Gibson Puts Andrew Garfield On The Front Lines Of WWII Andrew Garfield Warms And Breaks Hearts With His Performance The Merging of Styles Created A Heartfelt Film

Andrew Garfield has become a Hollywood household name thanks to his fresh take on Marvel's iconic Spider-Man and subsequent roles. Born in California but raised in the United Kingdom, Garfield's hybrid origins and career path between borders built him for acting success. Getting his start in various roles on television, including an episode of Doctor Who, Andrew Garfield scored his first Hollywood feature film role, Lions For Lambs, starring Hollywood greats Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, and Tom Cruise in 2007.

Since then, his career only moved upward, getting major feature films and earning larger roles. Two years after his role in the Academy Award-winning film The Social Network, Andrew Garfield became The Amazing Spider-Man. Of course, this was...

“Apocalypto” by Mel Gibson stirred up plenty of debate and opinions due to its inaccuracy, but it still stands as one of the best films ever made. The movie stars Rudy Youngblood as Jaguar Paw, Dalia Hernández as Seven, Jonathan Brewer as Blunted, Morris Birdyellowhead as Flint Sky, Carlos Emilio Báez as Turtles Run, and a talented cast rounding out the story. The film follows Jaguar Paw, whose peaceful tribe is attacked by Mayans. They capture him and others, planning to offer them as sacrifices to their gods in hopes of ending their suffering from plague and drought.

Theme-wise, “Apocalypto” shows Jaguar Paw’s personal struggle with the downfall of the Mayan civilization, giving us a raw look at fear, survival, and what we leave behind. The film compares Jaguar Paw’s fight to get back to his wife and son with the slow, painful collapse of a society crumbling from within.

Mel Gibson is an extremely accomplished actor, but has also directed many critically-acclaimed movies over the course of his career. Some of Gibson's best movies include Braveheart, The Passion of the Christ, Apocalypto, and Hacksaw Ridge. Through these movies and several more, Gibson has proven that he is a talented filmmaker. However, Gibson has claimed that he always likes to reference a shot included in a movie that was made by another iconic director, Ridley Scott.

Ridley Scott's best movies include Alien, Blade Runner, Kingdom of Heaven, and American Gangster. However, Gibson admitted that he always references a specific shot from Scott's 2000 blockbuster Gladiator. It makes sense that Gibson looks towards Gladiator for inspiration, as it is one of the highest-rated films of Scott's career and has remained culturally relevant for years. In fact, the shot that Gibson is referring to was recreated in the recently released Gladiator II....

Mel Gibson, the Hollywood legend behind films like Braveheart, Apocalypto, and Hacksaw Ridge, is still on board to bring a very controversial project to life. Thankfully, it is not an epic about his views on abortion and questionable medicine, but the sequel to his 2004 biblical drama The Passion of the Christ, which has a new title: The Resurrection of the Christ.

Per Variety, Gibson appeared on Joe Rogan's podcast, where the actor-turned-director revealed he still has plans to make a sequel to the film that depicts Jesus' last hours before being crucified. According to Gibson, the project may be closer to fruition than ever, as he intends to start production in 2026 from a script written by his brother, Academy Award-nominee Randall Wallace.

I'm hoping next year sometime. There's a lot required because it's an acid trip. I've never read anything like it.

Related Every Movie Written, Directed, or Produced by Mel Gibson,...

Mel Gibson reveals The Passion of the Christ 2 will depict hell and fallen angels, revealing his filming plan and thoughts on his ideal Jesus actor. The upcoming Passion of the Christ 2 has had many details kept under wraps since it was first announced, however the aftermath of Jesus' death was guaranteed. This included the reaction of his followers in the three days before his resurrection, alongside his resurrection in general likely being explored. However, concrete details were not made available, with the movie having been in development since June 2016, according to Gibson's co-writer, Randall Wallace.

Speaking on The Joe Rogan Experience (via Deadline), however, Gibson offered details about The Passion of the Christ 2, revealing the "very ambitious" narrative he's crafted alongside his brother, Donal Gibson, and Wallace. The filmmaker explained how the movie follows "the fall of the angels to the death of the last apostle," depicting events that happen in Sheol.

“I was doing the Rogan podcast… And [I was] kind of ill at ease while we were talking, because I knew my neighborhood was on fire, so I thought, I wonder if my place is still there. But when I got home, sure enough, it wasn’t there." That's Mel Gibson speaking to Elizabeth Vergas of the conservative television station NewsNation on Jan. 9, 2025. He had just gotten back to Los Angeles after spending three hours in Joe Rogan's Austin, TX compound to record an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast.

"Obviously, it’s kind of devastating. It’s emotional [...] I had my stuff there, and it’s all like, I’ve been relieved from the burden of my stuff, because it’s all in cinders," explained Gibson. “I had a lot of personal things there that, you know, I can’t get back."

While those things were burning, Gibson was...

Netflix has teased their latest crime thriller series, with the first trailer for Prison Cell 211 promising a gripping, terrifying tale of a human rights lawyer who finds himself trapped inside a border town prison during a riot and pretending to be a fellow prisoner in order to survive. The series is all set to land on the streaming platform next month, and you can check out the explosive new trailer below.

Based on an unbelievable true story, Prison Cell 211 (Celda 211) is led by Diego Calva Hernández, who is best known for roles in the horror spin-off Bird Box: Barcelona, the crime drama series Narcos: Mexico, and the deeply divisive historical drama Babylon. The rest of the cast includes Noé Hernández (We Are the Flesh) and Gerardo Taracena. Prison Cell 211 is due to hit Netflix next month on February 5, 2025, and you can check out the official synopsis for the limited series below.

Mel Gibson has directed the incoming film Flight Risk. But the new trailer is going to some lengths not to mention his name.

Delayed since last year, the film Flight Risk is the kind of fare that we’re getting used to seeing at the start of the year. We had Plane a year or two ago around this time, and the mighty The Beekeeper became a useful hit 12 months ago. Flight Risk involves a plane, Mark Wahlberg going mad on said plane, and an FBI agent trying to bring him down.

A new trailer popped up this week, and what’s interesting about it is how far it goes not to mention its director.

Flight Risk is directed by Mel Gibson, a man who has an Oscar on his sideboard for his directorial work. You don’t need me to tell you that Gibson’s star has fallen hard by his own actions,...

The skies are a lot less friendly to fly with a balding, unhinged Mark Wahlberg in the pilot seat.

That’s the takeaway from the new trailer for “Flight Risk,” a thriller from Mel Gibson, who is exchanging the battlefields of Scotland (“Braveheart”) and the Pacific Theater (“Hacksaw Ridge”) for an in-flight face-off between Wahlberg’s psycho killer and Michelle Dockery’s FBI agent. She’s been tasked with escorting a government witness (Topher Grace) to trial; he’s got a contract to shoot the turncoat before he can sing. The two collide on a small plane that’s charting a course over the Alaskan wilderness.

Wahlberg is clearly having the time of his life as the follically challenged hitman, which is a departure from his typical heroic roles. Dockery, best known for her upper-crust turn on “Downton Abbey,” is also playing against type. Lionsgate is releasing the movie on Jan.

Mel Gibson's gun form in one of his most beloved movies gets a poor score from an expert. Gibson has long been a staple of action cinema, delivering intense performances in front of the camera and equally gripping narratives behind it. From his directorial work on Apocalypto and the award-winning Hacksaw Ridge to his Oscar-winning turn as a Scottish warrior in Braveheart (which he also directed), he has developed a reputation for stories that balance raw emotion with unflinching violence. As both a performer and filmmaker, his projects often prioritize high-stakes drama, explosive action, and characters fighting against impossible odds.

Over the decades, Gibson’s work has come to define the action genre. He has collaborated with Hollywood icons like Danny Glover and Jodie Foster, helmed visceral war dramas, and portrayed unforgettable antiheroes, beginning with his breakout role as the titular wasteland drifter in George Miller's first three Mad Max movies.

Mel Gibson is a name synonymous with dynamic performances and gripping storytelling. As an actor as well as a director, Gibson has shown his remarkable talent in both fields and bagged several accolades along the way.

While his acting talent is more prominently known and drives major praise from fans and critics from all over the world, he is an impeccable director as well known for movies like Braveheart, Apocalypto, and The Passion of the Christ.

Mel Gibson is a prolific actor and director | Credit: The Professor and The Madman / Vertical Entertainment

His last directing project was the critically acclaimed World War II drama Hacksaw Ridge, which bagged several awards and nominations. Since then, while he has taken up more directing projects, he has largely been missing from action. Fortunately for fans of Gibson, his next directorial venture is releasing soon, the upcoming Flight Risk.

Directed by him, the film...

Mel Gibson is the Oscar-winning actor and director who has had his fair share of highs and lows, due in large part to several self-inflicted scandals. Let’s look back at 12 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.

Born in 1956, Gibson and his family moved from New York to Australia, where he first came to prominence as an actor thanks to George Miller‘s original “Mad Max” trilogy, plus leading roles in Peter Weir‘s “Gallipoli” and “The Year of Living Dangerously.” He had equal success in the US, starring in everything from action films (the “Lethal Weapon” franchise) to romantic comedies (“What Women Want”).

He first hit the Oscar jackpot with the 1995 historical epic “Braveheart,” in which he also starred as Scottish warrior William Wallace. That film brought his wins in Best Picture and Best Director. He had similar directorial success with the controversial box-office bonanza “The Passion of the Christ...

In 2006, Mel Gibson was just about the most controversial guy in Hollywood. But he was, let’s all admit it, still an icon of the screen. As such, some people still had a lot of faith in him. And that faith would be translated in Hacksaw Ridge. There was the faith of its central figure, Desmond Doss; that which the producers and studio put into Gibson; and that which Gibson himself had in the project, which would tell of a conscientious objector during World War II. A gamble? Absolutely. A success? Unprecedented. So pick up that weapon, soldier – or, better yet, be at ease – as we find out: What Happened to This Movie?!

Hacksaw Ridge centers around the real-life figure of Desmond Doss, who served as a medic during World War II and became famous for his refusal to carry a weapon. Even still, he is credited with saving 75 lives while in action.

Indian cinematographer Pankaj Kumar is set to make his feature directorial debut with “Konyak,” a tribal action drama set in northeast India. The project, was selected for the Nfdc Screenwriters Lab 2024, part of the Film Bazaar, will be produced through Kumar’s newly established Jiboom Studios.

Written by Uddhav Ghosh, the film follows a young warrior named Thungpang who, guided by prophetic visions, must protect his community during a deadly conflict between headhunting tribes. The story explores themes of betrayal and honor as he confronts his former friend turned enemy, Sangba.

The project, which will be shot in Konyak Naga and Hindi languages, emerged from Ghosh’s travels through Nagaland. Kumar, also known for his work on films including “Brahmastra Part One: Shiva” and “Talvar,” will both direct and produce the film through his production banner focused on theatrical storytelling. Kumar, who shot Raj & Dk’s Prime Video series “Farzi...

As I readied myself for an experience in the movies, I noticed even the opening acknowledgments rushing by, not even staying on the screen for more than two seconds. Even the statutory warnings are being quoted in a faster timbre than usual. It turns out my trepidation regarding this movie’s pre-opening segment will carry over to the opening sequence because the first twenty minutes of “Kanguva” are an exercise of excess courtesy of director Siva, aided by late editor Hanid Yousuf.

The present-day sequence is filled with idiosyncrasies courtesy of Yousuf, reminding you somewhat favorably of Khalid Rahman’s “Thallumalla” (2022). But Yousuf’s idiosyncrasy clashes with Siva’s own directorial tendencies, where loudness and broad stroke comedy, rapid whip-pan shot, and a consistently pulsating and heavy bass score by “rockstar” Devi Sri Prasad (Dsp) underscore every frame, almost as if scared to let the frame exit without a soundtrack.

Kamala Harris has decidedly proven to be the more popular presidential candidate among talent in the entertainment industry this election, with recent campaign rally appearances including Bruce Springsteen, Eminem, Julia Roberts and Spike Lee. But Donald Trump can now count a new Hollywood name among his supporters: Mel Gibson. In a new video published by TMZ on Thursday evening, Gibson offered a brief interview to a cameraman while heading toward Tsa at an airport.

“I don’t think it’s going to surprise anyone who I vote for,” Gibson said. The cameraman, after some thought, answers with, “I’m gonna guess Trump. Is that a bad guess?”

“I think that’s a pretty good guess,” Gibson responded. “I know what it’ll be like if we let her in. And that ain’t good. Miserable track record. No policies to speak of. She’s got the Iq of a fence post.

Mel Gibson's 1990s science fiction film, Signs, became his highest-grossing movie, earning over $408 million worldwide. Signs, directed by M. Night Shyamalan, showcases Gibson's range as an actor, tackling themes of faith and grief alongside eerie cinematography. Despite being known for action roles, Signs' success surprised many, showcasing Gibson's ability to excel in sci-fi and mystery genres.

Though not the most famous entry in his filmography, a 1990s science fiction movie achieved a stunning box office record for Mel Gibson. Gibson has a career that spans over four decades, and his first accredited acting role was in Summer City as Scollop. In the late eighties and nineties, he became a household name with roles in the Lethal Weapon series, Braveheart, and Ransom, and these movies dominated the box office when they were released and generated interest in Mel Gibson's film career. Alongside his affiliation with action and thriller films,...

Mel Gibson goes back behind the camera for Flight Risk, with Mark Wahlberg starring. Here’s the first trailer.

Few could accuse Mel Gibson of playing it safe when it comes to picking his directorial projects, from his debut Man Without A Face to the Oscar-winning Braveheart and the terrific Apocalypto to his last feature to date, war drama Hacksaw Ridge.

Mel Gibson moves closer to blockbuster territory with plane based thriller Flight Risk. The synopsis reads as follows:

“Ya’ll need a pilot?” In this high-stakes suspense thriller, Academy Award nominee Mark Wahlberg plays a pilot transporting an Air Marshal (Michelle Dockery) accompanying a fugitive (Topher Grace) to a trial. As they cross the Alaskan wilderness, tensions soar and trust is tested, as not everyone on board is who they seem.

Gibson directs from a screenplay by Jared Rosenberg. There’s a lot of love for the Nicolas Cage classic Con Air,...

Lionsgate has shared the official trailer and poster for the high-stakes suspense thriller Flight Risk, which will open in theaters on October 18, 2024.

The movie was directed by Mel Gibson, who previously helmed such films as The Man Without a Face, Braveheart, The Passion of The Christ, Apocalypto, Get the Gringo, and Hacksaw Ridge.

In Flight Risk, Academy Award nominee Mark Wahlberg plays a pilot transporting an Air Marshal (Michelle Dockery) accompanying a fugitive (Topher Grace) to trial.

As they cross the Alaskan wilderness, tensions soar, and trust is tested, as not everyone on board is who they seem.

Jared Rosenberg wrote the film, produced by John Davis, John Fox, Bruce Davey, and Mel Gibson.

The executive producers include Alex Lebovici, Jenny Hinkey, Ryan D. Smith, Natasha Stassen, Allen Cheney, Christopher Woodrow, K. Blaine Johnston, Christian Mercuri, Petr Jákl, Vicki Christianson, Nick Guerra, Russell Hollander, Jon Huddle, Patrick Josten, Walter Josten,...

Lionsgate has just released the first official trailer for Flight Risk, an upcoming action-thriller from 2x Oscar-winning director Mel Gibson (Braveheart; Apocalypto; Hacksaw Ridge) that stars 2x Academy Award-nominee Mark Wahlberg (The Fighter; The Departed; Ted) in the lead role as a pilot that may not be who he seems...

The synopsis reads, "In this high-stakes suspense thriller, Mark Wahlberg plays a pilot transporting an Air Marshal (Michelle Dockery) accompanying a fugitive (Topher Grace) to trial. As they cross the Alaskan wilderness, tensions soar and trust is tested, as not everyone on board is who they seem."

While the plot is fairly straightforward, it promises a wealth of thrills this coming October, which is shaping up to be quite a busy month on the release calendar with the debuts of Joker: Folie à Deux (October 4), White Bird (October 4), Terrifier 3 (October 11), Piece by Piece (October 11), We Live in Time (October...

Mark Wahlberg becomes a wilderness pilot-turned-psychotic hitman in the official trailer for Mel Gibson’s latest directorial effort, Flight Risk, which dropped on Thursday.

With an echo of Con Air, Wahlberg in the role of Daryl is at the controls of a plane transporting air marshal Madolyn, played by Michelle Dockery, and a fugitive (Topher Grace) headed to trial in New York City to testify against the Moretti crime family.

But as they cross Alaskan airspace, and a cover of the Talking Heads “Psycho Killer” is heard in the trailer score, Daryl is revealed as a balding mob assassin intent on killing the informant. “Mr. Moretti’s very disappointed in you, Winston. And he wants you dead,” the pilot says in the teaser for Gibson’s suspense thriller.

After a fight at 10,000 feet, Madolyn manages to subdue and handcuff the pilot but now needs help keeping everyone aloft. “Tell me how to fly this thing,...

Mel Gibson has been working in the industry for many years now and has starred in many memorable films that have become classics. In addition to being a versatile actor, Gibson has shown his capabilities as a director with films like Braveheart, The Passion of the Christ, Apocalypto, and Hacksaw Ridge.

Mel Gibson as Max Rockatansky in Mad Max | Roadshow Film

Gibson is most popularly known for playing Max Rockatansky in the Mad Max franchise and Martin Riggs in the Lethal Weapon films. A fifth Lethal Weapon film has been in development for many years. Gibson has now taken on the responsibility to take over what Donner created with the franchise and will be directing Lethal Weapon 5.

Mel Gibson Confirms Lethal Weapon 5 And Will Be Taking Over The Director’s Chair

After Lethal Weapon 4, Mel Gibson will direct the fifth film in the franchise | Warner Bros

Mel Gibson and Danny Glover...

Lee Tamahori captures the might and majesty of Aotearoa in this stately film, with Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne giving an electric performance

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Lee Tamahori’s stately period drama is based around a British settlement in New Zealand circa the 1830s, where Guy Pearce’s preacher protagonist attempts to keep the peace – or at least minimise hostilities – between white settlers and Māori tribes, and between the tribes themselves. Spreading the gospel alone would have been tough for his character, Thomas Munro, who is told upon arrival that “if you’ve come to win souls for Jesus, you’re going to be busy”. But reinforcing the sixth commandment in this neck of the woods, during this violent time, was surely doomed from the start, no matter how many finely worded monologues the silver-tongued sermoniser delivers.

This generally well made and intelligently staged film opens with images of lush wilderness and misty mountains,...

Mel Gibson returns to directing with Flight Risk, a zany, action-packed thriller starring Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Dockery, and Topher Grace. Producer Alex Lebovici praises the film as wild, contained, and different from anything Gibson has done before. Flight Risk finds Gibson taking a break from the arduous development of his sequel to The Passion of the Christ.

Mel Gibson hasn't directed a film since the acclaimed 2016 war picture, Hacksaw Ridge, though he's certainly been busy acting, appearing in more than a dozen films and TV series since 2020. We have previously reported, though, that he's returning as a director to a film that he will not star in, with Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Dockery, and Topher Grace leading the charge. The film is Flight Risk, and the production was completed earlier this year. Now, Lionsgate has announced a theatrical release date of Oct. 18, 2024, for the over-the-top thriller.

One of the producers on Flight Risk,...

Mel Gibson's next movie as director will be hitting the big screen this fall. Directed by the Passion of the Christ helmer, the film is called Flight Risk, and it stars Mark Wahlberg alongside Topher Grace.

Per Variety, Flight Risk has been dated for a release on Oct. 18, 2024. It's one of three movies added to the release calendar by Lionsgate, which also set the Dave Bautista-led action movie The Killer's Game for Sept. 13, 2024. These movies will be followed by the action sequel, Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, when the Gerard Butler movie drops on Jan. 10, 2025.

Related Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story Sets Theatrical Release Date After turning critics and filmgoers at Sundance into an emotional mess, the new Christopher Reeve documentary has been given a release date.

In Flight Risk, which is written by Jared Rosenberg, Wahlberg plays a "balding and psychotic mob hitman who tricks a...

Actors were transformed into primates for Wes Ball's new movie Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. There's a certain process involved in the transformation as has been demonstrated by movement coordinator Alain Gauthier.

To promote the film, Gauthier spoke about the training for the film's "Ape School" with its cast members for a new interview with Cbr's Kevin Polowy. Gauthier detailed some of the different ways he'd helped the movie's actors learn to become better apes. To help with the explanation, Gauthier even gave Polowy a personal demonstration on emulating the posture and movements of apes. The video can be viewed below.

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Related Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Director Addresses Apocalypto Comparisons, Trilogy Plans Exclusive: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes director Wes Ball speaks about plans to launch a new trilogy and the comparisons to Apocalypto.

Flight Risk will be one of the first movies Mel Gibson has directed since Hacksaw Ridge. Hammerstone Studios' Alex Lebovici, a producer on Flight Risk, recently teased what fans can expect from the upcoming thriller, which stars Mark Wahlberg.

In an interview with MovieWeb to promote Boy Kills World, Lebovici revealed that he initially met with Gibson about a different project. "It was funny," he explained. "So I came to Mel with a different project. And he's like, 'No, I don't want that project. I have one that I'm really excited about.' It's just so zany and wild and action packed and cool, and Mark is fantastic." Lebovici added that Flight Risk "is definitely different than anything he's ever done before. It's very intimate, very contained. I think he got into it during the pandemic, and just kind of like fell in love with it. And for good reason.