Mark Wahlberg ignites

Eventually, the American public learns how they would have descended On September 11, Mark Wahlberg boarded American Airlines Flight 11. Turns out he wasn’t wrong about the amount of blood he allegedly shed in the cabin. It’s just that half would have been his, and the rest would have come from the pilot, plus the funniest passenger on the manifest for good measure. This is more or less how things happen Risk of theftMel Gibson’s new film, anyway, and it seems reasonable to extrapolate the events of its tale to Wahlberg’s odious, self-aggrandizing fantasy.

Here, Gibson inverts Wahlberg’s illusions of action hero competence by reducing the scale to the dimensions of chamber drama and generously sprinkling the plot with grit for good measure. Rather than the good guy, Wahlberg plays the lumbering “Daryl Booth,” a troublesome pilot in Alaska assigned to transport Deputy U.S. Marshal Madelyn Harris (Michelle Dockery) and her ward, Winston (Topher Grace), to Anchorage, where Harris’ superiors take Winston into their custody as an informant; he has dirt on a supernaturally dangerous (and practically omnipresent) mob boss, Moretti, seen but never heard. Moretti understandably wants Winston dead, and “Daryl” is one of his key men, a looney tune sensation killer whose love language is violence.

No, really. “You’re making me hard!” he shouts to Harris, deeply buried Risk of theftonce she exposes her ruse, the film becomes a question of whether she can successfully pilot their bush plane back to civilization and safety. With only a psychopath and a pee on board to help, not to mention company, the chances seem low. The problem Risk of theft encounter enough to calm the spectator’s anxiety to make him assume even the slightest risk of the machine crashing. It’s Chekhov’s plane crash; the plane will land at some point, but we don’t know when or under what circumstances. They can’t crash in the Alaskan mountains because Liam Neeson isn’t on the cast list; they cannot crash into the Gulf of Alaska, or the Bering Sea, or wherever hell, they’re supposed to fly either, not just because the film’s geography is lacking, but because Robert Redford isn’t there.

The actor giving Gibson the most grief here, however, is Wahlberg. Fair is fair: Risk of theft has a problem with Daryl, it doesn’t matter whether he’s played by Wahlberg or an actor actually capable of exuding the sly, simple menace that Wahlberg tries and fails to wring from the character, because the limits of his range as an actor are engraved in concrete. Risk of theft doesn’t need Daryl for anything other than takeoff. After that, the fact of its existence dispels the possibility of Harris and Winston catching fire, because it undoes the film’s confidence in its ability to suspend audience disbelief. If Gibson or screenwriter Jared Rosenberg knew how to keep us guessing whether or not the plane would stay in the air, the movie wouldn’t need Daryl, even though having Daryl would be okay if Gibson had cast, say, John Carroll Lynch or Pruitt Taylor. Vince instead of Wahlberg, or go for the gold by hiring Paul Giamatti. Hollywood has a strong stable of middle-aged men capable of exuding the charm of their home to imbue their inner menace, and none of them need a bald cap to further set the tone. accent.

Wahlberg’s wacky hairpiece isn’t the worst thing about his work here. That’s because he plays Daryl the same way he plays most of his characters, mixing the bravado of a tough guy and the innocence of a Labrador Retriever, with a good ol’ boy accent to boot. . Before his cover is revealed, Daryl reads as Thomas Mann doing an impression of Foghorn Leghorn. Afterwards, it’s Wahlberg, and no sound Fear days, but of his Seth MacFarlane, I love Huckabeesand the Adam McKay era. Dockery and Grace fare better, comparatively and on their own merits, though Wahlberg’s clumsy efforts at villainy highlight his co-stars’ strengths and shared chemistry; without sending Risk of theft» The tone deviant, Grace delivers nervous one-liners and sardonic quips with casual ease, while Dockery continues to reconfigure his regal style. Downton Abbey character for characters made from sterner stuff than Lady Mary.

They work well together, the remorseful jester and the guilty nobility, because naturally Rosenberg’s screenplay accessorizes Harris with a tragic backstory – another obstacle to overcome, as piloting an untrained plane while restraining a barking sadist at the same time time is not enough. of a challenge. But the crushing doesn’t take long Risk of theftrhythm or tension; Wahlberg does it. The actor ended up apologizing for his stupid 9/11 remarks shortly after making them. Maybe one day he’ll apologize for Risk of theftAlso.

Director: Mel Gibson
Writer: Jared Rosenberg
With : Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Dockery, Topher Grace
Release date: January 24, 2025