Flight Risk

Movie Review

U.S. Marshal Madolyn Harris is back in the field again after a couple years chained behind a desk. She’s loath to share any reasons for that assignment, but it’s safe to say that something went terribly wrong on her last case. Now that she has a second chance at field work, she doesn’t want to mess it up.

Fortunately, her current job is pretty simple. She’s tracked a weaselly little embezzler (who stole money from the mob, no less) down to his crusty hiding spot somewhere in Alaska. His name is Winston. And he’s about as threatening as that name would suggest.

Now, all she has to do is transport this nervous little dude from Nowhere Alaska to some city with an actual courthouse. There he’ll become the government’s witness against a mob boss and his connections.

Easy-peasy.

In fact, as Madolyn and Winston climb into the small cockpit of a single-prop airplane that will fly them to Anchorage, then Seattle, the marshal is feeling fairly good about the whole case. (She still takes time to securely cuff and chain Winston to his seat. But frankly, he seems more apt to wet himself than to cause any trouble.)

Yep, it looks like her first assignment back in the field will go off without a hitch. In 90 minutes, Madolyn will be getting pats on the back from other marshals and the offer of a drink or two.

Except … the good-old-boy pilot, who just climbed into the plane, isn’t exactly who he appears to be. He may be setting his instruments, chomping his gum and drawling out stories of snowy mountain flights and moose hunts that went astray, but there’s something else on his mind.

You see, the mob has connections.