FLIGHT RISK
*CUT TO THE CHASE*NOTE: This spoiler was submitted by Jeremy
The film opens in Alaska. A man named Winston (Topher Grace) is in an isolated cabin, just before FBI agents burst in to arrest him. He is met by Deputy Marshal Madelyn Harris (Michelle Dockery), as Winston has been dealing with a crime boss named Moretti. In an effort to save his skin, Winston offers to testify against Moretti in exchange for full immunity. Madelyn reluctantly agrees.
Madelyn escorts Winston as they are set to fly to Seattle for the testimony. They board a plane and are met by their pilot, Daryl Booth (Mark Wahlberg). He takes off, and Madelyn notices a scratch on the back of his head, but Booth brushes it off as an “occupational hazard”. Winston then looks down at the floor and sees documents and photos belonging to the REAL Daryl Booth. He tries to get Madelyn’s attention to warn her, but she thinks he is trying to get himself free.
The pilot turns around to give Winston a sickness bag, and Madelyn notices what appears to be a bloody wound on his arm. She then asks him how he knew they were going to Seattle when she hadn’t mentioned it. Sensing that she is starting to catch on, the pilot reveals himself to be a hitman (whose real name is never revealed) sent by Moretti to kill Winston by leaving him and Madelyn somewhere for the wildlife to get them. Madelyn fights the Hitman and gets knocked unconscious. Winston talks to the Hitman about his dealings with Moretti, just as Madelyn starts to wake up. She gets a taser out and gets it ready for when the Hitman comes back, and she zaps him unconscious before tying him up. Madelyn undoes Winston’s chains so he can help her.
Madelyn takes control of the plane just before they end up crashing to the ground. Winston finds out that the Hitman got information on him and his mother to threaten him into cooperating. She tries to contact help and gets in touch with fellow Deputy Caroline Van Zant (voice of Leah Remini) to alert her that the trip has been compromised and that there might be a leak in the department working with Moretti. Caroline investigates while Madelyn also ends up in touch with another pilot, Hasan (Monib Abhat), who guides her through the skies on the way to land in Anchorage. Madelyn later learns that the real Daryl Booth was gruesomely murdered.
The Hitman regains consciousness and begins to taunt Madelyn about an incident from her past. He mentions that someone in her care was burned alive and left to die. Madelyn beats the Hitman back into unconsciousness and is made by Winston to explain herself. Madelyn explains that she was made to look after a woman in Mexico named Maria, whose boyfriend had business with the cartels. Maria asked to take a bath unsupervised, and Madelyn obliged her despite that being against protocol. A sicario ended up throwing a Molotov cocktail through the window, and since Maria was handcuffed to the bathtub, she was unable to flee, and Madelyn could not save her. She was demoted to a desk job, and she has been haunted by her mistake ever since.
Caroline gets back in touch with Madelyn and says she has a team waiting in Anchorage to help her. Madelyn starts to get suspicious that Caroline might be the leak. She gets in touch with Deputy Director Coleridge (voice of Paul Ben-Victor) to alert him of the situation and to try and catch up to Caroline.
After encountering a shipwreck on the coastline, Madelyn and Winston are able to give Hasan a clue as to their location. This helps his radar pick them up and make it easier to guide them.
The plane starts heading toward a mountain. Madelyn just barely manages to avoid hitting it but crashes through a huge pile of snow. As she flies upward, the Hitman’s knife slides down and into his grasp. He starts to cut himself loose and undoes his cuffs after stealing Madelyn’s shades. The Hitman frees himself and stabs Winston twice before attempting to strangle Madelyn. Winston pulls the knife out and cuts the belt the Hitman was using, and Madelyn incapacitates him by hitting him with a flare to the chest and then knocking him out with a fire extinguisher.
Madelyn applies first aid to Winston, but he is losing a lot of blood and is starting to fade out. She contacts Hasan to try and find a faster way to get to Anchorage, and he tries to help her even though it might mean they would lose fuel faster, but she vows not to let Winston die. Winston starts to apologize for the crimes he’s committed. This causes her to remember overhearing where Winston said he was sending money, as that is the same location Coleridge says he was coming from. This makes her realize Coleridge was the leak all along. She contacts Caroline to admit her mistake to her and to warn her that Coleridge is coming for her.
Madelyn starts flying closer towards the landing strip. She tries to contact Caroline again, only to be answered by Coleridge, who informs Madelyn that Caroline got into a fatal car accident, presumably hit by one of Moretti’s goons. Madelyn blows up on Coleridge and says she knows he is the leak and that she will expose him.
Two carrier jets fly next to the plane to make sure they don’t endanger civilians by potentially crashing. Madelyn gets in touch with Hasan again, but the Hitman tries to attack again, and Madelyn shoots him twice. Hasan frantically tries to guide Madelyn as she starts to lose fuel, and Winston starts to lose consciousness. Police and paramedics wait on the scene as Madelyn makes a rough landing. The plane door opens, and the Hitman is ejected from the plane, landing on the strip where he is plowed by a truck. The plane comes to a halt, and Winston wakes up.
The medics arrive for Winston. Madelyn meets Hasan face-to-face for a moment, until she spots another one of Moretti’s goons going into the ambulance with Winston. Madelyn runs over in time to witness the assassin trying to suffocate Winston until she shoots him dead. She grabs the assassin’s phone to directly speak to Coleridge and assure him that he is going down.
Deputy Marshal Madelyn Harris is escorting a criminal named Winston to testify against a mob boss named Moretti, since Winston previously did business with him. On their plane ride to Seattle, they discover that their pilot is a Hitman sent by Moretti to kill Winston. Madelyn incapacitates the Hitman and tries to fly the plane to Anchorage herself.
In the air, the Hitman taunts Madelyn over an incident in her past that got her demoted - she was meant to look after a girl who was being hunted by the cartel, and the one time she left her unsupervised, the girl was killed. The Hitman frees himself and stabs Winston twice, but Madelyn knocks him out again with a flare gun and a fire extinguisher. Madelyn tries to tend to Winston's wounds and must make it to Anchorage faster. She also learns that the mole in the FBI is her boss, Deputy Director Coleridge. After accidentally accusing her colleague Caroline, Coleridge has Caroline killed.
The Hitman attacks again as the plane makes a rocky landing. He is ejected from the plane and lands in the path of a truck, where he is crushed to death. Madelyn gets Winston medical attention but kills one last assassin who tries to go for Winston in the ambulance.