Fight or Flight just hit theaters last weekend and has been steadily winning over the hearts of action fans. James Madigan’s wild action-comedy stars Josh Hartnett as Lucas Reyes, a directionless man with no background who gets yanked back into the thick of the international underworld when a faceless hacker boards a flight from Thailand to San Fransisco. Lucas is tasked with figuring out the identity of the hacker and bringing them into custody, but that plan is flipped upside-down when he discovers the entire plane is full of assassins, all of whom are looking to take out his target.
The film is a breath of fresh air for a genre that has been stuck in the shadow of John Wick for the last decade. ComicBook.com had the opportunity to the cast and crew of Fight or Flight about what made their film work and why it stands out in a crowded action field.
According to Hartnett, Fight or Flight‘s steady lead, the movie’s memorable fight scenes actually came from the creative team focusing on making a comedy first, then molding the action around it.
“I signed on this about a year before we shot it and we did a lot of rewrites. And we tried to make it as unique and fun as hilarious as possible. I think first it’s a comedy and then it’s an action movie. The action is heavy so there’s a lot of action, but if the action doesn’t actually lead into the story and make you laugh then it’s not quite working,” Hartnett told us.
“When we actually shot we only had 25 days to shoot it, so it was just nonstop. I didn’t get to see anything while we were filming, we were just going. We had to shoot as much as we could, all day every day, until they basically pulled the plug on us. Then Jim [Madigan] had to go off and put it together. I didn’t have a sense if it worked. It felt right, but I didn’t have a sense if it worked until I saw the first edit.”
Hartnett went on to explain that the goal of the project the entire time was simply to create a movie that both surprising and entertaining. As long as those two goals were accomplished, they would have done what they set out to do.
“Our only job was to make something that was surprising and entertaining. That was my North Star,” he said. “How do we make it surprising scene to scene? How do we make it feel like he was in jeopardy so it continues to be surprising and interesting when he wins these fights? If he wins these fights? Jim really wanted to make sure that every hit was felt, like the audience really saw the character go through something and come out on the other end completely ruined. I think all those elements together made for a unique experience.”
Based on the reactions from both critics and fans, it’s safe to say Hartnett, Madigan, and the rest of the team accomplished those goals. Of course, now that people have fallen in love with the action and comedy of Fight or Flight, folks are already looking ahead to the future and wondering if a sequel is on the horizon.
Will There Be a Fight or Flight 2?
There hasn’t been any news about a Fight or Flight sequel yet, especially since the film just had its wide theatrical release last weekend. But the ending of Fight or Flight is left VERY open, and the cast already seems on board to explore some of those loose threads.
Katee Sackhoff’s Katherine Brunt is essentially the shot-caller behind the plot of Fight or Flight. She’s the one who calls Hartnett’s Lucas Reyes into action and the two characters have a complicated past. In addition to Lucas’ story getting an open ending, there’s also a ton of Brunt’s story that’s left unexplored. While speaking with ComicBook about her character not being directly involved in the hard-hitting action of Fight or Flight, Sackhoff shared her hopes of seeing the character break out in future films.
“When I read the script I already had envy [of all the fight scenes], for sure. I feel like she’s having a mental fight the entire movie, so I feel like the stakes are just as high in Katherine’s head for the whole flight, if you will,” Sackhoff explained But you never know what’s going to happen. Sequels happen every day.”
“There’s so much. This movie ends and it is ripe for a franchise,” she added. And Katherine has so much more inside of her that we need to understand. I think we need to understand her past. I think we need to understand Lucas’ past with her.”
Fight or Flight is now playing in theaters everywhere. You can check out our full interviews with Hartnett and Sackhoff at the top of the page.
The post Fight or Flight Stars Explain How They Brought the Zany Action to Life (And Tease Sequel Possibilities) appeared first on ComicBook.com.
