by Mattie Lucas
Cinema from a Decidedly Queer Perspective
Flight Risk | 2025
As a child of the 90s, I have a certain soft spot for 90s-style action thrillers. These things were a dime-a-dozen back then, and while many haven't aged well, something about them often feels more tangible than the flat-looking high-gloss sludge we so often get today. They were heightened, sometimes silly, and less concerned with what passes for realism in a way that makes them feel more authentic. Mel Gibson's latest film, Flight Risk, feels like a throwback to a certain kind of 90s thriller - unfortunately, it's not the good kind.
In 1931, F.W. Murnau made his final film, Tabu: A Story of the South Seas, on the island of Bora Bora. It was partly inspired by Robert Flaherty's 1926 documentary, Moana (no relation to the Disney film). Tabu would ultimately be Murnau's final film, he died in a car crash before the film was released. Both Tabu and Moana were examples of ethnographic films that sought to bring exotic locales to life for audiences of the silent era. I found myself thinking about both of these films as I watched Miguel Gomes' latest film, Grand Tour.