Josh Hartnett’s recent run of films has seen him working with brilliant filmmakers like Christopher Nolan, Guy Ritchie, and M. Night Shyamalan (in perhaps his most controversially acclaimed film in years). The Trap star, who will next appear in Colleen Hoover’s Verity, takes a turn back into his lesser work with Fight or Flight, a ho-hum action comedy about a plane full of killers.

Hartnett stars as Lucas Reyes, a retired mercenary harbored in Thailand as he lies low from his murderous life of vigilantism. The United States government tracks him down and gives him one of those cheesy ultimatums: “Do one final mission for us and we’ll let you go.” His mission? Find a mysterious bad guy and take him down.

Once on the plane, things couldn’t get much worse for him. Not only is the killer on the plane with him, but the plane is full of other mercenaries who are ready to murder everybody on board. It’s up to Lucas to save the day.

Fight or Flight is a formally messy film bogged down by poor visual effects and corny action. It looks ridiculous in an occasionally intentional way. In one sequence, the world becomes a distorted blitz of color, eerily reminiscent of a silly YouTube video, a stylistic choice that might have worked with sharper editing or a clearer vision.

When Lucas takes a chainsaw to hack at dozens of the bad guys, the screen is covered from top to bottom in cheap CGI blood. The film becomes a total parody of itself. It’s hard to tell whether this self-awareness is a strength or just a mask for lazy choreography.

In moments like these, people will either fall in love with the film or dismiss it entirely. Generally, I find action movies like this strike the wrong balance. Action is already overdone, and covering up the weak bits with comedy is usually a crutch that highlights how hollow it all is.

The regular twists and turns ensue. Good guys are revealed to be bad guys. Bad guys are revealed to be really bad guys. You get it.

One of the most disappointing parts of all of it is just how bad it looks. Between Oppenheimer and Trap, Hartnett’s recent films have become a beautiful cinematic showcase for him. This, on the other hand, is completely flat. It’s hard to tell whose fault it is that Fight or Flight looks so dull, but it’s pretty clear that nobody cared too much behind the scenes.

It’s fortunate that Hartnett is giving it his all here. The rest of the film, from the script to the direction, totally lets him down, but at no point does Hartnett slow down. He’s clearly having a lot of fun with the material, and if you’re a fan of his, it might be worth it for him alone. The rest of the cast is nothing to write home about.

The worst part of this film is the ending. It’s hard to write a review and complain about an ending without spoiling it specifically, but man, it sucks. It’s perhaps the most jarring ending possible, one that somehow takes an otherwise so-so film and throws it down the tubes.

Fight or Flight is exactly what the title suggests: a movie that is constantly moving, rarely thinking, and ends as quickly as it starts. It flirts with satire and spectacle but never quite hits the mark. Hartnett feels alive as the only shining part of the film. For people who love chaotic action and disposable comedy, this will scratch that itch. For those hoping for anything more, this will engage your fight-or-flight response.