The Academy revealed nominations for the 97th annual Oscars this morning. Flight Risk is very much not an Oscars type of film. But it does still capture audiences with its popcorn-action premise and surprising humor.

Flight Risk follows Madolyn (Michelle Dockery), a federal agent who picks up runaway fugitive Winston (Topher Grace) in the Alaskan wilderness. Upon capture, Winston offers to cut a deal with the feds, giving them information about the mob boss he previously worked for. With the Big Bad heading to trial, Madolyn finds herself racing against the clock to get her new informant out of Alaska and across the country to New York in time to testify.

Of course, the only way out of the Alaskan wilderness is to charter a small private plane to get them out to the larger airport in Anchorage. Enter Daryl (Mark Wahlberg), the pilot. Beyond being sort of smarmy and creepy, Daryl turns out to not be Daryl at all — he’s actually a mob hitman who took out the real pilot ahead of his plot to kill off Winston before he can narc.

Suddenly Madolyn finds herself not just traveling with a key witness on a ticking clock, but trying to fight off attacks on both of their lives from not-Daryl. Oh, and they’re mid-flight, so she’s also got to figure out how to fly a plane. Also, she’s starting to suspect there’s a mole at work.

Madolyn’s really having a day, okay?

Wahlberg makes the most of the villainous role; truly, this guy is The Worst. To the point where honestly, it could be toned down a little. I mean, he’s already a conman, liar, and an incredibly violent, vicious killer for a mob boss, with no regard for his own life or safety, who can’t be bribed or bought out, and has stamina and comeback abilities to rival Michael Myers. Personally, I didn’t also need the stream of threats of sexual violence and rapey jokes to remind us this guy is Bad. (Especially since a lot of these lines in particular felt very dated anyway.) But that’s just me.

Despite some of the cringier dialogue, Flight Risk was actually pretty funny throughout. I laughed a lot more than I expected to for an action thriller, which was a pleasant surprise. The humor was definitely bolstered by the strength of the performances; Grace in particular made the most of Winston’s reactions to their bizarre situation. (Although the way Dockery delivers a “Thank God” at a particular moment near the end of the film was also quite memorable.)

Action-wise, I found Flight Risk a little disappointing. With the premise and the over-the-top villain, I expected action moments a la Fast and Furious — ridiculous and unrealistic, but in a fun, compelling kind of way. Instead, the movie takes a much more grounded approach. The good news is it made me feel like I actually learned something about flying a plane in an emergency situation. The bad news is it doesn’t deliver the same exciting “wow” factor audiences are probably hoping for.

Although I hoped for more soapy and/or blockbuster action moments, Flight Risk still easily held my attention for its tight runtime. I wouldn’t call it a “gotta rush to the theater to see it” or a “must be seen on the big screen!” popcorn flick. But I did find it entertaining as a casual watch. At the very least, queue it up on your next flight. 90 minutes will fly by.

Flight Risk premieres in theaters January 24.