Flightplan

JUST WHERE.... to BEGIN???

...O. K.! FIRST: Let us FOCUS on the Title's Content and Context:

If you are among the millions of people who enjoy films with Jodie Foster...We have good news!.... Ms. Foster really takes off in this entertaining cinematic offering in the sky! A good deal of time has passed since we saw her in Panic Room (2002), but for my taste, this FLIGHTPLAN proves itself as an even better vehicle to showcase her talent!

The movie demonstrates similitudes to a Hitchcock thriller from the golden age of Hollywood, both in style and in its storyline development. Guaranteed to keep you in respiratory crisis almost from start to finish!

In the role of Kyle Pratt, aircraft engine engineer and mother of 6 year old Katerina, Foster shows tremendous range of nuanced emotion, in a performance that easily could have given her a fifth Oscar nomination. FLIGHTPLAN has a very smooth take-off, but does not take long to encounter serious turbulence.

Shortly after boarding an international flight, Kyle falls asleep, with her daughter alongside her. Upon waking, she discovers that Katerina, apparently, has disappeared without leaving so much as the slightest trace! Progressively, Jody Foster shows us an entire catalog of emotions. Concern and nervousness, followed sequentially by frustration; anguish and despair; then confusion and guilt; which ultimately give way to stoic resignation and unsettling doubts about her own sanity. The primary secret of FIGHTPLAN's success is that it enables the viewer to experience some of these emotions simultaneously right along with its lead character.

Unfortunately, there is one black hole in the skies of FLIGHTPLAN. It's the kind of vacuum that prevents a "good" movie from being an absolutely phenomenal one! Without flying into any spoilers by divulging anything specific as to the identity of the on board bad guy(s), I will share the following with you: The team responsible for creating FLIGHTPLAN, in an extremely odd and inexplicable decision, chose not to reveal the slightest clue as to any of the background, history, formation, training, experience, MOTIVATION (outside of the $$$), previous or present internal conflicts, mental state and developmental thought processes of the villain(s)!

This lapse is even more striking when contrasted with the background provided for protagonist Jodie Foster's character, Kyle, whose personality is meticulously constructed, with deliberation and great attention to detail. Because of this, the bad guy(s) end-up projecting a kind of "Terminator-Light" image, seemingly lifted straight out of a comic book, thusly rendering the viewer totally indifferent to their intervention or plight in the film!

The cast of FLIGHTPLAN, in general, submit solid and credible portrayals. Peter Sarsgaard, a veteran actor who has participated in numerous films, but who always has remained a bit under the radar in Hollywood, appears in a supporting role. His part is the most important one after Ms. Foster's. Sarsgaard's interpretation of a "Marshall" (a kind of national airways policeman) seems somewhat enigmatic and secretive.

Bess Wohl , who plays the daughter, Katerina , has not had much on-screen experience, but is competent in her role as an innocent child victim. As the pilot, we have Sean Bean, in a refreshing change of pace role. Most certainly recognizable owing to his turns as villain in several high profile films. He is quite convincing as the crew chief who gradually loses patience with a passenger who proves to be simply too problematic.

In 2005, few films managed to stay on top of box office for two consecutive weeks. This distinction is well-deserved in the case of FLIGHTPLAN, which was assigned a "PG -13" rating. It seems a great option for families with children over 8 or 9. For small kids, especially if they might feel anxious about it a little girl forcibly abducted from her mother, do a pre-screening!

8*...ENJOY! / DISFRUTELA

Any comments , questions or observations, in English o EN ESPAÑOL, are most welcome!

Flightplan is billed as a psychological thriller, and director Robert Schwentke almost succeeds in bringing us just this. Schwentke had all the major ingredients to create something that would be a cut above the standard fair that is increasingly force-fed to an already bloated public. Jodie Foster, plays the recently bereaved Kyle Pratt, who accompanied by her young daughter Julia, (Martine Lawston) is flying back to New York with the body of her husband. So far so good, you might say. Foster is a fine actress who does not disappoint in her portrayal as a woman who is forced to question her own sanity when the disappearance of her daughter is met with a collective, 'what daughter?' response from the passengers and crew.

This response to the missing child sets the stage for what Schwentke hopes will be a tense, claustrophobic, and frantic thriller, dramatically powered by the psychological meltdown of Foster's emotionally fraught Pratt. Unfortunately, this is not quite what the finished product turns out to be. Foster's performance is all that it should be (there are similarities with the role she played so well in The Panic Room), as is that of Peter Sarsgaard, who plays Air Marshall Carson. What happens then is a film that shows early promise - Schwentke initially establishes a grave, disturbed tone - descends into absurdity due to a plot which demands a level of credulousness that defies all reason.

The sheer stupidity of the plot - 'the holes are big enough to fly a jumbo jet through', according to one critic - not only undoes the hard work invested in the early part of the film, it ruins it completely. Peter Dowling's original script would have worked so much better. This involved the slightly more believable scenario of an aviation security agent being forced to participate in a straightforward hijack. Post 9/11, there remains a great deal of residual fear and paranoia surrounding air travel. Sadly, Schwentke has failed to exploit this in Flightplan. There is an attempt to address the issue of perceived Arab terrorism in the film but it seems clumsy and patronising.

There are a few nice touches in the film - the passengers' unease at take off is shown well - but overall, viewers are forced to question the feasibility of the events taking place. Too many questions arise, such as why does Jodie Foster sound as though she is strolling along a wooden stage, in high heels? This is a minor point however, the major one being - and this is central to the plot - how can a plane full of passengers (and crew) not notice a six year old child? Or to put this another way, is it possible for a six year old to remain unnoticed on a plane? I don't think so Schwentke, as much as I would love this to be the case.

I have not seen that many Jodie Foster films, but being that she is a fairly well known actress and Flightplan's premise seemed as good as any's I gave it a shot when invited to an opening showing with two friends.

What followed was a mixture between humor, failed tension, and borderline entertainment.

Flightplan derives its plot from a Hitchcock standpoint: A woman (Foster) boards a plane with her daughter, falls asleep and discovers that the little girl is missing. In a frenzy to locate her missing child she frightens both crew and passengers alike in a search that may be only in her mind.

Trouble is Flightplan never builds much excitement, leaving the audience caught between wondering the truth behind the film's mystery and not really caring but hoping things get interesting before everything is over.

Jodie Foster plays a good anxious, worried mother and I had the urge to just reach up, slap her and say "Cut that out!" A well done acting role on her part that sparks empathy and emotional responses from those watching, bravo. Now if only the other characters could have been as successful...

A few seconds into Foster's flight we are introduced to Pigeon Eyes,(Peter Sarsgaard) a shady looking character who explains himself to be an air marshal. He sports a monotonous disposition that could rival Hayden Christensen's Anakin Skywalker impression, except when situation demands a slightly more energetic tone of voice.

The entire films manages to hold itself together without boring the viewers but not exactly showing them the time of their life either. A few predictable plot twists manage to change things up just enough to have it stand out much better than some suspense thrillers (The Interpreter with Nicole Kidman springs to mind.).

Overall, Flightplan stands as an easily forgettable and average entry in the Jodie Foster film history.

5/10

"Flightplan" seems to have affected IMDb contributors like no other film in recent memory. Mostly is bad. We didn't catch up with this picture until recently. Frankly, we are puzzled as to why the hatred. Granted, the film had the potential for being better, but it's not the total failure as some of the comments in this forum will make one believe. It appears there's an agenda to mark "Flightplan" comments as not useful.

Director Robert Schwentke working with Peter Dowling and Billy Ray's screen play, hasn't added much to the film in order to make it a thriller to be reckoned with, but, in general, the film is not a total waste, as seems to be the perception among contributors.

In a way, "Flightplan" plays with the viewer's perception as to who is behind the disappearance of Julia, the six year old girl traveling with her mother, Kyle, to New York. Kyle has suffered a great tragedy in her life when her husband was found dead in her building's courtyard. The fact that Kyle hasn't been able to accept the death is clear in the first sequence when we see her sitting inside the Alexanderplaz metro station in Berlin.

Kyle, an aircraft designing engineer, is a good mother. One can imagine her panic when she wakes up from a nap to find Julia's gone. No one seems to have noticed the little girl; there is no record of she ever been on board. Kyle meets resistance from the crew of the flight. Even the sky marshal, Carson, is no help at all. What's a mother to do? If one is in Kyle's shoes, one starts taking matter into her own hands.

Jodie Foster does a good job portraying Kyle. She is a mother who doesn't take no for an answer. In fact, she is the one that unravels the mystery surrounding her daughter's disappearance. The climax sequence is perfectly set, as one would expect it to be.

Peter Sarsgaard, is Carson, the sky marshal traveling in the economy section. He is in charge of the safety of the passengers on the flight. In an unusual role for him, Mr. Sarsgaard has some good chances in the movie. Sean Bean plays the pilot of the jumbo jet. Kate Beahan is seen as one of the flight attendants. Erika Christiensen is also part of the crew.

The best way to enjoy the film is not to compare it to anything else and just go for the entertaining value in it because we know this is not a ground breaking film, but thanks to Mr. Schwentke and his cast, it offers us a bumpy ride of a film.

You can't say there's a movie like it really. Had a bit more leg work been done at the start, I think it would have even been better too.

I'm trying to think if this required more suspension of disbelief than a normal movie in the genre, and I think it's probably on par; whereas other flight thriller type stuff depends on the viewer on suspending it in other areas, this is more wild, sure, but also far more interesting.