| Overall Grade: |
C+ |
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| Story: |
C+ |
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| Acting: |
B |
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| Direction: |
B- |
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| Visuals: |
C- |
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Foster's Frantic Flight: Grounded after first half
by danielh (movies profile)
Jun 2, 2008
234
of
297 people found this review helpful
Flight plan is a well-acted film with a clever if not original idea. I assume that you already have a basic idea of the plot. I prefer to tell you what I think of the movie without offering any potential plot "spoilers". I know we all probably prefer to avoid going in to a movie with a pre-disposed sense of like or dislike towards a film based on another's opinion.
The Basic premise however, is as follows:
Kyle's (Jodie Foster) six year old daughter Julia(Marlene Lawston) has vanished without a trace aboard the (recently constructed) world's largest aircraft ( Foster's character is the engineer that designed this particular aircraft). This happens early and from there this film takes on a Hitchcockian persona and starts to get interesting if not riveting.
The fact is the there is no record of the girl ever being on board. In addition, apparently no passengers or members of the flight crew ever saw her(Foster's)Daughter board the aircraft. After exhausting every effort to find the missing girl, the Captain (played by an under-used Sean Bean)trys to reason with Kyle (Foster) to no avail. Kyle is inexorable and remains vigilant in her efforts to find her missing daughter before the plane lands. I won't go in to the convoluted aspects of the plot. But that is the basic set-up.
My Thoughts:
As I stated early in the review; this is a well-acted film with an A-list cast that includes, Peter Sarsgaard,Sean Bean and Erika Christenson. Unfortunately, this is not an ensamble effort; this is Jodie Foster's film. And your ability to jump through gaping plot holes and make endless leaps of logic in the second half of this film, rest's squarely on her shoulders. Does she suceed? The answer is Yes and No. This movie is a tale of two halves. The first half is taut with nervous tension and frightful curiousity. Unfortunately, the answer, in this case, is simply not worthy of the question. The second half is insipid, and at times, borders on the absurd. It also makes a dramatic shift in style over the last 40 minutes;going from a psychological thriller with a surreal "twilight zone" edge; and ending up as a film that more closely resembles Wesley Snipes's, Passenger 57.
Overall, it is a better film than it's previously released counterpart "Red eye". And yet it also more disappointing in the sense that it claims to be more than it is, where "Red eye" made no such claim.
Acting: Everyone likes Jodie Foster. With good reason, she is a terrific actress in her element. Her performance here is underwhelming.She is becoming more notorious for these kind of roles. As a result, her performance, at times, felt re-hashed and one-dimensional. As it turns out however, this is a one-dimensional movie that relies to heavily on it's lead actor to carry the film. The fact 95% of the film is set in the claustrophobic confines of the airplance does not help her here, as she is not known for powerful on-screen charisma. So, for what the role requires of she does an adequate job.
I was disappointed that Sean Bean (captain) and Erika Christenson (flight attendent)were not used nearly enough in this film. Sean Bean, who is a terrific and underrated actor and brings instant credibility to his roles,makes the most of his short on-screen time. In a film that lacks defining personalities, it would have been nice to see Erika Cristenson's charasmatic appeal taken advantage of here. Unfortunately, she only has about five minutes of screen time.
Bottom line:
At best, this is an ambitious, well-acted film that thrives on tension early and simply fails to deliver on it's sublime aspirations. But is nevertheless a worthy effort with thrilling moments.
At worst: A short film that never establishes any of it's character's and leaves you with more questions than answers. A second half that is beyond incredulous. The ending is untenable and lacks any plausability. As a result, the ending, which should be the film's most powerful and poignant moment, arouses no emotional response. "All that for nothing" your left to think. Well, I wouldn't say that, $9.00 is something. |
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