Flightplan

Not going to leave a long review, will simply say I usually hate every thing but this was quite good.....I actually enjoyed it.

Now stop here, don't read any spoilers, just watch the film ✌🏻

You ever have that film where you see it in the video store many years ago but have no idea what the film is? Then that very same film shows up in a bargain bin and you pick it up just based on the description on the back? Well, probably not, but that's my background of this film. To my surprise, this film is one great suspenseful ride. I love films that have you guessing right from the very beginning but never to the extent where you are disinterested. What helps with that is the unique premise and great cast. Jodie Foster brings her daughter on a plane from Berlin to New York and falls asleep, but as she wakes up, she discovers that her daughter is missing and may have never even gone on the plane. This film plays with the "unreliable narrator" technique, where you don't know if the story that is unfolding is based on the reality of the passengers or the reality inside Jodie Foster's. The answer may shock you. The best way to find that answer is to watch the film. It's a hidden gem.

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

Jodie Foster is terrific as usual playing recently-widowed aircraft engineer and mother of a solemn little girl who is faced with terror and dread while on a flight from Germany to New York: her daughter vanishes and no one on-board will admit to ever having seen her. Unintentionally or not, the film takes its cue from the cult classic "Bunny Lake is Missing", but then goes its own way for a compelling second-half. The script is carefully plotted, hedging no bets and leaving no stone unturned, and that may be its only fault: the plot is so smoothly planned and drawn out for us that it loses some intensity. Ironically, the opening (with Foster making burial arrangements in regards to her husband, and later feeling watched from her apartment window) are spookily dream-like, but the director becomes much more sober once the action moves to the plane, and yet his film could really use more of that surreal, what's-going-on ambiance he initially captured so succinctly. Still, a first-rate picture with excellent performances by everyone, down to the last two-line player. *** from ****

First off, I loved "Panic Room" and Jodie Foster's performance in it. When I first saw the looks of this film, I was very intrigued and thought it was going to be a "The Forgotten 2"....i was very wrong.

What starts off is with Jodie Foster playing a mourning mother after the death of her husband. Her and her daughter catch a flight to go stay with Foster's grandparents, however, after Jodie's character falls asleep, the daughter is gone....and to make matters worst, she is told that she never existed...

Sounds like a good premise eh? Well that's what infused me to go and see it. It starts off well but once the daughter goes missing, it went downhill. Jodie's performance throughout is good, not Oscar worthy but it is one of the highlights of the film (as well as the ever-cool Sean Bean.) Unfortunately I can't go into great depth of anything else of the story because of spoilers, but I will say that the ending plot is horrible, totally impossible and so therefore ruins the impact of the film and its good beginning.

There are also a lot of other things that annoy me about the film, to cut a long list short here are some examples: - a brilliant, new state of the art plane...and there's hardly anyone on board.

• Foster's character, although confused and frustrated does get annoying after a bit, and seeing as w're meant to identify and sympathise with her, is not a good thing.

• The overall twist / ending plot is ridiculous, as I stated before.

My vote is 6/10....go see the film for the enjoyment of Jodie Foster and some thrills. however, do not expect a masterpiece..because this is FAR from great.