Hey folks, Harry here... Personally I dig the trailer for FLIGHTPLAN, it does seem to border on the far fetched end of the paranoia thriller flick, but then... Most paranoia thrillers do. Especially real life paranoia thrillers that surround our every move in life. Anyway - this first review is spoiler free - the second isn't. Here ya go...
Hey Harry,
Writing in with a Flightplan review. Caught it tonight at a sneak peek in Pasadena. Brian Grazer, who produced it was there as were the writers. Some of the f/x work was incomplete and the music was all temp taken from James Newton Howard's M. Night scores. James Horner is doing the original score.
It's a throwback to Hitchcock, no two ways about it. Nods to Lady Vanishes, The Birds, and The Man Who Knew Too Much. We've all seen the trailer, so you know the basic set-up. Very high-concept. Little girl disappears 40,000 feet in the air and no one but her mother thinks she was ever on the plane.
Don't think you have it all figured out. Without spoiling anything, I'll tell you right now this is not another "Forgotten," or "Hide and Seek" trend of twists. It's not supernatural, science-fiction, or psychological. This is an attempt at classic suspense. Writer's write themselves into a hole, no trace of this girl, and then figure out a plausible way to solve the mystery. I appreciated it for that, respected it...even admired it...for getting back to the bare bones. A total throwback.
It has its problems. There is nowhere near enough character development between Jodie, her daughter, and other passengers and staff on the plane. Jodie is grieving the death of her husband. She's sad. Her daughter is a talking cardboard cut-out. We care very little for them. So instead of it being dramatic, it's more melodramatic-- with long lingering shots of Jodie crying or contemplating...she's more the archetype for a single, concerned mother than a real character. The little girl is barely in it.
For a mystery, there wasn't very much investigating. The mystery presents itself early on and then suddenly, about 3/4 of the way through, the solution is flung our way. Most of the film consists of Jodie trying to convince everyone on the plane that her daughter was on board and is worth looking for. I wanted her to take a more pro active stance...I wanted her to accuse more people, snoop, question, investigate. Unfortunately, the people on the plane are mere decorations. They all could have been used as suspects...but we're never suspicious of anyone really. We don't feel her paranoia, because there's not a whole lot to get us paranoid-- we're not given any material to work with, any possibilities to debate. I wanted everyone to be a potential suspect. It would have been scarier.
Peter Sarsgard and Sean Bean are the stand-out performers here. They do good work as the Air Marshall and the Captain, respectively. A newcomer, Kate Behan is also very, very good. She's also stunningly beautiful...it's hard to pay attention to anything else when she's on screen.
The solved mystery makes sense but isn't too shocking or exciting either. The final scenes do provide for some good cat and mouse suspense.
Two side notes...both gripes:
The first time we see Jodie Foster on screen, she looks a lot like Michael Jackson. And secondly, the state-of-the-art, three cabin, 450 seater, plane is completely wasted. If you're going to go out of your way to set the movie in such a sensational setting, make use of it! Write set pieces that move from room to room! Most of the action takes place in one particular cabin...it might as well have been on a regular, commercial airliner...in fact, that may have amped up the tension and paranoia, adding a kind of claustrophobic feel.
To wrap up, they still have plenty of time to tweak this thing...and I'm sure they will. It's passable entertainment, sometimes suspenseful, sometimes lame...but never ridiculous or hard to watch. The directing, somewhat loose and sparse, should have been faster paced and more taut.
The End.
Ok - this next guy seems to spend a good deal of time beating up on the special fx. To a film months from release at a test screening, so if you read this next review... Eliminate all his frustration over Bad Special Fx - and realize that his inability to divorce the temporary nature of this Work In Progress wound up coloring his larger opinion of the film, but that there's still most likely some very valid complaints going on here... And a warning - while he doesn't reveal who or what the culprit is in the film - he does give away some twists and resolutions - this being a thriller - if the trailer has you hooked, I wouldn't recommend reading the review.
Just got back from the ?Flight Plan? Audience Response Interview
screenings at the Paseo Theater in Pasadena, CA. Producer Brian
Grazer of Imagine and the rest of the Imagine brass were there in
force. The audience was told that this was the first screening of
the picture. They seemed particularly interested in opinions on the
film from the under 18 crowd, pulling kids from the back of the
line to the front. We were told the Special EFX are not perfected
but they would be technically ?perfect? when the film was released.
OMFG the exterior 3D plane effects looked like something on a par
with Jason and the Argonauts! I don?t know who they pulled in for
that mess but it looks like they gave them a budget of about 5
bucks. Every exterior EFX shot, and yes I mean all, were
unbelievably bad ? it was visually disturbing and humorous at the
same time. It was so hard to get past. The flying sequences and the
EFX compositing was just mind numbingly awful.
Let?s assume they rework the EFXs . . . the beginning of the film
from a story perspective is a jumbled mess. They spend a fair
amount of time cutting back and forth, playing with your head to
make you think what?s ?up? is ?down? and what?s real is not etc. In
the end you just go ?what was that all about?? Then they go on and
on with the foreshadowing, so over the top that the only thing
missing here could be circles and flashing arrows.
Everything is conveniently planned and Jodi Foster does a fair
acting job but Holy Christ did she get old! I swear to God I
wouldn?t recognize her if I didn?t know she was playing this part.
The makeup department was working overtime particularly around the
eyes. Time caught up with this lovely but what can you do? She can
still act, and I guess that?s what they?re paying her for. Anyway,
I can see the studio absolutely thrilled that this film takes place
as a search for a lost kid on a plane. Sounds great from their
perspective but so implausible! You could put the film on a cruise
ship and it wouldn?t have changed a thing. And what?s up with Jodi
Foster and confined spaces anyway? First, ?Panic Room,? then
?Flight Plan? . . . whats next ?Elevator? or maybe ?Phone Booth??
They spend a great deal of time trying to convince the audience
that they?re as crazy as the studio executive that green lit this
project. But then, after all the chasing and looking for this kid
the real plot emerges. You could just see the writers standing at
the board putting up the plot points. Three quarters of the movie
was stuck somewhere between the setup and actually getting to the
real plot of the film. It was just one ?crazy lady? search bit to
the next. Ughh, the old ?a mother?s love knows no bounds!?
Then later in the film, they start to play on anti Arab sentiment
which was a real cheap shot. They set up the Arabs in the film to
be the bad guys from the beginning. They turn out not be, but its
hardly redeeming. Side note: (What was up with James Horner
strategically throwing in the Arab overtone music? Oh come on. So
Cheesy no matter how you mask it. It used to be that Nazis were the
only ?safe? villain; thank god the ?Arabs? came along!
Unfortunately, I don?t think we?re far enough away from Iraq and
the events of 9-11 to stir up this type of sentiment but I guess
they think this will sell. Finally we get to deal with a superbly
acted part by Peter Sarsgaard but only to get dragged down by Jodi
Foster ?magically? figuring the whole plot out. How? I haven?t a FC
but ?magically? she determines the bad guys from the good guys and
wraps this ?where?s the kid?? drama in a neat little bow, by
blowing up the ?bad guy? in the worst composited EFX shot I have
ever seen on film. I think the audience gasp was derived from
actually seeing a shot this bad in a theater. The real zinger is
her character instantly and I mean instantly goes from bad guy to
hero, unexplainably the moment she rejoins the waiting passengers
in the hanger. People sitting next to me are like WTF was that? And
the juxtaposition of her character?s look had all the finesse of a
cartoon anvil on the head. Foster looked like she was waiting to
have dinner with the Queen not like she had just blown up a plane!
Incredibly they couldn?t decide on whether to use really overblown
shots which looked ?heavenly? or fully saturated shots which made
her look more real. So they used them both! It was visual chop
suey.
In the end, a waste of 90 minutes unless you?ve never seen the
inside of a plane. I have no clue what the Imagine crowd was
backslapping about but this one needs some serious work. As soon as
the film was over, Grazer jumped up and ran out of the theater,
maybe to throw himself in front of a passing train? This guy can do
some quality work, what happened here? Did he lose his touch? The
film is serviceable and can be cleaned up, but not really saved. If
I was the studio, sorry but I?d do a minimum P&A campaign and cut
my losses. I?m a Disney stockholder and I hate to see good money
thrown after bad. Better luck next time.
Dr. Snap
