Flightplan (www.the-usher.com)

"Where's Julia?"

Returning her husband's body to the US after he died in an accident, Kyle (Foster) and Julia (Lawston) board the plane to head home. As they both try to cope with their grief, the mother and daughter try and get some sleep during the long journey between Berlin and New York. When Kyle awakes however she finds that Julia is missing and after she frantically searches the cabin, the flight crew try to calm her down. Getting the Captain (Bean) involved, the crew reveal that they don't even remember Julia coming on board so it is up to Kyle to prove that her daughter even existed.

Enclosed, insular thrillers usually breed suspense and tension but can 'Flightplan' fly or crash trying?

Jodie Foster doesn't make many films as of late but when she does the movie community seems to take notice and her role in 'Flightplan' is no different. As the recently widowed engine designer, who is returning her husband's body to New York from Germany, she brings much more to the film than the flimsy plot deserves. Always playing a strong female character, Foster drives the film along, through its twists and turns to its very typically Hollywood conclusion but her performance makes the movie much more than it should have been.

A star of Foster's magnitude usually attracts a strong supporting cast and 'Flightplan' is no different. Instead of big name actors however, the filmmakers have gathered together some excellent character actors to accompany her. A rising star that is known for his acting talent, Peter Sarsgaard provides outstanding supporting support to Foster. Even when the film falls into cliché, his performance elevates, combined with Foster's, make the finale a lot more watchable than it should have been. Sean Bean continues to make inroads into Hollywood with another fine supporting role but this won't propel him to leading man status anytime soon. Kate Beahan does a good job as stewardess Stephanie but Erika Christensen is completely wasted as fellow trolley-dolly Fiona.

Even an accomplished lead and an impressive supporting cast cannot make up for the many plot shortcomings. The main problem is that lack of an explanation behind the motivation of the main plot device. As the film twist and turns towards the final act, the story rightly throws up many red herrings to keep you guessing but when the reveal happens in the final act the film descends into typically Hollywood cliché. This complete lack of imagination ruins all the good work that has gone before.

'Flightplan' isn't a bad thriller but you do expect something more than something run of the mill with Jodie Foster involved. Entertaining until the clichéd final act, this is still watchable, simply because of the quality of Jodie Foster and Peter Sarsgaard's performances. It takes off, has a bit of turbulence but then it is a shock free, predictable flight until the safe landing.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1 with Dolby Digital 5.1, the movie is presented well.

BONUS FEATURES

The In-Flight Movie: The Making of Flightplan (38.33 mins)
Director Robert Schwentke, producer Brian Glazer, screenwriters Billy Ray and Peter A. Dowling, executive producers Robert DiNozzi and Charles J.D. Schlissel, editor Thom Noble, supervising sound editor Dave McMoyler, visual effects supervisors Rob Hodgson and Gregory Leigey, visual effects producer Hendric Nieman, composer James Horner and stars Jodie Foster, Peter Sarsgaard, Sean Bean, Kate Beahan and Erika Christensen take you behind the scenes of 'Flightplan'. Split into five sections entitled 'Security Checkpoint: Story of a thriller', 'Captain's Greeting: Meet the director', 'Passenger Manifest: Casting the film', 'Connection Flights: Post Production' and 'Emergency Landing: Visual Effects', the extended featurette covers the evolution of the idea, the cast, the editing, sound design, score and visual effects used in the film.

Cabin Pressure: Designing the Aalto E-474 (10.02 mins)
Director Robert Schwentke, production designer Alec Hammond, executive producer Charles J.D. Schlissel and director of photography Florian Ballhaus reveal how the sets for the plane were designed and built. Here we see how the cockpit, galleries and lounge were designed and incorporating the camera mounts and lighting, as well as the interior design of the plane.

Trailers
Previews of 'Casanova', 'Cinderella Man' and 'Goal!'

OVERALL

With featurettes that cover all the aspects of the films production, the main thing missing from the DVD treatment of 'Flightplan' is a commentary track. Fans should enjoy these however but they may have wanted a little bit more.

DVD

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2005