Only for the faint-hearted: Flightplan fails to thrill

'A fast-paced thriller set thousands of feet in the air' — how many dozens, if not hundreds, of B-list movies would this sentence describe? With the release of "Flightplan" last week, you can chalk one more up on that list. Traditionally, such films have centered on a sinister terrorist/psycho-killer threatening the lives of all the passengers aboard — not to mention demolishing at least a good 15 square blocks of real estate in the inevitable improvised urban landings of "Airport," "Turbulance" and the like. Post-9/11, these kinds of movies have thankfully drifted away from massive disaster into the realm of individual characters' crises — albeit with terrorist conspiracies just as far-fetched as ever. "Flightplan" continues the long tradition of riddling airplane thrillers with clichés and befuddlement. Yet, there are some redeeming qualities of "Flightplan" that help it avoid mediocrity and even become somewhat enjoyable.

The saving grace of "Flightplan" is the leading lady, Jodie Foster. She plays Kyle, a recently widowed aircraft engineer whose moods range from anxious to hysterical to coolly resolute. Few actresses, though, could match the sense of earnestness Foster projects. As she inevitably unravels, her character is sympathetic — despite the preposterous circumstances her character faces. At the very least, she is a convincingly paranoid mother of six-year-old Julia (Marlene Lawston, in her film debut).

As Kyle is flying from Berlin to America on what must be the largest passenger jumbo-jet in existence, Julia mysteriously disappears. There really isn't much more to say about the story, except to mention that the inevitable plot twists are far too predictable even if you haven't seen the astonishingly spoiler-rich trailer. More interesting than the story are a few of the supporting characters. They are all simple characters, but to the writer's credit, these superficial characters seem to fit well in this plot. For example, perpetually-frowning Peter Saarsgard stands out as the plane's sunken-eyed sky marshal. Sean Bean, who appeared as Odysseus in "Troy," gives an adequate performance as the plane's captain.

German director Robert Schwentke is content to let the almost complete lack of complex characters slide, maybe because "Flightplan" could never really rise above the vapidity of its screenplay. Schwentke takes great pains to build an increasingly tense atmosphere, but the suspense, which he probably intended to culminate in controlled mania by the film's climax, falls flat. Schwentke manages to render an evocative, gloomy ambiance in the film's opening, but the energy quickly peters out.

Unfortunately (perhaps inevitably), the film shifts to a frantic pace by the first half-hour. It is rather entertaining to watch a thriller that unfolds in a more moody fashion than is typical, but the refreshingly heavy tone is all but evaporated by the finale.

The final verdict: Head to Market Fair to catch "Flightplan" if you're interested in mild thrills and a good turn by Foster.