Common Sense Media Review
Tense but riveting thriller, best for teens+.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
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Flightplan
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 3 parent reviews
Based on 10 kid reviews
Kids say this movie is a good introduction to thrillers for younger audiences and families, featuring minimal objectionable content while maintaining a suspenseful plot. It is noted for its engaging storyline and strong performances, particularly by the lead actress, though some reviewers mention it's intense and may not be suitable for those with a fear of flying.
- beginner thriller
- family-friendly
- suspenseful plot
- engaging performances
- intense moments
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
What's the Story?
Newly widowed Kyle (Jodie Foster) is transporting the body of her husband back to the States aboard a giant airbus that Kyle helped to design. With her is their daughter, six-year-old Julia (Marlene Lawson). Both fall asleep early in the flight. Kyle wakes up a couple of hours into the flight to find Julia missing. Though she tries to approach crew members and Captain Rich (Sean Bean) with respect, she's increasingly unnerved by their suggestions that she's worrying needlessly, and then that the girl doesn't exist. As the crew and passengers are increasingly turning against Kyle, she fights to find Julia.
Is It Any Good?
As suddenly widowed mother and propulsion engineer Kyle Pratt, Foster provides a broad range of emotion. Practical-minded and self-contained in her grief, Kyle first appears in middream, walking with her dead husband through Berlin's snowy streets, wishing that she might stop him from ascending to their rooftop -- from which he fell or jumped. While it provides an apt showcase for the brilliant Jodie Foster and delivers effective tension in its early scenes, by the end, FLIGHTPLAN dissolves into clichés. But there are enough thrills to keep teens and adults interested.
But the movie never veers from Kyle's perspective, which means viewers believe her and suspect a plot. This is especially true when Air Marshal Gene Carson (Peter Sarsgaard) comes up with some completely inappropriate niggling: "Your husband's death is starting to make a lot more sense to me -- a couple more hours and I'm ready to jump." Right. With outrageous motivation like that, you're ready for the silly plot turns that turn Kyle into Action Mom.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the portrayal of Kyle's evolving distress: how is she sympathetic in her fear and anger? How does her briefly sketched relationship with her daughter Julia help to establish this sympathy, even when everyone else on the plane thinks she's lost her mind? And how does the film use racial profiling of "Arab" passengers (in Kyle and other passengers' accusations)? Is this reasonable or unreasonable under these circumstances?
Movie Details
- In theaters : September 23, 2005
- On DVD or streaming : January 24, 2006
- Cast : Jodie Foster , Peter Sarsgaard , Sean Bean
- Director : Robert Schwentke
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Buena Vista
- Genre : Thriller
- Run time : 93 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : violence and some intense plot material
- Last updated : October 9, 2025
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