Flightplan
Buena Vista Pictures | Release Date: September 23, 2005 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
53
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 33 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
23
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
A tense, concise and elegantly shot film. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The movie's excellence comes from Foster's performance as a resourceful and brave woman; from Bean, Sarsgaard and the members of the cabin crew, all with varying degrees of doubt; from the screenplay by Peter A. Dowling and Billy Ray; and from the direction by Robert Schwentke. Read full review
88
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
For at least two-thirds of its length, all elements combine for a taut thriller, a Hitchcockian exercise in suspense pitting human frailty - can our minds be trusted? - against human resourcefulness. Read full review
83
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
Far-fetched but deliciously exciting aerial nail-biter. Read full review
70
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
Until those final moments, Flightplan succeeds admirably, both as a sophisticated psychological thriller and as an example of, if not great art, then superb craftsmanship. Read full review
70
SlateDavid Edelstein
Has a routine finish but up to that point is a more than decent thriller--or, given its taut self-containment, a more than decent Hitchcockian "exercise in suspense." Read full review
63
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Jodie Foster's fiercely intelligent performance drives this disappointing thriller, whose taut, carefully constructed first half is sadly negated by its implausible and -- worst of all -- unengaging conclusion. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
Doesn't have its heroine's conviction. It'd be better if it had. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
This thriller is effective if you can accept that--as with some of John Dickson Carr's locked-room mysteries--the trickiness counts more than any plausibility. Read full review
60
L.A. WeeklyJohn Patterson
Schwentke handles the claustrophobic environment efficiently enough, though he dallies too long before letting anxiety give way to action. Read full review
60
Village VoiceMark Holcomb
Becomes more satisfying than the stock thriller–star vehicle it begins and ends as. Read full review
60
EmpireIan Freer
An enthralling, enjoyable if ultimately far-fetched thriller. Read full review
58
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
A thriller that goes from pretty good to absolutely ludicrous in the time it takes one actor to recite about four sentences of dialogue. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Since Foster plays warming-up-for-a-straitjacket panic with a clenched intensity rare to behold in a Hollywood actress, I, for one, was rooting for the radical -- that is, nuthouse -- option. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
But coming on the heels of "Red Eye," which is nothing if not an efficient thrill machine, Flightplan can only look conspicuously flat by comparison. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
A thriller of passive virtues, the steely intensity of Jodie Foster notwithstanding. It's not too violent. It's not assaultive. Even James Horner's music plays it cool. Read full review
50
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Sean Bean makes a positive impression as the caring but puzzled captain of the flight, though Peter Sarsgaard flies at half-mast as a clumsy air marshal. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Despite excellent elements - great actress, taut plot, slick visuals - Flightplan is like airplane food. No matter how good the ingredients the air chef has to work with, the entree inevitably ends up tasting like a Xerox of a facsimile of a meal. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
The latest motion picture to take an intriguing premise and flush it into the septic tank. Read full review
50
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
To watch Ms. Foster storm through a phony airplane for an entire movie has its very minor pleasures - given the numerous close-ups, you can study her lovely face at your leisure - but there is nothing here to feed the head or fray the nerves. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesCarina Chocano
The movie loses some of its initial atmospheric tension as paranoid thrills give way to Rambo high jinks. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
There is something really nasty about this cold, calculating exercise in mob psychology and human venality. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia Puig
This B-list thriller portrays air crews as inept, at best, and callous and cruel at worst. Read full review
50
VarietyRobert Koehler
Largely undone by a script that self-destructs in the third act of an otherwise well-made thriller. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
The plot is contingent on everything going perfectly in ways no one can possibly predict, right down to the most outlandish happenstance of timing and human behavior. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
By the final act, involving possibly the most far-fetched scheme since Dr. Evil aimed his death ray at Earth in "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me," the indifference has become completely contagious. Read full review
50
PremierePeter Debruge
I'd like to say that Flightplan is one of those white-knuckle, edge-of-your-seat thrill rides that critics are always raving about, but instead, it's more like a transatlantic flight with no clear destination, where the cabin noise makes it impossible to sleep and the in-flight movie is a rerun. Read full review
50
Film ThreatPete Vonder Haar
As it is, Flightplan is half of a pretty good movie. But to maintain that impression, I recommend you take a nap for the last 40 minutes. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
Flightplan should have remained grounded for repairs. Read full review
40
SalonStephanie Zacharek
An exercise in edgy tedium, and even though it's only 90 minutes or so, it seems to last longer than an actual transatlantic flight. If you bring an eye mask and a few sleeping pills, you should get through it OK. A magazine or book wouldn't hurt, either. It'll be over before you know it. Read full review
40
Dallas ObserverRobert Wilonsky
As the movie enters its final chapter, you will come to the sad, sickening realization that the filmmakers have played you for a chump. What seemed so smart, so well crafted and finely tuned, falls apart into a flaming heap of c---, and all goodwill is dashed. Read full review
38
New York PostKyle Smith
Absurdity has a new name: Flightplan. Read full review
25
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
This movie demands that the viewer -- and even its own characters -- turn into thumb-sucking 3-year-olds with no need for plausibility or logic, as long as there are lots of flashing lights and whooshing noises emanating from the screen. Read full review
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