An airplane is a pretty good setting for a film. Flightplan definitely did pretty well in that regard although there will always be a lot of suspense for disbelief. Red Eye also takes place on a plane, but the circumstances are entirely different. Red Eye is definitely not as good as Flightplan, but it was an all right film. I definitely had some issues with it, but other parts were played out well.

Lisa has a pretty tough job over at one of the biggest hotels around, but it’s always good to take a little break. Now, she is ready to go back there and she’s going to take a late flight that gets even later after a plane delay. A guy by the name of Jackson starts to get friendly with her. After a lot of awkward moments, Lisa manages to get in the plane…only to find that Jackson is sitting next to her. He tells her that she must place a call that will destroy a prominent political figure (By switching his room to one with a window) who is staying at her hotel or he will have someone destroy her Dad. Those aren’t acceptable terms for Lisa and now she’s going to need to find a way out of this!

Unfortunately, that will be tough because there don’t seem to be any reasonably smart people aboard the plane. This is where the suspense for disbelief comes in. The main villain headbuts Lisa out of nowhere and someone should have seen and heard the attack. I don’t see how Lisa was knocked out so quickly that she was not even able to gasp. Jackson manages to steal a book from an old lady without her noticing and then he attacks Lisa inside of the restroom. Again, I have to wonder how nobody put two and two together. The little girl could have done a better job of explaining what was happening to the Stewards as well.

Lisa is the main heroine of this tale. I can’t say that she’s one of the more likable protagonists as she made things way too easy for Jackson from the beginning. Bonding with him at the bar happened way too quickly. Then Jackson told her about the big plot twist and she really didn’t take it very well. She should have quickly caused chaos and made the plane land. The guy still needs to make the call to get the Dad and she’d have an opening at some point. Instead she starts crying. I have to admit that this is one of the times where a male protagonist may have been a little better. If this had been someone like Indiana Jones, the main character of the Bourne films…or even guys like Captain Kirk and James Bond; they likely would have just gone on the offensive or bide their time until an attack could be made. Now, is the crying realistic for her? Maybe, but I’m not actually so sure. At that point, it was just a threat and the situation wasn’t completely dire yet. There is a chance that things could get worse and then crying would be acceptable, but it happened a little too quickly. Her final scene is also supposed to be cool and hardcore, but it really just falls flat.

Jackson Rippner is the main villain and naturally he isn’t likable. He’s about as generic as they come and we get no reason to sympathize with him or root for him. He’s just an obstacle that is in the hero’s way. I didn’t even like him before Jackson became the main villain. He was way too pushy and definitely not the kind of guy that you could root for. After changing into a villain, it didn’t really help his case. In the end, he was just bland.

Joe looks pretty bad for most of the film, but it’s arguably not his fault. The average joe wouldn’t suspect much from a car just being outside for a while. Must be a coincidence after all. It was annoying to see him get taken down so quickly, but he essentially makes up for all of this by the end. He seems like a nice guy, but his role is ultimately pretty small. It’s good that he always has a gun at the ready though.

Cynthia is one of the helpers over at the hotel and she had a pretty stressful day. The hotel personnel weren’t very nice to her and then the villain situation popped up. She did the best that she could so I don’t have a problem with her. Keefe seems like a decent politician and he takes the whole thing in stride. His role is even smaller than Cynthia’s but he was one of the better characters. That being said, his security guards were even better. Now those guys were trained professionals! They quickly went and scanned the room for any possible dangers and they were skeptical of the room change. They should have moved the (suspicious) boat that was outside, but they’re only fishing right? After the climax, the guards definitely move fast so at least they are always prepared. I always get a kick out of seeing the government no matter which group it is.

Now, there are a few more times where I had to suspend my disbelief. At one point, the main character has a gun, but she lets the villain walk up to her and knock it away. That….that’s just not right. If you’ve got a gun, then you need to do everything humanly possible to keep it in such a dangerous situation. That was definitely a bit much. The other part is when the cops are alerted that Lisa is on the run. Then they also allow the villain to run right by them. At least arrest one of these guys. The police just didn’t seem to be very smart.

Ultimately, what held the film down was the fact that it just wasn’t very fun to watch. It didn’t suffer from ultra violence, fan service, (One unnecessary scene, but it could have been much worse) animal violence, etc. This is a negative that doesn’t pop up as often, but it’s always crucial. There were no moments in the film where you would feel like cheering except for MAYBE the final gunshot. The rest of the film may be a bit suspenseful for some or just irritating for others. I was more on the latter since I just wanted the hero to do something. Instead, she was basically Jackson’s pawn the entire time. There was also a completely unnecessary backstory for Lisa that we find out about in the climax. The pen scene can be a little disturbingly brutal, but the scene isn’t there for long and I was expecting something gritty like that to play out at some point. It’s typically something that comes along with characters who aren’t professional fighters. They usually have to resort to pens or another sharp object and aim for a weak point. It definitely could have been worse, but it was a lose-lose situation. Well, Lisa had to do something to escape, but I wouldn’t have minded a book slam instead.

Overall, I can’t say that this was my favorite plane movie. It just wasn’t that fun and there is really no replay value for this kind of film. The main character and the main villain were not so great, but the supporting cast was good, which helps to make up for that. There isn’t really a soundtrack in the film and many characters are introduced as if they will have a role, but they end up being inconsequential. I would recommend this film if you’ve wanted to see a film with blackmail to see how the hero gets out of it, but for a much better plane thriller I would go with Flightplan.

Overall 5/10