FLIGHTPLAN Review Provokes Strong Reaction

It seems that a statement in my review of FLIGHTPLAN irritated my correspondent, Humby. I compared the film to COLLATERAL, implying that FLIGHTPLAN is a better movie. In the comment section, he wrote…


“To compare FLIGHTPLAN to COLLATERAL is just simply ridiculous. COLLATERAL is not a great movie, but it is, with all of its faults, a good movie from a master director (Michael Mann). FLIGHT PLAN is a weak script at best, uneven armature direction, and just a silly film. The actors are good... Foster is a great actress in a bad film. Saarsgard is a really good actor that sleeps his way through this film. I understand that you like FLIGHTPLAN more than COLLATERAL and that is fine, but COLLATERAL is simply a better-made film from top to bottom. I like your "strong opinion"... I just happen to disagree with it this time.”


First of all, let me state explicitly that FLIGHTPLAN is the better movie overall. COLLATERAL has a great set-up and oozes quality, but raises some serious questions when Jamie Foxx brings his mother and Tom Cruise’s hitman together, only to anger Cruise and run out on mom. After that, the plot becomes increasingly shaky, leading to a final section where Tom Cruise is reduced to acting like a killer in a slasher flick.
Michael Mann IS a master who eats directors like FLIGHTPLAN’s Robert Schwentke for breakfast. But with COLLATERAL, no matter how hard he tries, he cannot triumph over a terrible final act. At least with FLIGHTPLAN, I wasn’t annoyed while the movie was still unspooling. If, as I said, FLIGHTPLAN throws occasional bricks, COLLATERAL’s final section is all air balls.