What Is It?
A mom, returning home with the body of her husband, loses her daughter on the giant airplane. When she brings this to the attention of the pilots, stewardesses, and flight marshal she discovers she has also lost her daughter’s boarding pass, her daughter’s bags are gone, and there is no record of her daughter getting on the plane and none of the staff ever saw the little girl. Now, armed with the knowledge of the plane she helped design, she sets out on a mission to prove she did not invent her daughter in her mind and more importantly, to find her daughter before something terrible happens.
How Was It?
First... This is NOT the miserable bait-and-switch film, "The Forgotten" from last year. This movie is plausible and never makes you say "Oh, give me a break."
The acting was well done. Jodie Foster was tough when she needed to be, but never had to be an Honorary Man to pull it off. Sean Bean (Lord of the Rings) was great as the stoically compassionate pilot trying to do what was right by everyone he was responsible for. The plot was tight and never let things out too soon.
The problem with this film lies totally in character development. The movie starts with the characters in a state of fear and sorrow. We never get to know them and, thus, never actually care about them. When the daughter is lost, any emotion you have comes from your own personal feelings about losing children, not from the loss of this particular child. It all has the feel of someone telling you, "Hey, did you hear about that lady who lost her kid on that big plane…" It would have been a great movie if it could have just jumped the hurdle and given us the punch of "Oh No! I have lost MY child on this plane!!". The movie does redeems itself though with a satisfactory and mildly gripping ending.
I have heard this is the first film for the screenwriter and the producer. After seeing this, I would definitely check out their next attempt.
Is It Good For Kids?
I think that some kids may naturally relate to the idea of a frantic mother and their own imagination could fill in the emotional blanks. In that case, it could cause undue stress about being lost, or maybe kidnapped, or having your dad die, or your mom “tweak out” (though I think the more likely reaction will be lackluster indifference, followed by squirming and requests for more popcorn).
This movie did steer away from undue sexuality or excessive bad language which is always nice to see.
You can check Screenit.com for a complete breakdown of what is on the screen.
How about Spiritual Issues?
Once again, this is the problem in this film. We don't get anything. It makes the film safe, but danger makes a film interesting. We never hear any thoughts on death or conviction about anything. Really, we don't know who these people are, so their beliefs never come up. The most "message" you could glean from this film would be things like "It's sad to have your husband die" or "Daughters are good - Losing them is bad" or maybe even (spoiler) "It's not nice to do mean things to a woman and her daughter in an attempt to extort money".
What Is Your Recommendation?
If you just have a great need to go to the movies, and you have seen everything else worth seeing, why not?
Though, if you are in that situation, I’d suggest logging on to www.KeyToTheRings.com and finding the Questioning Entertainment Movie Review Section to check out the list of "Movies You Should See".
