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Two weeks ago, viewers were drawn to the edges of their seats during a real-life drama as a malfunctioning airplane made an emergency landing in L.A. This week, they're on the edges of their seats again for another airborne thriller, one that only Hollywood could have served up … Flightplan.

Jodi Foster stars as Kyle, a recently widowed propulsion engineer whose daughter Julia (Marlene Lawston) disappears mid-flight. Where did she go? Does this have anything to do with the fact that her husband's body is in the cargo bay?

The bigger questions are these: After Panic Room, are viewers ready for another two hours of watching Jodie Foster storm about in a maternal rampage? And does this film have anything to offer other than twists and turns?

Religious press critics are split. Some find it thrilling, others find it too far-fetched.

Peter T. Chattaway (Christianity Today Movies) muses on the various reasons that Flightplan is such a disappointing ride: "Perhaps it's because Flightplan aspires to some sort of social commentary, which is handled pretty clunkily. Or perhaps it's because the bad guys, once they are revealed, turn out to be pretty lame. … Their entire plan seems to hinge on a major stroke of luck … so it's impossible to take them seriously."

David DiCerto (Catholic News Service) praises Foster as "excellent." And he says, "If you can look past its more preposterous plot elements, Flightplan is an intelligent nail-biter that keeps you guessing. And though the final departure is a bit disappointing, for its genre, it's worth boarding."

Bob Smithouser (Plugged In) writes, "I have to admit, [director Robert Schwentke's] Hitchcockian thriller played me like a Stradivarius." He goes on to explain how this mystery eluded his attempts to solve it. He concludes, "Add emotion to the mix and the result is more than satisfying. … The fact is, Flightplan is a wild, escapist ride that challenges all sorts of assumptions and gives us the most tenaciously maternal character since Lt. Ripley protected Newt from slithery, slimy Aliens."

Lisa Rice (Crosswalk) says, "Flightplan is 90 minutes of non-stop suspense that capitalizes on every mother's—and air passenger's—worst fears. Director Robert Schwentke does a masterful job at making audiences feel that uncomfortable combination of jittery, sleepy, anxious, exhausted, and jumpy, while simultaneously making us care deeply for a grieving mother and her daughter.From the very start there are little clues to the mystery, which, in retrospect, are fascinating details that weave the story together most creatively."

Mainstream critics aren't so impressed.

This big screen corpse is a beauty!

Joining the reviewers who raved in last week's Film Forum for Tim Burton's animated fairy tale Corpse Bride, Russ Breimeier (Christianity Today Movies) says, "Rest easy, families. The plot may revolve around murder, death, and the supernatural, but this is not the horror film you think it is—no more so than other fairy tales, at least. … [It's] more imaginative than any stop-motion movie to this point."

He concludes, "Unless the forthcoming Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit is more impressive, this movie is the frontrunner to win the 2006 Academy Award for Best Animated Film. Sweet, funny, clever, occasionally creepy, and sometimes poignant—there's plenty of life in this Corpse Bride."

Steven D. Greydanus (Decent Films) says, "This macabre fairy tale becomes, variously, a poignant meditation on the daunting weightiness of the vows of marriage, a raucous danse macabre in jumping jazz rhythms and florid colors, a visually rich celebration of Edward Gorey Gothic-Victorian and Charles Addams grotesque, and, perhaps most surprisingly, a touching portrait of tragedy, doomed love, empathy, and sacrifice."

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September (Web-only) 2005, Vol. 49