FlightPlan is a movie about a paranoid woman whose six-year-old daughter goes missing during a long-distance flight. It has all the essential ingredients of a gripping thriller, but despite Jodie Foster's strenuous acting and the endearing face of child actress Marlene Lawston, the film crashes after a promising take-off. Foster plays Kyle, a mother who is on a flight from Berlin to New York with her daughter Julia (Lawston) after the tragic death of her husband. When Kyle wakes up after a nap, she discovers that her daughter is missing. The airline crew search the plane, but find no trace of the girl. Oddly, nobody claims to have seen Julia and records show that her daughter never boarded the aircraft. Is Kyle imagining things, or is there something sinister going on? This is a great hook, but the film - directed by Robert Schwentke - fails to maintain the suspense. Too many hints are dropped and too few characters are involved to keep viewers guessing. The answer becomes obvious halfway through the film, which loses momentum as it nears the end. There are some beautiful shots of the luxurious interior of a state-of-the-art double-decker aircraft. But compared to Wes Craven's tight storytelling in Red Eye - an almost perfect airline thriller released this summer - Schwentke's direction is loose and shaky. Setting a story within a confined space is a daunting challenge for any filmmaker. Craven pulled it off nicely with great editing and well-designed shots, while Schwentke faulters, despite some admirable efforts in building his characters. Foster's performance as a mother determined to protect her child at all costs is convincing, yet predictable. She played a similar character in Panic Room. Her acting talent is indisputable, but her future film roles will decide whether she can take herself to a higher level, where most moviegoers expect her to be. VERDICT: WAIT FOR THE DVD