Directed by:
Steven SpielbergCinematography:
Janusz KaminskiComposer:
John WilliamsCast:
Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chi McBride, Stanley Tucci, Diego Luna, Barry Shabaka Henley, Kumar Pallana, Eddie Jones, Jude Ciccolella, Guillermo Díaz (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks) always planned to emigrate from his Eastern European homeland to the USA - but his plans were swiftly accelerated by the outbreak of war, and he finds himself on a plane headed for New York's Kennedy airport. However, on arrival there he finds himself caught in a bureaucratic red tape nightmare: his passport was issued by a country which, since the violent coup that triggered the war there, has officially ceased to exist. Because he can neither be granted entrance to the US or deported, he is told by security to remain in the airport until his status is determined. Equipped only with his faltering English and a simple, optimistic outlook on life, Viktor gradually makes friends with the airport staff - and even falls in love with flight attendant Amelia (Catherine Zeta Jones) - over the ensuing weeks. (Paramount Pictures AU)
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Reviews (8)
This movie just skims the surface and never goes into depth. The screenplay isn’t one of the best ever, the whole storyline involving Catherine is pointless, but still... Spielberg is too good a director and Hanks too good an actor for this movie to be merely mediocre. It’s more like a pleasant relax movie that gets to you; it’s much better in the first “short stories" part than in the second part where it is too focused on the love story and obligations from the past.
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The Terminal reminds me of a sweet and heavily praised lemonade in enticing packaging, which someone opens and leaves on the table for a week. It's simply too calculated and not very functional. Of course, Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones continue to be among the most likable actors of their generation, Spielberg knows his craft, and the film maintains a certain level throughout. It's predictable to the point of misery, except for the final resolution, which makes me wonder why Hanks actually endured that crazy stay at the airport. If I had been considering three stars until then, at that point I was definitively convinced to give it a lower rating. The resolution is, diplomatically speaking, naïve, but it leaves me with a far more expressive phrase on my lips. The overall impression is influenced by an inappropriately chosen level of stylization and exaggeration. The relationship between reality and the absurdity of what is seen simply jars. Furthermore, the slogging message of family values and human solidarity gradually pushes Spielberg to the very brink of kitsch. Perhaps the weakest creation that I have had the opportunity to see from his workshop... Overall impression: 45%.
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The first half of The Terminal is fantastic. The endearing and sophisticated episodic humour and another captivating (previously unseen) setting for Tom Hanks’s masterful acting make for a simple yet irresistible movie without even the smallest flaw in its beauty. However, that beauty fades with the entrance of the bad guy and a love story, and the film slips to the level of a standard family movies of the kind for which the services of Chris Columbus and co. are usually engaged. Catch Me if You Can was more coherent, more precise and more distinctive.
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A truly beautiful film, built primarily on the brilliant performance of Tom Hanks, without him, even Spielberg would have had a very difficult time. But this is how you can make a funny and touching romantic story, which can perhaps only be faulted for being a truly reprehensible waste of the Spielbergian language – the entire second half does not correspond to the greatest director of our time, but to a regular Hollywood fairy tale on the theme of "romance for the whole family"... Still, considering my platonic love for the gorgeous Catherine, a fine film :)) 80%
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It's the little things that make this film great and in a way brilliant. Unfortunately, that only applies to the first half. Once the main character gets jaded, the plot starts to get more American and isn't as entertaining. Victor Navorski's character certainly has a lot in common with Forrest Gump. I really enjoyed his good-heartedness and ingenuity. And given the situation he's in, there are a few elements from Cast Away as well. It's no fun crashing at an airport... unless Tom Hanks is the one crashing there. 4 stars.
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