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Terminal, The [2004]


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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

Like an airport running at peak efficiency, The Terminal glides on the consummate skills of its director and star. Having refined their collaborative chemistry on Saving Private Ryan and Catch Me if You Can, Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks mesh like the precision gears of a Rolex, turning a delicate, not-very-plausible scenario into a lovely modern-age fable (partly based on fact) that's both technically impressive and subtly moving. It's Spielberg in Capra mode, spinning the featherweight tale of Victor Navorski (Hanks, giving a finely tuned performance), an Eastern European who arrives at New York's Kennedy Airport just as his (fictional) homeland has fallen to a coup, forcing him, with no valid citizenship, to take indefinite residence in the airport's expansive International Arrivals Terminal (an astonishing full-scale set that inspires Spielberg's most elegant visual strategies). Spielberg said he made this film in part to alleviate the anguish of wartime America, and his master's touch works wonders on the occasionally mushy material; even Stanley Tucci's officious terminal director and Catherine Zeta-Jones's mixed-up flight attendant come off (respectively) as forgivable and effortlessly charming. With this much talent involved, The Terminal transcends its minor shortcomings to achieve a rare degree of cinematic grace. --Jeff Shannon


Poignant but pointless
Review date: 2008-10-04 Rating: 6 out of 10

It is a tribute to Tom Hanks' acting skills that he carries your attention for two hours in what, otherwise, would be a very routine "feelgood" movie. Hanks is superb and manages to charm, amuse and move us with his antics while he is "trapped" inside the terminal. But that's what the film is - a collection of antics and little story threads bound together by Hank's acting skills. Ultimately the film is rather pointless: people's lives are slightly improved by his involvement in them but there's nothing too dramatic; and the ending is a disappointment. There are other problems too with the film - Zeta-Jones is just too perfect for an air stewardess; the cast of characters is surprisingly small for a massive airport; and why aren't there any other passengers from Kurkosnia (or wherever) trapped at the airport from his flight ?. It's the sort of film you'll enjoy watching once, but won't want to repeat.

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Reviews


Slow Burner...
Review date: 2008-08-28 Rating: 8 out of 10

This really is one of those pleasant little surprises that you get, as this one must've slipped under my radar.

The Terminal isn't a 'by the numbers' movie, certainly not of any recent Holywood formula. Speilberg genuinely weaves a gentle, innocent, captivating and almost completely heart-warming tale; with an Eastern-block traveller caught inside the glass walls of an airport terminal building.

It's not often that I'll go back and watch a film again, almost immediately, but I really liked this film on many levels. Yes, the main plot is fairly simple in premise and delivery, but that also makes it easy to follow and to relate to. There are so many other lovely little touches though, with the interactions and reactions of the main character (Tom Hanks), as he overcomes not just a difficult situation, but language and cultural barriers.

I like this movie as it made me stop and consider my own travels, the many people that I've met, and even passed, along the way; but there's also some deeper reminders of a kinder way of seeing the world in this movie as well. I wouldn't say 'romantic', but certainly there's a warmth and a nod to gentler times.

A fantastic and heartwarming must-have movie
Review date: 2008-08-26 Rating: 10 out of 10

I'm not normally a fan of Tom Hanks, and on the face of it this movie looks like it could potentially be quite dull. If someone is stuck in an airport terminal how interesting can you really make it?

The answer is simple: very interesting.

This is a wonderfully cast movie with brilliant observational humour, comical scenes, heartwarming moments and a fantastic plot that develops the cast superbly. There is a diverse range of lovable characters that help propel the plot along from the very start to the very end. Perhaps it is a little predictable but that doesn't detract from my rating.

A must-have movie to add to everybody's collection.

Hollywood view of US Airport Security
Review date: 2008-08-26 Rating: 10 out of 10

A typical, enjoyable Spielberg film apparently based on a true incident in France some years ago - but knowing US Airport Security, I think it's far more likely that they'd throw you into one of their holding cells than let you live and roam around the terminal for 9 months!

Also, there's a scene where Tom Hanks is given the chance to leave JFK airport through the main doors supposedly during guard changeover time. I don't think so! You get the feeling that the scriptwriters don't know what it's like for a visitor trying to enter the US. If LAX is anything to go by, you have to queue up for up to an hour to get through Passport Control, then you have 3 other security points to get through even before you get to the carousel to pick up your luggage. So the Tom Hanks character, if confined to the Arrivals lounge, would not have been anywhere near the main entrance.



A great idea almost totally wasted!
Review date: 2008-04-27 Rating: 6 out of 10

I refuse to believe that Steven Spielberg really made this movie. I am certain he left for a beach in Bahamas and left the work to an assistant, and then he signed his name at the end, without giving even one look at the stuff. If I am wrong, well, that proves this old saying by de Gaulle "La vieillesse est un naufrage" (The old age is like a shipwrecking). If Steven Spielberg really made this movie, this is the worse he ever made. Period.
Now, "The Terminal" has some nice moments, but they are very few and very short. The general idea was really great, and Frank Capra, Billy Wilder or for thar matter Steven Spielberg (the one from even 10 years ago) could do on this basis a great comedy. But this movie is a failure. It is boring, it is (mostly) not funny, and even Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones can not save it. Three stars only because 1) I like Tom Hanks 2) Catherine Zeta-Jones is extremely beautiful in this movie. Otherwise, do not expect anything and if you do not want to lose one evening, don't bother watching it.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Tom Hanks
Catherine Zeta-Jones

Creators:
Tom Hanks (Primary Contributor)
Catherine Zeta-Jones (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Dreamworks Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: Dreamworks Home Entertainment
EAN: 5050583017976
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 2
Format: Anamorphic, PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2005-01-31
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 129 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2004
Language: English (Subtitles For The Hearing Impaired)
Language: English (Original Language)

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