The Terminal (2004) Movie Information:

The Terminal (2004) Directed by: Steven Spielberg The Terminal (2004) Written by: Jeff Nathanson, Andrew Niccol, Sacha Gervasi The Terminal (2004) Cast: Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Stanley Tucci, Diego Luna, Chi McBride, Zoe Saldana, Barry Henley, Kumar Pallana, Eddie Jones, Jude Ciccolella

The Terminal (2004) U.S. Distributor: Dreamworks SKG The Terminal (2004) U.K. Distributor: UIP

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The Terminal (2004) Synopsis:

Viktor Navorski is a visitor to New York from Eastern Europe. His homeland erupts in a fiery coup, while he is in the air en route to America. Stranded at Kennedy Airport with a passport from nowhere, he is unauthorized to actually enter the United States and must improvise his days and nights in the terminal's international transit lounge, until the war at home is over. As the weeks and months stretch on, Viktor finds the compressed universe of the terminal to be a richly complex world of absurdity, generosity, ambition, amusement, status, serendipity--and even romance with a beautiful flight attendant named Amelia. But he has long worn out his welcome with airport official Frank Dixon, who considers Viktor a bureaucratic glitch--a problem he cannot control but wants desperately to erase.

The Terminal (2004) Movie Review:

Arriving in New York’s JFK International Airport, Viktor Navorski (Hanks) finds that his homeland of Krakozhia is now gripped by a rebel upheaval. This means that his country is no longer recognised, making his passport and documents invalid, thus he cannot enter the United States. As all flights back to his country are now cancelled, Viktor cannot even go home so he is stuck in the International Terminal of JFK until either the war ends or the US Government decide what they want to do with him.

Steven Spielberg doesn’t really make bad films but would The Terminal be the exception to that rule. Don’t be silly.

Based loosely on a real life incidence that took place at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, The Terminal is a story of how red tape and political shenanigans can completely change someone’s life. This is a smaller, more character driven story for Spielberg and one that doesn’t rely on a high concept or a larger than life character. A tale about the triumph of human spirit and the willingness to achieve a goal that has no big action sequences and no huge special effects.

Key to the appeal of the movie is the performance of Tom Hanks. Quickly becoming a Spielberg stalwart, Hanks creates another instantly loveable character that everyone can emphasise with. In Viktor Navorski you have an everyman who could be anyone in the audience stuck in an unusual situation that through no fault of his own, he has to live with. In true Hanks style, the character makes the most of his situation, and of course, he gets himself into a few comical scrapes. It is easy to forget that Hanks is also a gifted comedic actor and he excels the physical comedy elements of the script. He is an actor that can convey comedy in just a look and this is a rare gift.

Supporting him expertly is Stanley Tucci, as Viktor’s nemesis airport controller Frank Dixon. Tucci excels in the role, showing again what an unsung talent he really is. Frank Dixon is an instantly dislikeable character, who is really only doing his job by stringently following the rules. If Viktor represents the everyman, Dixon is a representation of the Government and the power it has over all of us.

Diego Luna, Chi McBride and Kumar Pallana play Enrique Cruz, Joe Mulroy and Gupta Rajan, the airport employees who become Viktor friends. Each of them provides comic relief, as they grow closer to the man without a country. From their early suspicions that is a CIA undercover operative to becoming a friend, Viktor affects all of their lives and the actors reflect this with three excellent performances.

Catherine Zeta Jones continues to choose roles that distance her from the primadonna starlet image the paparazzi have unfairly labelled her with. As Amelia Warren she plays a confused stewardess who seen as an object by men and no one has ever seen her for what she is, a lonely woman who just wants to be loved. This is a role that Catherine really gets to grips with and through showing the character’s vulnerability she makes the role more acceptable to an audience.

The Terminal is a film that you cannot help but like. It isn’t as predictable as your standard Hollywood but under the watchful eye of Steven Spielberg you’d expect no less. The movie proves again that you can’t pigeonhole Spielberg into one genre or even one type of movie. This is by no means small budget, but for the great director this a change from norm and a very welcome on.

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The Terminal (2004) review written by: Jamie Kelwick